Update (14 April 2021):
Just under a month after having signed with ORDER prior to the start of the 2021 APAC South season, Jayden "ItBeStyle" Franken has announced that he will be stepping away from a playing role at the end of Stage 1.
The move will come as a significant blow to ORDER, with ItBeStyle being the third-highest rated player in all of APAC South so far with a 1.30 rating. He follows Giants Gaming's Jeremy "HysteRiX" Tan at 1.31 and Qconfirm's Chayapat "HealthcareOG" Boonyamanop at 1.32.
In his Twitlonger, ItBeStyle stated that he was "not getting any younger" and that his full-time career in demolition outside of the game "currently outweighs playing Siege".
Balancing his career with full-time pro play has proved difficult for him, as it has for many other Siege pros, and has affected him mentally and physically with issues such as sleep deprivation.
Original Article:
After having spent the entirety of the 2020 season looking for an organisation, the Okami LFO roster has been signed by leading Australian organisation ORDER.
The announcement comes just an hour before the start of the 2021 season with the APAC South Division, where the roster will be playing, and makes ORDER the only ANZ-based organisation in the eight-team APAC South league.
Also signed is former Noble esports player Erik "Nikoh" Ahrenfeld, who will be coaching the ORDER roster, with Okami strategic coach Nathaniel "Naate" Williams moving to the substitute bench as a player and Head Coach Antoni "Centus" Lagemann only continuing on in a non-official capacity.
In 2020, Okami had finished the Six November Major (Oceania) in second place, after third place finishes in the Oceanic Nationals Playoffs and Six August Major (Oceania), and an earlier second place in the Six Masters.
Said Ryan "Speca" Ausden: "To be able to represent an Australian organisation that the team as a whole has looked up to and respected for many years, has us extremely excited for the future."
"ORDER are one of the heavy hitters across top tier esport titles within Australia, so in essence I'm really happy we held off signing all this time. The wait has definitely been worth it to join an organisation of this calibre."
Speca playing for Dark Sided at the Six Masters 2018. (Photo: DarkSided)
"For the past 12 months we have been fueled by only our passion for competing in Rainbow Six, we survived by not taking ourselves too seriously. Now that we're being supported full-time, the focus is on continuous improvement until we hit the number one spot,” added team captain Jack "JackDaddy" Dawber.
"We're very grateful to be able to represent Australia and dedicate ourselves to Siege completely thanks to ORDER."
ORDER's expansion into Rainbow Six is the latest in a line of new organsiations that include the internationally-renowned T1, DWG KIA (Damwon Gaming) in APAC itself, and XSET in North America.
The new Australian organisation is far from a no-name, however, having teams in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Valorant, and League of Legends.
"We are super happy to have the guys from Okami represent ORDER in Rainbow Six," ORDER’s Chief Gaming Officer Chris "GoMeZ" Orfanellis said.
"At the start of 2021 we looked into a variety of titles to expand into and Rainbow Six really stood out, providing a strong system of growth and opportunity in Australia. We’re thrilled to be working with this roster and, with the added support and structure that ORDER offers, assist them in their pursuit of championships and becoming Australia's best."
Catch this ORDER roster in action in an hour in the first game of the global and APAC South season against 7th Heaven:
Jack "JackDaddy" Dawber Bailey "Cutie" Murdoch Jayden "ItBeStyle" Franken James "JKR" Boland Ryan "Speca" Ausden Nathaniel "Naate" Williams (Substitute) Erik "Nikoh" Ahrenfeld (Coach)
