8Sins are back up to full strength, after replacing Michael John “Prime” Fury with Antal “Cher1on” Lubbers.
Since forming last year, the 8Sins squad have emerged as the clearest challengers to the current domestic number 1, Tom “arTisT” Clarke’s NXT squad. Narrow defeats at EPIC.LAN 44 and UKIC League Season 5 Grand Final mean they have yet to beat their rivals when it mattered, and they lost again in the semi-finals of UKIC League Season 6, with both teams on the same side of the draw.
Prime in the EPIC.LAN 44 Final
Alongside their success domestically, 8Sins in 2025 have been one of two teams competing in European competitions, with the other being NXT.
8Sins qualified for a VRS ranking after their Grand Final run at EPIC.LAN 44 and a change in the rule book. Previously, a team were only eligible after they played 10 VRS-ranked games – which was tricky for UK teams to accomplish. Earlier in the year, this was reduced to 5, meaning 8Sins gained a ranking from games at EPIC.LAN 43, UKIC Season 4 Division 1 Playoffs and EPIC.LAN 44.
It would take two months for 8Sins to make their European debut in the CCT Season 3 European Series #2 Play-In, where they would lose twice to SABRE. They also played in the Winline Insight Season 7 Closed Qualifier, but would meet the same fate as after beating Eco Warriors, they would fall short against EYEBALLERS and Copenhagen Wolves.
Because of their shortcomings, 8Sins would fall out of the threshold of being invited to these Tier-2 tournaments, though still maintaining a VRS rank. 8Sins’ year so far can be defined as close, but no cigar – something that was summed up perfectly when they failed to qualify for ESEA Advanced Season 54, after being one game away.
Prime was key in these runs, even being named the EPIC.LAN 44 MVP despite ending up on the losing side. That left 8Sins needing a strong replacement.
His replacement is Dutch, but will be familiar to UK fans. Cher1on has played for The Last Resort and ANTARCTICA, with a best finish of top 4 at EPIC.LAN 42, plus two play-off appearances in UKIC. He’s also set to play with the Netherlands at the IESF European Championships, alongside fellow UKCS alumni Dion “FASHR” Derken and Joey “CRUC1AL” Steusel, plus current NXT rifler Jacob “rezst” Hemming
Cher1on at EPIC.LAN 44 with ANTARCTICA
8Sins with Cher1on are already off to the races, as alongside NXT were the first two teams to qualify for the UKIC Season 7 Masters, which will now have VRS status. This could end up being very important for 8Sins as they will be aiming towards participating in European Tier-2 events once again.
The British organisation will also be competing at EPIC.LAN 45, but will have a lot more than just NXT to contend against. International squads ECSTATIC, Preasy, WildLotus, Alliance, Inner Circle, and Glitchtech have all confirmed their attendance for the BYOC LAN.
8Sins are now:
Daniel “moz” Gelder
Will “wfn” Maskrey
Andrew “Wolfie” Allan
John “Dutchy” Holland
Antan “Cher1on” Lubbers
We’ve had Dutchy running the show for a while…
Figured it was time we signed an actual Dutchman. 🇳🇱Say hello to @Cher1onCS, the firepower just levelled up. 💥#8SINSONFIRE pic.twitter.com/Lhc01PAtlr
— 8SINS (@8sinsesports) June 29, 2025
