We sat down to talk with our 2 Professional Rainbow Six Siege coaches Vinnie “syliX” Tam, and Bharath “Fluxx” Sukesh. We wanted to learn about them outside of the game, as well as some of their viewpoints on the current state of the game and how their experience in competitive R6 has been so far. Here’s what they had to say-

Where in Australia are you from, have you lived there your whole life?

SyliX: “I was born and raised in Brisbane and have lived here my whole life.”
Fluxx: “Raised in England but I moved to Australia about 10 years ago where I’ve spent most of my life.”

Growing up what were some of your hobbies? Did you play any sports?

SyliX: “I learnt tennis and chess from about 5 years old and played them both competitively until I finished high school.”
Fluxx: “I really enjoyed sports and video games growing up. Played a lot of soccer and cricket until high school.”

Have you played video games your whole life, if so, what were some of your favorites before R6?

SyliX: “I started playing video games from a very young age too, probably about the same time as taking up chess and tennis. I remember playing the original Wolfenstein 3D and getting nightmares from it. Before R6, I played CS1.6 (and Dota very briefly) competitively. That game will always have a place in my heart.”
Fluxx: “Been playing since a young age, before Siege I played a lot of Battlefield, CS:GO, Call of Duty, Halo.”

Are there any games coming out soon that you are looking forward to?

SyliX: “As a massive fan of the Witcher series, I’m super hyped for the upcoming Cyberpunk 2077 game. I’m really annoyed that @bundieee’s countdown until its release isn’t ticking down faster!”
Fluxx: “I’d been waiting a while for Valorant, and it just came out. I’ve been playing it a little on the side and it’s been pretty fun.”

What does a day in Quarantine look like for you?

SyliX: “For the past few months, I’ve been swamped with assignment marking so that keeps my days busy. Fun times. I get to do that from home though so I’m mostly just listening to music while I drain my sanity away :).”
Fluxx: “Sleeping in, swapping between uni work and coaching.”

When did you first start coaching? How was your first experience at an R6 Lan?

SyliX: “I started coaching at the start of 2019 after stepping down from the team. My first LAN in R6 was the ANZ Invitational in 2017. This was also the first LAN in ANZ so it really meant a lot to compete at the event and meeting people from the scene for the first time.”
Fluxx: “I’ve been coaching for 2.5 years now, initially on a team with EmoRin, before moving over to a previous iteration of this team in late 2017. My first LAN was the most recent Six Invitational 2020, and whilst the results weren’t what we wanted, I loved the experience of meeting my team and others in the Siege scene I’ve followed for years.”

How did you spend the offseason break?

SyliX: “In the off-season, I’m still working my usual job at university. I also get to spend a bit more time with friends and family.”
Fluxx: “Started back up at Uni not long after SI, but other than that, just watching Netflix and playing some other games with my mates.”

Who is your favorite, and least favorite operator?

SyliX: “Valkyrie is my favourite. I’ve always liked her ability to provide unique intel to the team. My least favourite operator is probably Frost. I like the idea of her gadget, but it’s rarely useful since they are pretty easy to spot out.”
Fluxx: “Sledge is my favourite, Blitz is my least favourite.”

You are the balance team, if you had control over 1 patch, what would you change and why?

SyliX: “I really like the idea of removing flash and grenade indicators for defenders. They already have so much utility (Jager and Wamai) to deal with them. Attackers should be rewarded for well-placed throws because at the moment it’s so easy to turn from flashes.”
Fluxx: “Competitive Siege would greatly benefit if we had a ‘promod’ version of the game. This would make everything more consistent and competitive – from game balancing to visual effects, uniforms.”

What are your thoughts on the Bank/Theme Park swap in the map pool?

SyliX: “I always welcome changes to the map pool since it adds more diversity and forces teams to create new strategies. The choice to remove Bank instead of Border might be a bit questionable though since Bank is much more balanced in comparison.”
Fluxx: “I wasn’t a huge fan of taking Bank out instead of certain other maps in the map pool, however we’ve managed fine without it. Theme Park’s been interesting to dig into.”

If you could go to a LAN anywhere in the world, where would you choose and why?

SyliX: “I’ve always wanted to attend a LAN event in Europe. The esports scene over there is just insane so the experience itself would be amazing.”
Fluxx: “I’d love to go to Europe or go back to Montreal again, the experience was just amazing.”

Give me some advice for someone who might be aspiring to be a coach in R6.

Fluxx: “First thing I’d tell any coach is to lay the foundation with your team and make sure you and your players have a goal set, and you hold each other accountable to it. You should always try to stay focused on that goal so you don’t get complacent as a team.”

What goals do you have in R6 for 2020?

SyliX: “Hard to know what is going to happen in 2020. We only officially have Six Masters at the moment so I’d really like to see the team win the tournament.”
Fluxx: “I really want to make more international events, especially the next Invitational.”

Favorite thing about being with Wildcard? 

SyliX: “My favourite thing about Wildcard is that the staff are nice and genuine people. That’s really important to me.”
Fluxx: “The support and trust they put in us.”

About Wildcard Gaming
Wildcard Gaming is a leading Esports brand aiming to to stabilize the uncertainty involved with the Esports industry. Wildcard has professional rosters in a variety of titles including PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege, World of Warcraft, and Brawlhalla. Welcome to the elite- Wildcard is here to dominate Esports at a Global Level. Join us, be a part of our family. #stackthedeck