Clarity Gaming announces academy roster!

Today marks the end of a nearly eight week long process which has filtered down 67 Masters and Grand Masters applicants from the North American region into a 9 man final roster. Like many qualification processes, the road to the Clarity Academy final 9 was long and treacherous; with many pitfalls within trials to test the consistency and strengths of these players. Congratulations to our final roster, we are extremely proud to welcome you into the Clarity Family!

Although there were a handful of players who fell just short of making the final cut, their work is certainly not for nothing. It is indeed my wish and intention to take them under the Clarity wing as soon as more slots open up on the roster. These players will continue to strive for a spot on the roster in weeks and months to come through our Community team. Finalized details on said team will be released to the public sometime next week. Now that our website is launched, we will be sure to have details posted early next week.

***EDIT: An Address to TL and the Starcraft Community. An Apology from Mewby, and some other Responses, leaving it here for late comers:
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On May 02 2013 11:45 -Kyo- wrote:
I fear I'm going to lose my ability to report people. If you have not read the thread I suggest you do so before reposting the same garbage, or jumping on the hate bandwagon. It's honestly a burden to people who like to conserve brain power to continually have to read the same post by different people, even those with significant post counts, that say the exact same thing that has been refuted, denied, or closed on a previous page. If you read a couple pages in why not finish it off before immediately posting and assuming your hate is needed on this issue?

Keep in mind: The point of this thread is to congratulate the CG academy for their final roster. If you /really/ think there is an issue with a specific player you should honestly just talk to the management of CG instead of being like 'WELL YOU GOT THIS GUY, SO SCREW YOUR WHOLE TEAM!' TL posters used to be beyond this sort of stuff but the influx of these types of posts is depressing. Moreover, to complain one day about people killing e-sports and then posting like this is incredibly hypocritical. Funny people look past the cool coverage and importance CG is putting on their academy roster, even helping host a tournament, and instead choose to post on such things they have no internal knowledge of.Think before you post
[spoiler]I really wish I could moderate certain forums sometimes ;~;
P.S: If you don't think they'll solve the problem if anything else like this happens in the future you'd have to be incredibly silly.[/spoiler]

Very well Said. I will go ahead and follow this up with some of my own thoughts.

1A. To those of you who have come into this thread only to bash one -ONE- of the nine players that we have announced on this roster and/or to only follow it up with "well i will never support a team who has someone like this on their roster:"

(I assume most of these people are trolls, but I see some of you have high post counts on TL)

1B.To the rest of you who appear to be sincere:

If you really feel that way then you probably were not actually a fan of Clarity Gaming to begin with. Or any organization for that matter if you're willing to so quickly pass judgement on one small aspect of an entire organization. You're entitled to your opinion, we are certainly not going to argue with that. I hope to change your mind after reading this post, and over the next couple of months. Good luck to whoever you do support. Hopefully we can be among them again, eventually.

2. To those of you betting against us, calling us a 'small start up team,' etc:

Thanks, we welcome the challenge. We -are- a relatively small team compared to the likes of EG and TL (who isn't "small" in NA outside of EG, coL, ROOT, and Quantic?). But we're not going anywhere, and you're only going to hear more from us in coming weeks. So get used to seeing us around. Hopefully you can give us a second chance down the line. If not, that's too bad. You are in fact entitled to your own opinion. As I said above, we're not going to hold that against you.

3. For those of you who aren't the obvious mewbert haters/trolls and are just now learning about Clarity Gaming's existence:

Hopefully you can overlook the past of -one- of the almost 40 people this organization supports. We have seen nothing but class from Mewbert since he came into the recruitment process eight weeks ago. We believe that this warrants him a second chance. Hopefully you can accept that and give us and mewbert time to prove ourselves. If not, well that's just too bad. But I'll say it again - we're not going anywhere anytime soon.

4. To those of you continuously posting someone else's twitter and saying it is Mewberts:

Please stop. If you can not prove it is him, stop acting as if it is fact. From everything we have seen, it is -NOT- his twitter. There is absolutely no proof that it is. It is irrelevant. Yes, the video of him talking to Incontrol is him. We were aware of it some weeks ago, and it is nowhere near as bad as some of things that other professional gamers have done in the past and recovered from. So, take that for what it is. Please give him a second chance if you're not one of the people just posting here to troll or add to the hate.

5. To Those of you demanding a picture of Mewbert:

He asked us if he could remain anonymous during his time on the Academy. And seeing the lack of tact in the majority of the negative responses to his position on the team I 100% do not blame him. That being said we made an agreement with Mewbert prior to accepting him onto the Academy that if he does reach the consistent level which would warrant him a spot on our Pro team or anywhere else, he will have to go public with his name and face. He understands that. Hopefully in the meantime he can show the community that he has in fact changed, just as he showed us over a 2 month recruitment process. Hopefully you all who are on the fence can give him/us that chance.

6. To Anyone who missed my initial response in this thread:

On May 02 2013 10:51 WinterTV wrote:
We are aware of Mewby's past and throughout the -EIGHT WEEK- Academy recruitment process it became clear that he has embraced turning over a new leaf. Clarity will continue to support him as long as his views and attitude don't change on the matter.

We'd like to ask that the community give him a second chance because most people wouldn't be where they are without one. Give him time to prove his intentions and by all means watch him closely but please don't rush to judgment. Especially over a twitter account that is -NOT- his.

7. To Everyone else who has been positive, supported us before this thread, and who continue to support us after:

Thank you so much for your support, sincerely. I am here doing what I do every day because of people like you. I am not paid, I do this for free. I do it so that I can help an industry that I love grow into something better through my knowledge and experience. Your support makes dealing with all of the negative worthwhile, and we are very lucky and thankful to have your support. That being said, I think you're going to like what you see from us over the next 3 weeks. This announcement was just a taste, even with all of the "extra attention" from the negative responses to Mewbert.

Sincerely,
Mike 'winteR' Ortlani

A follow up response from myself:
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On May 02 2013 13:17 magnaflow wrote:
What I meant by that it is only a matter of time before something happens and you will be apologizing on behalf of your team because somebody fucked up

Maybe you are right. Maybe he will mess up. If he does, yes, we will indeed apologize and appropriate action will be taken. He is going to make his own address; not at our request, but at his own volition. He made his own private apology to Geoff of his own accord well before this thread was published, and the backlash ensued. He will be including the evidence of this apology along with his address to the public. I think you (as well as the others) will see that he is indeed a changed man.

Furthermore, please keep in mind that Clarity Gaming is monitoring this situation very carefully. We care very deeply about all of our fans as well as those who provide constructive criticism. Every single post here is being read and discussed by our staff because we believe that feedback from the community is of the utmost importance. We do this because we believe that it is our duty for progressing the industry. We could, as some other professional organizations do, ignore all the negative feedback and brand it as simply white noise but that is not our way.

Also, please keep in mind that there have been many worse things done by players of other organizations in the past and that this is, simply, the witch-hunt du jour.

I'm afraid that, due to the hour, this will be my final response for the evening. A representative of Clarity Gaming will continue with this conversation in the morning.

Thanks,
Mike

An Apology from Mewby:
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On May 03 2013 06:37 mewbert wrote:
First off i'm sorry to Clarity for any harm i've done to them. They have really hard working people and the last thing I want to do is hurt them. Im embarrassed about my actions in the video with InControl and I don't think its an accurate representation of who I am. As vogue said this video was posted awhile ago and I feel like i've changed a lot as a person since then. It is upsetting that something like this is all I have to represent me. A week ago before this even started I apologized to InControl personally in a PM because I felt bad about what I did. Here is a screen shot of the PM: http://puu.sh/2LdE5.png

Before I made the academy and WCS NA was announced DJWheat announced that he was willing to sponsor entry fees for four players. I PM'd him about it and I was honest with him about who I was, I told him about a post I made, and that I called into his show. I Further explained that I was being immature and that I was sorry. I wouldn't normally post personal messages but I think its appropriate right now and I have left everything that can be deemed personal out. http://puu.sh/2LCF5.png

The fake incontrol twitter is not mine either, im not trying to hide anything and im sorry for my mistakes in the past and I hope that you give me the time to prove myself.

Im really appreciative of the people who don't know me and after seeing the video decided to wait or give me a second chance.

Im also sorry to my team mates for being part of the reason this thread is what it is when it was supposed to be about them as much as it was about me.

Thank you Clarity and thanks to the people who support me and stick by my side~

Now, you’re probably wondering who made the cut, and what the final Academy team looks like. Without further adieu, we give you the 9-man all-Grand Master Clarity Academy Inaugural Roster!

Terran:

[b]Austin “ClarityBadcop” Worthington
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[b]Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/badcopsc2
Twitch: http://www.twitch.tv/badcopsc2

Austin “cBadcop” Worthington is a 17 year old Grand Master Terran player hailing from the Sunshine state of Colorado. While he is still relatively young, he has been playing Starcraft since the third grade. After the launch of the long awaited Starcraft 2 Badcop took on a more serious competitive interest.

Although he has yet to attend any major events, Badcop has shown much promise already in 2013 through his top 40 placement in the WCS NA qualifiers and Academy recruitment tournaments; taking first place in each stage of the recruitment process. Badcop considers Starcraft to be the only thing he really cares about in life. Thus he is going to work his hardest to get to a point where he may, one day, be able to play and compete in Korea.

Jonathan “ClarityEliGE” Jablonowski
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Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/EliGESpC
Twitch: http://www.twitch.tv/eligez

One of two 15 year old Grand Master Terran players on the Clarity Academy is Jonathan “cEliGE” Jablonowski. He hails from Pennsylvania and has been playing Starcraft since the release of Wings of Liberty in 2010. With two admittedly disappointing MLG open bracket performances in 2012 he has set his eyes on attaining a place in the clouds among the top performing foreigners going forward in 2013.

While EliGE is still working through high school, he spends every waking moment outside of that improving his Starcaft 2 knowledge and gameplay. EliGE looks to stand out through the Clarity Academy in the summer of 2013 and springboard to the next level.

Andrew “ClarityIntense” Pirelli
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Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/Clarityintense
Twitch: http://www.twitch.tv/intensesc

The other half of the 15-year-old-Grand-Master-Terran Pie belongs to Andrew “cIntense” Pirelli. Andrew currently resides in California and has been playing Starcraft 2 since early 2011. While Andrew has yet to attend any major events, his light has already begun to shine rather intensely at some of the smaller local SoCal LAN tournaments. Most recently Intense placed 4th behind GiX, Mystik (formerly of Check6), and Bubbles. Intense looks to continue to improve his gameplay while on Clarity as he works towards achieving consistent LAN victories.

“ClarityILoveMKP”
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Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/mewbyy
Twitch: http://www.twitch.tv/mewby

“cILoveMKP,” better known to many as Mewby, is a 20 year old Grand Masters Terran player from South Florida. Mewby is probably one of the most intriguing people you will come across on Clarity; perhaps even in all of the current NA Semi-Pro and Pro scene. Starcraft 2 was his first and only introduction into the RTS genre, and he doesn’t appear to be leaving anytime soon.

While Clarity may be the first team he has ever joined, Mewby boasts 13,000+ games played over the course of his two year starcraft 2 career. Mewbert seeks to continue to improve while on the Academy and work towards a level where he can compete and win against even the top Korean players. As he makes his way closer to said goal, we may finally learn a bit more about him.

Protoss:

Bailey “ClarityBails” Thomas
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Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ClarityBails
Twitch: http://www.twitch.tv/solidbails906

One of the two protoss’ on the Clarity Academy is Grand Master ‘toss Bailey “cBails” Thomas. Bailey is a 16 year old player from Kansas City who worked his way into the top of the North American Grand Masters from Gold league. Bailey has been playing Starcraft since he was about 4 years old. With the release of Starcraft 2 his competitive will has grown exponentially from his experience climbing the ballte.net ladder. While he is still finishing out his high school career, Bailey is one of the Academy’s most active streamers. He provides high level play, insight, replay review, and is actively engaging with his stream chat.

Bailey also has some experience under his belt at premier events, most notably his attendance to MLG Raleigh 2012; his first LAN attendance. He knocked out iS.Insur 2-0 and ended up making it to the Loser’s Bracket Round 7 where he was eliminated by the South American Terran - Maker 1-2. Bailey seeks to build himself and his skill to the point where he can support himself as a professional gamer and eventually achieve the title of ‘the best player in the world.’

Myles “ClarityBones” Donald
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Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ClarityBones
Twitch: http://www.twitch.tv/zeppelin535

Myles “cBones” Donald was the lone protoss to not only make it through the Academy recruitment process in the final top 8, but also into the top 4; earning himself a slot on the final roster. Myles is currently 18 years old and lives in America’s hat, Ontario, Canada. While he has dabbled in several games like World of Warcraft and RTS’ such as Starcraft: Broodwar, Age of Empires 2; Starcraft 2 was the game to truly ignite his competitive nature. Myles spent the last two years of Wings of Liberty playing at high master’s level and was able to break into Grand Masters with Heart of the Swarm beta. He has only continued to improve and climb the ranks of Grand Master since the game’s official release.

Myles aspires to make the transition from an “up and coming player,” to that of a true progamer. He looks to eventually live in a team house and support himself through his professional Starcraft 2 endeavors while emerging into widespread recognition as a positive contributor and community figure as well as skilled player. He is currently planning to postpone his University education to further explore his future in progaming.

Zerg:

Jace “ClarityMystery” Travis
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Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/MysterySC2
Twitch: http://www.twitch.tv/mysterysc

Jace “cMystery” Travis is a 16 year old Grand Master zerg player hailing from Washington state. Previous to Starcraft 2 he played Age of Empires 2 at a semi competitively level which lit the initial flame for his passion and drive for the RTS genre. In the Summer of 2012 Jace dropped Heroes of Newerth and all other games in lieu of a truly competitive start to Starcraft 2.

While Jace may not currently hold any major accomplishments his goals are inline with that of many up-and-comers; reach a level consistent with the top Korean progamers. Jace takes progaming very seriously and will continue to work towards a sustainable career in the industry while furthering his education; something which Clarity supports wholeheartedly.

Elaya “ClaritysAikOu” Sison
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Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ClaritysAikOu
Twitch: http://www.twitch.tv/Iamsaikou

Formerly of Team LighT, the Grand Master zerg Elaya “csAikOu” Sison brings a lot of experience and knowledge onto the Clarity Academy. From his time on Team LighT and prior with Team tQ and Requiem (later to be the foundation of Quantic) Elaya has attended several premier events - most notably MLG Anaheim 2011 where he made it to the last round of the loser’s bracket and was eliminated by EG.Demuslim 1-2 in a very close series.

Elaya is currently living in Vancouver, British Columbia at the age of 22. He has been playing Starcraft since it’s release back in the 90’s but only started playing competitively with the release of Starcraft 2. While it has been hard for Elaya to dedicate himself entirely to Starcraft 2 as he finishes his degree at UBC, it is his goal to one day reach a level where he is not just one of the best players in North America, but the entire world. In doing so it is his ultimate goal to to make a real living off of progaming and the eSports industry.

Thane “ClarityTBo” Borden
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Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ClarityTBo
Twitch: http://www.twitch.tv/tbizzo

Another “elder” on the Academy team playing from the Atlantic Ocean, otherwise known as Nova Scotia, is Thane “cTBo” Borden. Like many Starcraft 2 players his age, TBo has been playing Starcraft more or less since it’s inception in the 90’s when he was 10 years old. After spending some time on Triumph eSports and Team Nightmares (NMx) Thane decided to focus his time on working towards a spot on a professional team. Thane aspires to become a well known and respectable figure in the Starcraft 2 community, both for his skill and his insight into the game. Outside of Starcraft 2 he looks to continue his education through Graduate school in the field of Physiotherapy or as an Exercise Physiologist.

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Seeing as Clarity Academy is the new kid on the block, we thought it would be fitting to challenge the OG Academy over at Complexity Gaming. They were the first NA team to introduce the Academy platform to Starcraft 2 and have made big things happen for the likes of Sasquatch and Goswser over the last two years. Let’s see if their current roster is ready for Clarity Academy!

We’re putting up $100 just to raise the stakes a bit. Tune in on Saturday 5/11 at 9PM EST for the showmatch. We’ll have more details out next week on the format, line-ups, map pool, stream info, etc.

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Since it’s inception Clarity Gaming has built itself into the organization it is today on a foundation of age old family values; loyalty and trust. These values extend to every branch of Clarity Gaming and the Academy is no exception. In fact, these value may even play a more vital role in the Academy than anywhere else.

The Clarity Academy is designed with two key elements in mind. The first of which is generally regarded as obvious: to highlight up and coming players and give them a platform and structure in which they can make the next step into a professional gaming career. The second and more key focus is education. While you are a part of the Clarity Academy you will be subject to a light, yet structured curriculum which will increase understanding and awareness of industry standards, professional conduct, and the importances of marketing and branding.

If you are interested in getting involved with the Clarity Academy and working towards a spot on the roster in the future you may find a form to apply here: Academy Player Requirements
Academy Player Application

Recruitment into the Clarity Academy is an on-going process and is tied into our soon-to-be announced (on or before 5/5) Clarity Community Team. This means once you submit an application and it has been accepted you will not simply be filed away into a document on someone’s hard drive. Instead you will be brought into a group of like minded and goal oriented players and you will be presented with recurring events and a structured group which will help you gain more access to the existing Academy roster, as well as gain the attention of the team and players themselves.

Follow Clarity Gaming:

Twitter: @Clarity_Gaming
Facebook: Facebook.com/ClarityGaming
Website: ClarityGaming.com
Twitch: Twitch.tv/Clarity_Gaming
YouTube: YouTube.com/ClarityGamingsc2

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Clarity Gaming announces academy roster!

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