Thailand-Singapore-The World: Team Synarchy

Thailand-Singapore-The World: Team Synarchy

Sandwiched in-between Myanmar and Vietnam, Thailand has long been the preferred destination for stress releasing kickbacks and exotic recreation. However of late, the Land of a Thousand Smiles has also become somewhat of a training ground for professional gaming outfits. Playing host to a slew of big names and would be eSports athletes in the years passed, Thai training camps have become something of a catalyst in building a solid career in the competitive gaming industry of South East Asia. It wouldn’t have come off as much of a surprise then when newly formed Battlefield 3 team, Synarchy, put forth plans in May to have their members participate in a similar training stint.

“It was indeed one of the most grueling experiences both physically and mentally that I have experienced,” exclaimed Mark “Visco” (seen in picture, furthest right), the team’s vice captain, who likened the experience to a real military exercise. “[I] would say it’s almost like revisiting military training. It’s a short boot camp but it brought the team together and reshaped our in-game communications and performance.”

Seeing that the team was only five months old when the idea of the boot camp was pitched to them, Mark remarked that the primary goal of the trip was to get the team together for some quality bonding time. Coined “Operation Thailand”, the team, a merger of a select few from team BADASS and Vantage, considered themselves very lucky to have taken up residence at luxurious Illuminary Entertainment beach villa.

“The decision to fly over Thailand for a cohesion plus boot camp was inspired by our manager. However, not all of our members are able to travel due to school or work commitments so 5 of our members traveled from our countries and meet up at Thailand,” mentioned Visco, “it’s our first time visit to Thailand so we were extremely excited and pumped up!”

Going on to describe the first three days of the boot camp as the most enjoyable, Mark added, “Knowing each other likes and tough times gave us a deeper understanding of our partners. These bonding sessions made me feel like my teammates were my brothers.”

Coming together as complete strangers prior to the formation of the outfit, the team members’ only means of communication came though the Teamspeak platform. “We chat about anything and laugh together. It took us about a month to finalize our team name, setup Facebook page and stream. We’re lucky that Check (Team Manager) lent us a helping hand on our logo,” said the vice skipper of earlier days, noting that the anonymity between the five led them to describe one another as “faceless” individuals.

“In April we had our first meet up among the Singapore members and the Teamspeak icons with voices now have faces,” he nostalgically recalled, “ever since, we’ve been looking forward to meeting all the teammates in Singapore. Though we didn’t quite make that in Thailand, we did so at the Swedish Game Fest.”

In what was the week following their return to Singapore, Team Synarchy had to endure their baptism of fire—putting their newfound skills and team play dynamics to the test when they came up against fierce competition in the form of [Bf.Nut] at the Swedish Game Festival. Putting up a valiant effort, their honeymoon run came to a screeching halt after they were beaten to the crown by their fellow professionals. Mark however, was not dismayed by the outcome, asserting that his team took away more positives than negatives.

“We’re happy to be able to meet other fellow Battlefield players on the event and expand our network. We’re actually even more hyped up after this lost when we did our debriefing as we had realized the many little flaws we have to fix both in-game and handing a competition.”

Whereas the SGF was a test of mettle and proof of potential, the real game changer was still very much the Thai boot camp. Laying a strong foundation on which to build on; learning the playstyles of one another, honing their abilities to match the skill sets and preferences of the other will prove invaluable and key to the future successes of the team.

Acknowledging that was Mark who was quick to thank and applaud the efforts of those who have overseen and supported the team through this early phase.

“I would like to firstly thank our Sponsors Illuminary Entertainment and Quirky Tees for believing and supporting Synarchy. Without their faith and support, Operation Thailand wouldn’t have materialized. Special thanks to Check for the guidance and valuable insights on training methods and what’s e-sports like out of our country. Also our manager, Picha who showered us with all his support and unwavering faith. Our team captain, Daniel for enforcing rules and to all my teammates for we dream and suffer together. Last but not least, our friends from our Facebook page, team LOFR and NEFO for giving us their support and cheers!”

For more information on Synarchy head on over to their official Facebook fanpage at https://www.facebook.com/Synarchy.Battlefield. If you’re interested at catching the team in action on stream be sure to follow them at their Twitch channel at http://www.twitch.tv/synarchy_battlefield