Menace (New Zealand Paintball Team)

Menace is a tournament paintball team originating in New Zealand, with subsequent involvement in Western Australia. Menace finished second in the inaugural Australian Super 7s professional series in 2006 before winning the series championships in 2007 and 2009.[1][6]

Menace developed from players associated with earlier New Zealand tournament teams, including Team Insane, Phantom and Marksmen. Its early history also included connections to Red Alert Paintball and the indoor venue A Paintball Adventure in Auckland.

The team was captained by Matt Storey during its New Zealand period. Storey subsequently moved to Perth, Western Australia, where he continued his involvement with Menace.

History

Origins in New Zealand

Menace emerged from the New Zealand tournament paintball community, bringing together players who had previously competed for Insane, Phantom and Marksmen.

The earlier teams were active in New Zealand tournament paintball during the early 2000s. The 2001 Valhalla National Rankings record Insane, Phantom 5 and Marksmen in national competition.[2]

The team's early playing group included:

• Neil Morris – Formerly of Team Insane.
• Andy Lunt – Formerly of Team Insane.
• Matt Storey – Formerly of Marksmen; subsequently Menace captain.
• Gavin Harrison – Formerly of Marksmen.
• Wayne – Formerly of Phantom.
• Tower – Former New Zealand tournament player whose earlier team affiliations have not been conclusively established.
• Jono Clark – Menace player.

These early playing connections are based on firsthand historical recollections. A complete contemporary founding roster has not been located.

Red Alert Paintball and A Paintball Adventure

Several Menace players had connections with early Auckland paintball businesses and venues.

Gavin John Harrison was associated with both Marksmen Limited and Red Alert Paintball Games Limited. New Zealand company records identify him as a director and shareholder of these businesses.[3]

Gavin Harrison and Wayne were also associated with A Paintball Adventure, an indoor paintball venue in Papakura, South Auckland.

A historical listing published by WARPIG on 4 August 2005 records the business at 80B Hunua Road, Papakura. The venue advertised an indoor astroturf playing field of approximately 1,000 square metres, spectator viewing facilities and compressed-air filling equipment.[4]

Wayne was also involved in organising a paintball tournament series in Kumeu, northwest of Auckland.

The name and precise operating dates of Wayne's tournament series have not been independently established.

These activities formed part of the wider Auckland tournament paintball community from which Menace developed.

Australian Super 7s

Menace competed in the professional division of the Australian Super 7s from the series' inaugural 2006 season.

In 2006, Menace finished second behind Sydney SWAT at the opening round before winning Round 2. Australian Paintball Magazine described the Round 2 result as the first victory by a New Zealand team at a major Australian tournament.[6] This description is retained as a contemporary assessment and has not been independently verified against every earlier Australian competition.

Menace finished second behind Sydney SWAT again at Round 3. The results left the teams level on series points entering the final event at Paintball Pete's field at Mount White, New South Wales.[6]

Captained by Matt Storey, Menace reached the professional final at Mount White. Sydney SWAT won the round, with Menace second and Apocalypse third. The result gave Sydney SWAT the 2006 professional series championship and left Menace as series runner-up.[6]

In 2007, Menace won the professional series championship with 184 ranking points, finishing two points ahead of Sydney SWAT. The team won the opening round and placed second, third and third across the remaining events.[1]

Menace returned to the top of the championship standings in 2009, recording 144 points across three rounds. The team won the first and third rounds and finished second in the second round, narrowly defeating Extreme, which accumulated 142 points.[1]

A report published by the Waikato Times on 30 January 2009 identified Matt Storey as Menace's captain. The article covered a visit to New Zealand by American professional players Brandon Short and Alex Savino.[5]

The 2009 Super 7s records also identify a team called Menace Kids competing in the semi-professional division. Menace Kids won the second round, receiving 50 ranking points. Its precise organisational relationship with the professional Menace team has not been independently established.[1]

New Zealand and Western Australian entries

Matt Storey subsequently moved from New Zealand to Perth, Western Australia, where he continued his involvement with Menace.

The 2010 Australian Super 7s results identify two separate professional division entries:

• Menace NZ competed in Rounds 2, 3 and 4, accumulating 82 championship points.
• Menace WA competed in Round 2, receiving 24 championship points after a two-point ranking penalty for fielding a second imported player.[1]

These entries demonstrate the simultaneous participation of New Zealand and Western Australian squads using the Menace name.

The continued involvement of Matt Storey connects the team's New Zealand and Perth histories, although complete rosters and organisational arrangements have not been independently documented.

Western Australia

The Menace name continued to appear in Western Australian tournament paintball during the 2010s.

In 2017, Menace appeared in the professional division of the Australian Super 7s, competing in the fourth round and receiving 16 championship points.[1]

In 2018, WA Menace participated in all four rounds of the professional championship.

The team finished eighth in the series standings with 64 ranking points, recording its highest individual round result at the opening event.[1]

Tournament results

Year	Competition	Team name	Result
2006	Australian Super 7s Professional	Menace	2nd overall; Round 2 winner
2007	Australian Super 7s Professional	Menace	1st overall (184 points)
2009	Australian Super 7s Professional	Menace	1st overall (144 points)
2010	Australian Super 7s Professional	Menace NZ	82 points
2010	Australian Super 7s Professional	Menace WA	24 points
2017	Australian Super 7s Professional	Menace	16 points
2018	Australian Super 7s Professional	WA Menace	8th overall (64 points)

The results preserve the team names recorded by tournament organisers and do not establish identical playing rosters across different seasons.

See also

• Team Insane
• Australian Super 7s
• Sydney SWAT
• Paintball in New Zealand
• Paintball in Australia

References

1. Super 7s Paintball, "Results", official historical professional division rankings for 2007, 2009, 2010, 2017 and 2018.
2. Mercenaries Star, "2001 Valhalla National Rankings", contemporary New Zealand tournament rankings.
3. Company Hub, New Zealand director and shareholder records for Gavin John Harrison, Marksmen Limited and Red Alert Paintball Games Limited.
4. WARPIG, Paintball Field Directory, "A Paintball Adventure", Papakura, New Zealand, listing dated 4 August 2005.
5. Waikato Times, "Top guns warm up to paint the town red", 30 January 2009.
6. Australian Paintball Magazine, no. 6, 2006, “AXL Round 4: Direct from Paintball Pete's Mt. White”, pp. 18–25.

External links

• Australian Super 7s historical results