Sinister5, a leading South African Multi-Gaming Organization (MGO), have announced the addition of a new FIFA player to their ranks. The addition of a new player won’t come as much of a shock to most in the FIFA community. This is because Sinister5 recently parted ways with Ryan “Azi” De Oliveira Bastos, who joined Pirates about two months ago. Azi was a fairly high-profile player for Sin5, having represented South Africa at the 2019 FIFA eNations Cup in the UK. Understandably, those are going to be some pretty big shoes to fill.
Enter Daniel “DOX” Osemudiame, a 28 year old FIFA player from Nigeria. He’s been playing competitively since 2015, and has already racked up a few accolades in his home country so far. Apparently the pickup also means that DOX is moving to South Africa, with an eye on competing in local tournaments. This is a story that should resonate with local esports fans because we tend to vigorously support our best teams and players in their adventures overseas. DOX won’t be alone in his quest to win big, because he’ll be joining current Sin5 FIFA player, Ziyadh “Ziggy” Cassim.
To understand a little more about this exciting move, Chris House of Esports Central spoke with DOX and Sinister5 owner Ivaylo Tzanev.
CH: How long have you been playing esports titles competitively?
DO: I’ve been playing competitively since 2015. It all actually started after I watched August “Agge” Rosenmeier win the FIFA Interactive World Cup in 2014.
CH: Can you tell us about any of your recent tournament achievements?
DO: Well to date my biggest achievement was the fact that I went pretty far in the online qualifiers for the ESWC PGW FIFA18 Challenge held in France in 2017. I was the only African to qualify for the online tournament and I managed to make it as far as the round of 32 – with over 3,000 total entries. I’ve also won various tournaments hosted in Nigeria, including the LGAfrica and Gidi Fest Gaming Tournaments.
CH: How often do you train/practice? Who do you practice with/against?
DO: I train for a minimum of 16 hours per day online and also with my friends at home.
CH: Why did you decide to join Sinister5?
DO: There are so many reasons for joining Sinister5. They are one of the top 5 teams in South Africa. With them I will be able to show my true potential and also get to the next level of my gaming career. Another big reason is the passion the team have. I’m talking about the fighting spirit I see in them when playing CS:GO and Dota2 (the comebacks)!
CH: What attracted you to an organization outside your home country?
DO: The fact they are consistent in always making the top 5 in South Africa. They also once had a player who represented South Africa in the eNations Cup. I will be proud to say I’m playing for a team that once had the first ever player to represent South Africa on a global level in FIFA.
CH: Apparently you’re moving to South Africa to compete in local esports tournaments. Why are you making such a big change?
DO: South Africa has the biggest and fastest growing esports scene in Africa. EA servers are available in South Africa. Internet connectivity is also great in terms of upload and download speed, which will enable me to stream. Most importantly, I will be able to compete on my preferred console. We have never had an XBOX hosted tournament in Nigeria.
CH: What are your future goals?
DO: To become a gaming brand like Ninja and Dr DisRespect. I also want to help Africans see the light in gaming.
CH: Anything you want to add here that I haven’t covered?
DO: I want to bring the X Factor to South Africa and do the impossible.
Q&A with Sinister5 Owner Ivaylo Tzanev
CH: What made DOX stand out as a player that you wanted to bring into Sinister5?
IT: Daniel’s vision and attitude aligns with with those of Sinister5. Apart from that, he is very skillful and has the potential to achieve greatness.
CH: Why pick up a player from outside South Africa?
IT: The fact that Daniel comes from Nigeria brings extra benefits with it, one of which is further exposure to the African esports community. However, we believe that we have discovered a gem and that is the main reason for bringing him to Sinister5. He boasts a lethal combination of skill, character, insane motivation and his sights sit very firmly on the goal to be the best.
CH: You recently parted ways with Azi, who joined Pirates. What happened there?
IT: Azi decided to continue his career under Orlando Pirates. We wish him success and are grateful for his contributions to our organization.
CH: Sinister5 currently has CS:GO, Dota2, PUBG, and FIFA players. Any intention on growing that roster to include any other titles?
IT: Yes. We have some plans to grow the number of titles we compete in. One of those will be announced in the very short term. And yes, we would like to grow the roster further. However, we would do that cautiously and over a long period of time in order to not lose our focus, which is winning tournaments in the titles we already compete in.
CH: Sinister5 has been very competitive across multiple titles in 2019. Any top secret plans for 2020 you want to tell us about? Any goals your teams are looking to achieve?
IT: We are fortunate to be a part of a very dynamic, competitive and unpredictable scene currently. That ultimately creates spectator value, which is what we are most happy about. Our competitors are only getting stronger though and we need to constantly improve. As for top secret plans… Daniel is the first top secret weapon, which you are getting to know about now. There are some more plans in the pipeline, but for now they remain top secret!
What a great interview! Thank you both for your time!
Source: Esports Central
