Ainslie 'frommaplestreet' Wyllie...you may know him from Velocity e-sports in the last split of LCS or you may know him from his brother, Brian "TheOddOne" Wyllie, the jungler for Team Solomid. The former LCS marksman has found a new team called Team8 who took second place in the most recent NA Challenger Series, dropping the games to LMQ.

I spoke to frommaplestreet, recently changed to fromLOMOstreet, about his family life, his relationship with his brother, and what the future may hold for him and Team8.

What first got you into League?

frommaplestreet: I hadn't realized my brother played the game professionally until he left the house to attend Season 1 championships. I didn't have a computer that could play league so I was playing dota until mid season 2 when I finally started playing league with my school laptop. I had no prejudices against league or any other game so I thought I'd just try it out. I remember the first week I played Graves was free and I spammed him because he was so easy! League was just a way for me to pass time but eventually I watched tournament games of Moscow 5 and Azubu Blaze and thought that I wanted to go to worlds and play against them. I was gold after Azubu Blaze won summer arena and a month later I hit 2600 elo and the rest is history.

Who are your favorite champions to play in SoloQ?

frommaplestreet: I like being in control of my game so I rarely resort to champions that have weak laning phases. Lucian is one of my favorites as he has skill matchups against each lane and he has high kill potential post level 6. Draven was my main for the longest time because I knew he was blatantly overpowered and it's always fun to play the 'hipster' champions and crush nonbelievers. Besides that I have a ton of fun on Brand and I tend to play him in every lane he also falls under the hipster category.

What did your family think when both you and your brother decided to go into professional gaming?

frommaplestreet: My family doesn't particularly support going pro but they understand that Brian is earning a good living off the game so in a way they're "happy for him". They expect the same from me so I'm rather embarrassed that I haven't achieved a reliable source of income. They think it's really easy to get sponsors but in the challenger scene it doesn't seem like anyone would fund a team to have a basic standard of living. They are rather out of touch with the whole game and don't think I can make it.

What is your relationship like with your brother?

frommaplestreet: My relationship with Brian [TheOddOne] is perfectly normal, we don't talk too often but that's mostly due to how our household was when growing up. I consider us to be close though.

What do you think are the biggest mistakes that people in lower divisions make?

frommaplestreet: The mistakes lower elo players make are everywhere. Every part of their play is generally lacking something, since the average player is young they generally play instinctively queuing game after game. However taking a step back reveals that league is mostly a game of information. Knowing how to build and how to play the role (not buying damage items on every role is a start) and basically everything in general whether its not knowing what each champion has in their kit or diving turrets recklessly bronze players play at the minimum effort level. It very slowly increases in effort level as you rank up but honestly just reading up what each champion does and their skills on the wikia would probably improve the overall skill level of league dramatically more so than thousands of games of soloq.

After taking second in the NA Challenger League Season 2, what is the next step for you and Team8?

frommaplestreet: Just finish a few tournaments and in August Calitrlolz will start school so he'll quit the team but that's still a bit of time away! We're uncertain about our future.

What is your opinion on the state of Miss Fortune and Graves in patch 4.5?

frommaplestreet: Graves has a good matchup against lucian and goes relatively even against all lanes, he's still really bad if he falls behind or goes even in the late game. The buffs help but it wasn't too significant hes still slightly out of the metagame. MF [Miss Fortune] just got fixed of her mana issues I don't think the W + R change made her any better for the early game which is where she needs to shine IMO. Her ult does more damage late but she has okay pushing and could work in the meta since she doesn't require too much farm to be useful.

If you could give one piece of advice to lower elo players, what would it be?

frommaplestreet: Just look to improve your own play because if you play above the level of your division you will guaranteed advance in divisions with enough games. Being unlucky doesn't matter if you just keep at it the luck will 100% balance out. Good luck summoners!