I'm proud to officially announce Team Iris - The all New Zealand Starcraft2 team. Iris and its members have already participated in SEA/NZ events such as the SEA Clan league, The NZ Cup and other LAN events here in NZ.
We are most fortunate to receive backing by one of NZ's most prominent ISP's TelstraClear, and hope that we can continue to grow relationships with current and potential sponsors as we aim to make our move in the 2012 Starcraft2 scene.
Despite a small tight lineup, we hope that you will keep can eye out on what Iris can bring in 2012 and thank those who continue to watch and support us.
Please enjoy an introduction to the team for those who may not know our members already:
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Name: Matthew Tapurau
Handle: Navi
Location: Wellington, NZ
Race: Zerg
Being a major figurehead in Starcraft2 related e-sports in NZ, I've been involved with shoutcasting, as well as administration and organisation of SEA/NZ events, as well as offered consultation with other organisers on how to run their events here in NZ. One of my current major commitments in life is the managing and facilitation of Iris. From players, media and sponsors, I'm constantly working to help create a serious pro gaming team here in NZ. I'm very excited to see where Iris will go this year and if its going to be anything like what we've been through already (SEACL, 1st Team House in NZ) then its gonna be one hell of a ride!
Interesting fact - Navi's in house team name = 'Charity Zerg' due to the amount of stuff he does for free (e.g. Organisational work, aiding Iris players, giving free ladder points/drones/queens)
One of the players that needs no introduction, Hamish is an extremely talented Protoss player in Starcraft2. Previously a Wc3 pro in Srs, he's been around the e-sports scene for a long time and participated in major events. Currently studying film at Victoria University, Hamish currently resides in the team house and after reaching #1 NA GM previously, it will be interesting to see how far Hamish can go from being inactive due to unfortunate circumstances. He is also personally sponsored by Tt!
Interesting fact - Kowi is a DJ with his gear set up at the team house. His music tastes revolve around Drum and Bass.
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Name: Ben Macdonald
Handle: Crimson
Location: Wellington, NZ
Race: Zerg
Previously residing in Palmerston North, Ben is another member to make the commitment to the Iris venture. A mechanically strong Zerg player, Ben currently spends a huge amount of time laddering up as well as participating in as many NZ Sc2 events as possible. Also studying at Victoria University (Accounting & Tax), it will be interesting how the team environment will help Ben progress down the pro scene of Starcraft2.
Interesting fact - Ben's in house team name = 'Poverty Zerg' because he's always broke....That doesn't stop him from giving away free coaching lessons though!
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Name: Jamie Palmer
Handle: Another
Location: Wellington, NZ
Race: Protoss
Also previously residing in Palmerston North, Jamie and Ben went to the same high school and also made the trip to Wellington to attend Victoria University. There is not another Iris member (Except Ben...Must be the water at Palmerston North Boys High School) that can compete with how active Jamie is on the ladder. This perseverance has already been rewarded through high placings/wins at Local LAN and online events. With 2012 as a break off to focus on Starcraft2, there is no possible prediction on how far Jamie is going to go in the 2012 season.
Interesting fact - Jamie recently won season 2 of the NZ cup...But that wasn't enough for him so he decided to win an Auckland Sc2 tournament 2 days later o.o!
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Name: Jamie Wilson
Handle: Flaunt
Location: Christchurch, NZ
Race: Zerg
Jamie also probably needs no introduction in the SEA community, largely due to the amount of trolling he has done in the e-sports scene stemming back to the Wc3 days. Jamie currently resides outside of the team house but that doesn't stop him from playing with the Iris guys and on the ladder at an extremely high level. We hope that with our support, Jamie will proceed to manner up in the community and contribute towards the development of other Iris members with his extensive knowledge and solid play style.
Interesting fact - Jamie is actually known as 'Ricky' to Iris as punishment for losing 3 seperate Bo5's to the one and only Jamie (Palmer).
Greg is a very popular Protoss player located in Auckland. Participating in Local LAN events, he has played at some of the highest level here in NZ with his unique strategies and strong execution. Currently carrying out post graduate study for Geography at the University of Auckland, he is a very busy man but never fails to support Starcraft events here in NZ.
Interesting fact - Greg is the oldest member of Iris at 24 yrs...This is proven by his avid love for the only T.v. show he watches: Home & Away
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Name: Hyun-Jong Kim
Handle: Horizon
Location: Wellington, NZ
Race: Terran
As one of the youngest members as well as the only Terran player, Hyun cops most of the inhouse BM in Iris. Whilst enrolled for Law at Victoria University, Hyun also resides in the team house and is currently working on his game to get back up to scratch after his holiday (and trolling me with a cheerful at the GSL) in Korea. It will be interesting to see how far Iris can take Hyun as Terran's are extinct here in NZ.
Interesting fact - Hyun's father is amazingly awesome, providing Hyun with a book of SC:BW strategies when he was a kid (Talk about training them yougn!) as well as bringing the team house sushi
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Name: Mackenzie Smith
Handle: Petraeus
Location: Auckland, NZ
Race: Zerg
Mack is one of the most recent additions to the Iris family. Whilst being in wT, Mack has started to develop some of the essential skills required in high level Starcraft2, resulting in reaching a high GM ranking at 15 yrs of age. Still attending High School, Mack will have a lot of time to further develop his skills under the leadership of older Iris players. As it stands, with 2 2nd placings in the previous weekend, there is no telling how far Mack is going to go in the 2012 season.
Interesting fact - Although appearing ridiculously shy in person, Mack and Jamie still need to do the eagerly awaited MC WIGGLE WIGGLE WIGGLE dance off! Hopefully this will happen next time they meet!
I doubt there is anyone here on Sc2Sea that doesn't know Alicia - From her insane BM, her tantalizing blogs on people like Maynarde, Minimat, etc..., to the actual crazy amount of work she has done for this community. Iris is grateful she will be on board as their prime media specialist, doing things like news, articles, features & graphics for the team....We also aappreciate the pancakes she cooks us o.o!
Interesting fact - It is with a heavy heart that Alicia's MISCHIEVOUS cat, Oscar, not only managed to pee in my coat after sleeping on my bag recently...But more importantly, tore right through Haypro's face in a MLG poster in Alicia's room. The conflict remains unresolved...
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About our sponsor: TelstraClear is one of New Zealand's leading broadband providers and with a long history of supporting gamers in New Zealand; from the original Paradise Games to today's ON3 Network, TelstraClear has provided much support and services to its valued gaming customers. They have been the most significant cash sponsor of gaming events in New Zealand since 2007 and are taking an important step into providing new support to the Starcraft II community through events like BarCraft, various gaming tournaments and now as a sponsor of Team Iris.
We believe that they are one of the best performing ISP's in New Zealand, and their constant support of the gaming community makes this partnership and easy decision, we're grateful for their belief in Team Iris' potential.
Interesting fact: TelstraClear has a direct internet line towards the SEA region, resulting in some of the best latency's to the SEA Starcraft2 server that can be obtained from New Zealand.
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We hope to bring some more high level Starcraft2 games to the SEA/Sc2 Scene
Please enjoy our games and support (or continue to support!) us as we try make our move in 2012.
(Maybe need to get our new logo updated and save this one for the trolling ?!)
To clarify since I have been asked about 3998472834724 times already, I have NOT left TA. TA will be my clan forever and ever or until Rich kicks me out I left American female team femFx.
Great news for New Zealand gaming and the SC2 scene. Kiwi's have always struggled to gain recognition for their efforts and with Telstra Clear moving from supporting events solely I can only see good things happening.
I must also point out that this is great news for Australia - many Kiwi's in the one location - everyone grab your shears.
Awesome! So how does TelstraClear sponsor the team? As in like funding, providing hardware, etc.
TC currently provides awesome internet at the team house here, as well as funding on a case by case basis.....Expect to see some Iris team shirt's coming out at some stage
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