Fall Split starts off with a strong opening for the members of Luminosity Gaming. Opening up with a 1-1 split against SoaR G2A, the team has shown that even after some roster changes they are still a very competitive team looking to take the top spot this split. Because of their great performance, I decided to do an interview with the new Middle Laner for Luminosity Gaming, XenoTronics.

XenoTronics has quite a strong record in his SMITE career despite this being his first Season playing in the Pro League. The experienced Challenger Cup player found his way onto Denial Esport’s roster during relegations as ADC. He would remain on Denial, changing to Middle, for the rest of the Spring Split. After a good spring split with Denial, XenoTronics found himself and his teammate, Masked, without a team. The pair were quickly picked up by Luminosity, who had recently also lost their Middle and Jungle. Now they go on with the rest of Luminosity to show that they are still a strong team and a force to be reckoned with.

All this in mind, I decided to ask Xeno some questions about his new team and his motivations in his SMITE career.

How long have you been playing SMITE?

XenoTronics: I’ve been playing smite since the Janus patch.

What made you want to start playing SMITE competitively?

XenoTronics: The main reason why I wanted to start playing smite competitively was probably when I watched the first worlds event. Seeing all the players sitting on a stage not even 20ft away from their opponent looked like the coolest thing to me.

To follow up on that question, how does it feel to be on a team with the same players that inspired you to play professionally?

XenoTronics: It’s like a dream come true. At first I was a little nervous because in the back of my mind I was thinking, “Wow, these people won worlds, how could I compare?”

You used to play for Risky Behavior prior to your time in the SPL, how is the atmosphere in the SMITE Pro League different from that of the Challenger’s Cup?

XenoTronics: The biggest difference would probably be the shot calling. While I was on Risky we were all mechanically good enough to be in the SPL, but we didn't have the game knowledge or experience to know when and how to force things.

Now that you have been playing with Luminosity for some time, how does the team’s atmosphere compare to that of Denial’s?

XenoTronics: The team environment was a lot more serious on Denial. I’m not saying that we don’t take things seriously on LG, but I just feel like I can be more of my goofball self.

Masked and yourself both left Denial to go on and join Luminosity, did having Masked with you help make the transition into the new team any easier?

XenoTronics: Unfortunately, we [Masked and I] wound up having differences with the rest of Denial and were kicked, but fortunately moving to LG with a jungler I had great synergy with made the transition very easy.

The dynamic between Mid and Jungle is very important, especially at higher level play, do you and Masked ever criticize one another to help improve at your respective roles?

XenoTronics: Yes, criticizing one another helps to improve as a player and as a team.

Do you feel like the meta in the Mid lane is in a healthy state right now? Is there anything that you would like to see changed?

XenoTronics: Yes, I think the mid meta is healthy right now. The only thing I would change about it is the viability of more mages.

Many players want to get better at playing SMITE, but don’t always catch their own mistakes, what are some mistakes that you see many less experienced Mid players make?

XenoTronics: The biggest mistakes I see mid players make are their active use and positioning. As a mid laner, your main job is to follow up off your team’s CC/damage and a lot for the time I see mid laners trying to make plays by themselves which results in them dying to the jungle.

Do you have any advice to help players become better than the average Mid laner?

XenoTronics: I wouldn’t know because I am the average mid laner, but in all seriousness the best way to improve is to play ranked and be dedicated. Look for a team that you can grow with and improve each other (while still grinding to Grandmasters).

It was great to have you for this interview Xeno; do you have any final thoughts or anything that you would like to say?

XenoTronics: When I saw the first worlds event I was in gold and I joined my first team. After that I joined multiple teams until I eventually made it to grandmasters and tried out for the Cog Convention. After I got on the CoGCC team we placed 4th and disbanded right after. I then joined a team with FaymousHate, Wubbn, Skeeledon and Venenu. We placed 2nd in CC then right before relegations I got offered a spot on Denial. The moral of the story is don’t be shy about what team you join no matter the caliber, as long as you are improving along the way.

I want to thank XenoTronics for joining me for this interview. You can catch him and the rest of Luminosity Gaming play in the SMITE Pro League every Thursday and Sunday during the Fall Split on www.twitch.tv/hireztv. You can find Xeno on his twitter at @XenoTronics or on his Twitch stream at www.twitch.tv/xenotronics. If you want to learn more about Xeno’s team you can check out Luminosity Gaming at @Luminosity. Also be sure to follow @SanguineEsports for more articles like this one and all updates about Sanguine.