An Interview with Cognitive Red's support player, Eonic

Sinjin "Eonic" Thorpe is the support player for Cognitive Red, North America's first seed coming out of the North American Regional Tournament moving into the Smite World Championship. Eonic is known as being one of the best support players in the scene as well as currently among the youngest competitive players in Smite. After working his way to the top through various teams and long hours of practice Eonic now finds himself on one of the best teams Smite eSports has ever seen with players from all around the world looking to compete with him.

I was lucky enough to sit down with Eonic and interview him about both the North American Regional Tournament and the Smite World Championship, as well as game balance state and his own thoughts. Make sure to keep an eye out for Eonic in the Smite World Championship on January 9th-11th of 2015.

You recently won the North American Regional tournament and secured first seed for North America moving into the Smite Worlds Tournament, how did you feel after winning the final game against your sister team Cognitive Prime to take home the victory?

Eonic: Relieved, and excited. The extra paycheck was nice, but I was mostly just thinking about Worlds and that both of our teams made it. I can't wait to represent North America and COG at the SWC.

How much practice did you and the rest of Cognitive Red put into the game prior to the North American Regional tournament, and how do you feel that practice gave you an advantage over the rest of the teams?

Eonic: We definitely practiced a lot leading up to the Regionals. Also, another big factor that many people don't consider is the quality of practice we get playing against Prime. I couldn't ask for better scrim partners than Cognitive Prime, both teams push each other to improve. Being able to exclusively scrim with each other is a huge asset.

Cognitive Red has been together for a while now and has had extremely strong showings at the previous few tournaments, how do you think the team is growing as you guys spend more time together?

Eonic: We just love hanging out together as a team. I think being comfortable with your teammates is a very important dynamic to have in order to be successful. Before we were together as a team we hadn't really seen too much success as individual players, but we found the right fit with the right team. We're always improving in both individual skill and as a team.

For the first time in Smite history, we will be seeing teams from more than just two regions at the upcoming Smite Worlds tournament. How are you preparing for this, and are you intimidated by any of the unknown factors coming out of the newer regions?

Eonic: We'll probably watch VODs of the LATAM, Brazil and Chinese regionals. While it's important to take all teams seriously, I think it's safe to say that we're not intimidated by the newer regions. We consider COG Prime to be our biggest threat, followed by the european teams.

As a top-tier support player, what support gods do you currently feel are the strongest in the meta and why?

Eonic: Sylvanus, Geb and Athena are all extremely strong. Sylvanus provides a ton of early-game pressure with his ranged autos and his heal, and transitions into mid-game nicely with his AOE knockup. You can also make a lot of plays with his hook, which is one of the hardest skillshots to land in the game. Geb provides a ton of peel with his shield at all stages in the game, and his ult is amazing for teamfights. He also has fast rotations with his rollout. Athena is great for her global presence, as well as being able to peel/initiate effectively with her taunt.

Are there any gods that currently aren’t in the meta that you wish were stronger so you could play them in competitive games?

Eonic: Sobek isn't really "in the meta", but I play him since I think he's a great counter to Assasins, as well as built-in healing reduction in his kit. I think he could use a slight buff to his passive as well as his ult and he'd be very strong.

Outside of Cognitive Red, are there any teams or players in specific that inspire you to become better at the game?

Eonic: When I first decided I wanted to play competitively, Lassiz and Allied were duo lane partners for ROOT Gaming. They inspired me to get better at the game. Nowadays, scrimming every day against Jeff is what inspires me to be on top and to constantly strive to be the best.

For players aspiring to become a top-tier competitive player such as yourself, what sort of advice would you offer them?

Eonic: My advice would be to watch streamers who play the role you want to play. Try and look for ways that you can improve. Right now, the only way to get noticed in the competitive scene is to play ranked, and hope some established players notice you. If you consistently perform, you'll be noticed and top players will keep you in mind when they're forming teams/looking to replace players.

Throughout the entirety of the Smite Pro League and the North American Regionals, what was your favorite moment and why?

Eonic: My favorite moment would probably be the game against Cognitive Prime in Week 3. I thought I played extremely well that game and I ended up winning player of the week.

Finally, we have seen some slight meta shifts and high tier god releases such as Sylvanus recently, would you like to see any more potentially game changing additions to Smite between now and Worlds?

Eonic: I think the game is in a good state right now. I'd like to see Sylvanus and Serqet nerfed, but other than that I don't think anything game changing is necessary before worlds.

Thank you very much for taking time to do this interview with me, and I wish you and all of Cognitive Red the best of luck moving into the Smite Worlds tournament and the future of Smite eSports as a whole. Do you have any shout outs or any final comments to add on?

Eonic: Thank you! I'd like to shout out my team, Snoopy, DaGarz, Divios and Boosh, my manager Mattypocket, and COG Owner David Fry. I'd also like to give shoutouts to my friends Jigz aka Jigzlypuff and Bobgoalie aka Ichvail.

Follow Eonic at @Cog_Eonic or find him streaming on twitch. Thanks for reading!