Menace (New Zealand Paintball Team)
Menace is a tournament paintball team associated with New Zealand and Western Australia. The team competed in the professional division of the Australian Super 7s, winning the series championships in 2007 and 2009.[1]
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.
Australian tournament records document entries under the names Menace, Menace NZ, Menace WA and WA Menace.[1]
History
New Zealand
Menace competed in the Australian Super 7s during the late 2000s, becoming one of the leading teams in the competition.
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 three 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, who were participating in local paintball activities.[2]
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
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 using a second imported player.[1]
The separate entries demonstrate that New Zealand and Western Australian Menace squads competed during the same season.
According to historical information provided to WikiPaintball, Matt Storey moved from New Zealand to Perth and continued his involvement with Menace in Western Australia.
The extent of the shared roster and organisational structure between the two entries has not been independently established.
Western Australia
The Menace name continued to appear in Western Australian tournament paintball during the 2010s.
A 2016 tournament report from Perth identified Menace Australia among the teams competing in a three-player tournament organised at Battlefield Paintball.[3]
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, the team competed under the name WA Menace, participating in all four rounds of the professional championship.
WA Menace recorded 64 ranking points, finishing eighth in the season standings. The team placed fourth in the opening round.[1]
Tournament results
The following results are drawn from the official Australian Super 7s historical rankings.[1]
| Year | Competition | Team name | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 reflect the team names recorded by tournament organisers and do not necessarily establish identical playing rosters across seasons.
Notable players
- Matt Storey – Captain of Menace during its New Zealand period, identified in contemporary reporting in January 2009. Storey was subsequently involved with Menace in Perth.[2]
See also
References
- Super 7s Paintball, "Results", official historical professional division rankings for 2007, 2009, 2010, 2017 and 2018.
- Waikato Times, "Top guns warm up to paint the town red", 30 January 2009. Contemporary report identifying Matt Storey as Menace captain.
- Rogue Assassins, Perth tournament announcements, August 2016, including the Plumlife three-player event and Menace Australia.