With the two teams per organization rule strictly enforced in the Vainglory League this season, squads like Mutiny and Excrucio removed any guild affiliation from their title before going into the qualifiers. Excrucio had just formed under the umbrella of Nemesis at the start of Spring Season, but their solo effort helped them achieve 3rd seed for Live Championships. When they step onto that stage it won’t be as wild ronin without a home, it was be under the banner of Team Phoenix as Reign.

The team has a young roster with the following members:

GankStars phenom, Oldskool

Alliance veteran, iLoveJoseph

GankStars Polaris member, Ezadox

What’s more, these all star talents are loaded with experience and only 15, 13 and 14 years old respectively! That does lead me to question who is going to drive the party bus should they win.

I had the opportunity to talk with President of Team Phoenix, ClosetNerd, to get the low down.

How did this team come to join Phoenix?

It all starts with a feel-good, sports movie-type storyline. God0fSins (Lane), Scogent (Roam) and StartingAllOver (Jungle) have been playing together for three straight VGLs. Each qualifier they improved and advanced further than the previous bracket, but always fell just short of qualifying for the Live Championship. With lots of practice and preparation, Phoenix Reborn qualified for the Live Championship in God0fSins’ and Scogent’s last season! God0fSins and Scogents, who are seniors in high school, let us know at the start of the season that the Spring VGL Season would be their last season competing, since they were joining the military after graduating high school. Ever since then, we’ve been searching for the perfect team and the right fit to join Team Phoenix.

I got in touch with the members of Phoenix Reign through what was ostensibly a joke message from Hardek on BAND chat. I mentioned that we were interested in picking up a top team to support, and he told us that the members of Excrucio were looking to join a top organization. We engaged in talks with the team, and a few weeks later, we came to an agreement.

As you can only have two teams in VGL, does this mean Reign is replacing Rising?

Yes, Rising has been disbanded. In the summer season, we will have two teams: Reign and Reborn.

Does Team Phoenix handle practice and preparation differently from what these new players are used to?

Phoenix Reign members are already accustomed to a rigorous practice schedule. However, they will now have access to our team of coaches, analysts and other resources to make them as successful as possible.

You’re also welcoming Nemesis alum Stussy to Phoenix. What part will he play?

Stussy will be joining Phoenix’s management team. Stussy, although still young, is one of the most experienced managers in the competitive scene. He’s simply a great, relentless recruiter. He’s very mature and has a great understanding of how to manage top talent.

Your competitive and community participation has been on a non-stop climb, how do you want Team Phoenix to be viewed by the Vainglory Community?

We love the community. Many of us are lifelong gamers, and have been parts of many gaming communities. The Vainglory community is definitely special and we are excited to be a part of it. We want to be viewed as the best professional organization in Vainglory, but we also know that all great organizations take time to build. We’ve made great strides in a very short period of time, and we want to continue being a leader while contributing positively to our awesome community.

Has the growth of Team Phoenix been difficult at all to manage?

I certainly can’t say it’s been easy running Team Phoenix – it’s a huge time commitment – but watching our progress and success has been very rewarding and fulfilling thus far. We’ve been so lucky to have built such a strong leadership team at Team Phoenix. We have an amazing staff of leadership, designers, coaches, analysts and players that are so hardworking and dedicated to making Phoenix the strongest organization in Vainglory.

We also have two of the most supportive partners in the eSports scene today in Mobcrush and BAND. Both Mobcrush and BAND have been instrumental in our rapid growth as an organization. Their trust in our abilities, and commitment to our organization is one of the biggest reasons we are where we are today.

Anything you want to say to the other top organizations?

We’re honored to be a part of such a competitive eSports scene. We have the utmost respect for all the other top teams and organizations in Vainglory – the intense but healthy competition really drives us to be better.

Most importantly, if you could be best friends with any hero of the Fold, who would it be and what would you do together?

1.3 Vox. I’m an OP hard-carry IRL, so we’d get along well.

Thank you again to ClosetNerd for giving this interview and congratulations to Team Phoenix Reign! Phoenix is also proudly represented by Reborn, who have achieved the 8th seed for the Championships. Best of luck to them and all teams competing in the Spring Season Live Championships. Check out the Team Phoenix website for more information on what this organization is cooking up.