Roster changes happen in esports quite often, one might even say: too rapidly. Rocket League is no exception. Even on the highest level teams change team mates on a quite regular basis. This might be a symptom of missing professional structures or the Wild West times esports is currently going through.

However, there are a couple of players that have been playing together for a while. The longest-standing duo in the Rocket League scene are Tinny and Cheerio from Endpoint, one of the most successful RLRS teams from EU. Jamie “Tinny” Spakes from Wales and Daniel “Cheerio” Björklung from Sweden have played together for more than 600 days, according to the RL news source Octane.gg.

We talked with Tinny about the long-lasting companionship between him and Cheerio as well as their current roster changes. At the start of 2018 their third teammate Shakahron left Endpoint, rendering Endpoint unable to compete at Dreamhack Leipzig.

“We are looking for someone who can keep up with the competition”

Tinny, you guys are currently looking for a third team member as Shakahron has left the team. Why did you part ways?

We were incredibly successful with Shakahron. However we had two very different visions for how we wanted the team to operate. We tried to make it work but couldn’t reconcile our differences which led to demotivation and lack of practice. In the end Shakahron made the decision to leave.

In how far was Shakahron leaving Endpoint also a deciding factor in you not participating at Dreamhack Leipzig?

That was a major factor. I made the decision not to play Dreamhack after the news as I felt the experience wouldn’t be as useful without a full member.

Was it for you an option to sub for some team for Dreamhack Leipzig?

I wasn’t approached by any team and I would have declined if I was. We’re currently searching for a new third member and I want to focus my attention on that.

You and Cheerio are according to Octane.gg the longest-playing Rocket League duo in the pro scene. Tell us a bit about how you met Cheerio and how the two of you became team mates.

I love telling this story! I was playing a 1v1 tournament and played Cheerio in the final. I won 3-1, but about a week later I ran into him in ranked 1v1 and he beat me 5 times in a row, after which I added him on steam. Once RLCS was announced I left my team to make a team of my own that I believed had the ability to make the group stage. Cheerio, Kileak and Deevo were the teammates I chose.

“Cheerio is great at shooting and generally being a nuisance to the other team”

What kind of player is Cheerio, what is in your opinion his biggest strength and what his biggest weakness?

Cheerio is an offensive player who is in his element when he can do what he wants. He is great at shooting and generally being a nuisance to the other team. His weakness can be tunnel vision sometimes.

You guys have played together for more than 600 days. What is the secret to such a longstanding mutual commitment?

When it comes to Rocket League we’re mostly on the same page. We think rather long-term and try not to let a few losses get us down. We try to talk through things instead of letting them fester and our playstyles complement each other. We also get along well outside of the game which I’d say is also very important.

In how far would you say that such a long-time partnership is beneficial to your team chemistry?

When we first teamed up half the mechanics used today weren’t used back then, and the game has changed so much. Our in-game synergy isn’t necessarily much greater than anyone else’s, however our communication and mentality have come a long way since we first became teammates. I’d say it is beneficial but perhaps not to the extent people might assume.

Has there ever been a moment where you guys have been close to disbanding as team mates?

There have been times for both of us where we were playing a couple of tournaments with other teams, but it did nothing but confirm that we’d rather stay as a team.

“I’d find it very hard to find the motivation to play with people who I couldn’t consider friends”

Being together on an esports team with someone for such a long time: In how far does something like that evolve into a real friendship?

Cheerio and I are good friends, we play a lot of other games together when we’re not playing Rocket League. We also lived together with Shakahron for six months which was really fun. I’d find it very hard to find the motivation to play with people who I couldn’t consider friends.

You’re currently looking for a third team mate. How is the search for a new player going? What kind of player do you guys look for?

The main thing we are looking for is somebody who has the same beliefs in terms of how a team should operate and how to improve together. With RLRS fast approaching we also have to make sure whoever we pick is going to be able to keep up with the competition, which includes Team Secret. We’ve narrowed down our options a lot so I don’t think finding a teammate will take much longer.

If anyone is interested in joining me & @CheerioRL, feel free to DM me! We will be looking for someone to join us for RLRS + future tournaments 🙂

— Tinny (@TinnyRL) 4. Januar 2018

What are your goals for RLRS S5?

Our goal is to make top 2 – we narrowly missed out on that last time with a devastating 3-2 loss to The Juicy Kids. EU has so many good teams that it will be tough, but with the right third I believe we can do even better than last season.