As of today, the Susquehanna Soniqs are excited to announce its newly acquired VALORANT roster. The Soniqs have brought the reigning champions from the Oceanic region to North America to compete in the 2021 VALORANT Champions Tour. The team consists of five Australian players, Bob “Bob” Tran, Ethan “Crunchy” Laker, Kyran “dizzyLife” Crombie, Chris “pl1xx” Li, and Iyengaran “IyeN” Raju.

This roster will take full advantage of our new monitor partner, ViewSonic. Our players need to get the most out of their machines. Every ounce of performance counts, and thanks to ViewSonic we no longer have to worry about whether our team has the most reliable and high-quality monitors. ViewSonic esports displays offer the high-performance features esports athletes need for satisfying gameplay and competitive advantage.

ViewSonic offers a diverse esports product line, with a range of available price points across a line of displays ranging from 24- to 35-inches. Low, mid and high-end feature sets provide options for value-minded at-home practice rigs, team practice facilities of all sizes, and professional-level competitive equipment, all of which ensure a satisfying user experience.

After Riot Games — the developer of VALORANT — announced a fully supported esports track for 2021, the Soniqs felt there was no better time to enter the new esport. This year, VALORANT esports will consist of the VALORANT Challengers Tournament, VALORANT Masters Events, and the prestigious VALORANT Championship; which are all a part of the VALORANT Champions Tour.

This roster has already proven themselves as a force to be reckoned with as seen in their championship titles. Already, the team has competed in and won First Strike Oceania, LPL 2020 Spring Cup – Challenger, and Rise of Valour tournaments. The Soniqs foresee this team making a memorable entrance in the North American competitive scene given their past success.

Let’s take a moment to introduce you to our players!

Iyengaran “IyeN” Raju – IyeN, who comes from Melbourne Australia, became interested in esports through Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and 4. IyeN has been in the competitive gaming scene since 2014 and made the switch from Counter-Strike: Global Offensive to VALORANT last year. He only began playing VALORANT due to the lockdown caused by covid and now acts as the IGL and team captain.

Bob “Bob” Tran – Bob, who lived in Adelaide Australia, began his gaming career by playing Team Fortress 2. Eventually, he found an opportunity to move into Counter-Strike: Global Offensive which led him to where he is currently in VALORANT. Bob made the swap over to VALORANT last year.

Ethan “Crunchy” Laker – Crunchy grew up in Melbourne Australia and his competitive gaming origins, much like his teammates, are traced back to Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. However, Crunchy only began playing the game because one of his friends got him interested in Frag Movies, which are a highly edited series of clips that are pieced together as a montage. Crunchy joined the VALORANT team in the middle of last year.

Kyran “dizzyLife” Crombie – DizzyLife spent his early years living in Tasmania Australia. He found a love for competitive gaming after injuring himself while playing basketball. During his recovery phase, he spent his time playing video games and has been ever since. Once he recovered, he was so good that he became a competitive Counter-Strike: Global Offensive player and last year moved on to playing competitive VALORANT.

Chris “pl1xx” Li – Pl1xx, much like IyeN and Crunchy, hails from the land of Melbourne Australia. His interest in gaming began through playing Counter-Strike: Source. In Counter-Strike he mainly played on Bhop — or bunny hopping — and Surf servers. These servers serve as mini-games in the Counter-Strike community. He then moved on to play competitively in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. He didn’t find the game particularly fulfilling so he decided to move onto VALORANT last year.

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Susquehanna Soniqs has always had the mission of bringing esports to the East Coast and this new VALORANT roster is one more step in that direction for the organization.  Expect to see them live in-game soon, as they will be competing in the upcoming VALORANT Champions Tour.

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