ICC Player Profiles

An introduction to the Intercontinentals hopefuls

Intercontinental Invitational Championship
13th July 2024
7am PDT /  2pm UTC / 10pm AWST
Online
16 Players
Double Elimination

On Saturday 13th July, from 14:00 UTC (07:00 PDT, 22:00 AWST), on the official Null Signal twitch channel, you can watch the 15 best players from the Continentals series challenge the reigning champion for the title of Intercontinental Champion. In contention are some of the best netrunners from around the world—with players from the US, Canada, UK, Italy, Belgium, Germany, Finland, Russia, Singapore and Australia all in the mix. But who are these hopefuls? And what will they be up against?

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1. ManInTheMoon (he/him)

Intercontinental Champion (2023)
8th at APAC (2024)
Canadian Nationals Champion (2023)

With everything on the line, the reigning Intercontinental Champion will be looking to pull out all the stops to defend his title. But what will he be playing? He’s achieved great success in the past with straightforward rush decks in Ob, R+ and PD, usually paired with more complicated runner concoctions (such as Deep Dive Tāo and Mulch Loup). Expect him to take no prisoners, and for games to be both swift and brutal.

Team: Muntal Bost
Runner Preferences: engine decks
Corp Preferences: rush

2. jan tuno (it/its)

1st at EMEA, 2nd at ACC (2024)
Fite Club Champion (2024)
The Circuit Breaker (2024)

With an undefeated run in the Top Cut at EMEA, and a near win at ACC, jan tuno is the first in line to challenge the incumbent. A prolific tournament player, with a penchant for complicated and fascinating decks that feature lots of moving pieces, it is an intimidating opponent to face. Expect to see nothing but dynamic and explosive games from our favourite Ob enthusiast.

Team: QtM
Runner Preferences: Esâ, engine decks
Corp Preferences: Facet Ob

3. Niichan’s Girl (she/her)

1st at ACC (2024)

Niichan’s Girl took ACC by storm with her namesake (Kit) and a highly tuned Prāna PE list. Both decks were clearly a labor of love, and that passion paid off with a well deserved 1st place. Will she stick to her favourites for ICC? Expect to be reminded that Prāna PE is still one of the best Corp decks in the meta.

Team: QtM
Runner Preferences: Kit
Corp Preferences: Prāna PE

4. Jai (he/him)

1st at APAC (2024)
3rd at Intercontinentals (2023)

The people’s champion, it is difficult to imagine anyone being upset (or surprised) at the idea of Jai taking the crown. Expect to hear cries of Lisan al Jaib! reverberate through twitch chat.

Team: TAI Breakers
Runner Preferences: World Tree Arissana, Hoshiko
Corp Preferences: tempo assets

5. ryanbantwins (he/him)

2nd at EMEA (2024)
13th at Worlds (2023)

After a near miss at EMEA, ryanbantwins will be looking for an opportunity to get some revenge against jan tuno on his journey to Intercontinental Champion. A fan of combo decks, expect to hear commentators ask (and answer) “so what is ryanbantwins deck doing?”

Runner Preferences: any Shaper deck posted by Rotage
Corp Preferences: combo decks

6. DeeR (they/them)

2nd at APAC (2024)
Fite Club Champion (2024)
6th at Worlds (2023)

There will be no smurfing at this tournament! DeeR loves to catch their opponent off guard by adding a little spice to otherwise reg looking lists, and they will be looking to use that touch of flavour to give them the edge. Expect the unexpected.

Team: Snare Bears, QTM
Runner Preferences: Reg Anarch
Corp Preferences: PD

7. Augustus Caesar (he/him)

5th at ACC, 7th at APAC and 3rd at EMEA (2024)
2nd at CBI (2024)
Italian Nationals Champion (2023)
Irish Nationals Champion (2023)

A highly consistent and versatile player, Augustus Caesar will be the favourite of many to win. He has a history of both winning and losing championship titles to jan tuno, and promised it at EMEA that “next time I’ll get you”, so we could be in for a real grudge match. Expect him to bring the best decks in the meta, and expect to see him use them to their fullest potential.

Team: TAI Breakers
Runner Preferences: World Tree Arissana
Corp Preferences: Punitive AgInfusion, tempo assets, PD

8. Sokka (he/him)

3rd at ACC (2024)
World Champion (2022, 2023)
Canadian Nationals Champion (2019-24)
6th at Intercontinentals (2023)

Sokka has found his happy place this season with a classic control Lat deck that has won him almost every game, but he’s also slightly struggled to find a comfortable Corp pick since the Tributary ban. That being said, he is quite possibly the greatest player of all time, and who knows what he’s been brewing behind closed doors. Expect to see him shuffle back, and then top-deck, Biotic Labor.

Team: The Future Perfect
Runner Preferences: control
Corp Preferences: glacier, mid-range, prison

9. Styx (he/him)

3rd at APAC (2024)
Australian Nationals Champion (2023)
11th at Intercontinentals (2023)

One of Australia’s top players, and a previous Intercontinentals Championship contender, Styx’s flexibility with different playstyles will have his opponents guessing on what Corp list he will bring to this event. Expect to see him overcome a significant time zone disadvantage.

Team: QtM
Runner Preferences: aggro
Corp Preferences: fast advance, assets, combo, SkunkVoid, Punitive. You name it, Styx has won a major event with it.

10. Wenjong (he/him)

4th at ACC (2024)

After going undefeated with Issuaq at ACC, Wenjong has become something of a hero for fans of the off-meta ID. These fans will be excited to see what he brings to the tournament, and will no doubt be rooting for him loudly on twitch chat. Expect at least one of his opponents to make a run that they soon regret.

Runner Preferences: Hermes Lat
Corp Preferences: Punitive Issuaq

11. Kikai (he/him)

12th at ACC and 4th at EMEA (2024)

A lucky streak at EMEA earned Kikai the nickname “Mr. 40%”—after making a 2/5 agenda pull in one game, and then surviving a Burner run in the next that was 3/5 to find Punitive. Better lucky than good. Expect to see him top-deck the win against at least one TAI Breaker.

Team: EA Sports
Runner Preferences: aggro
Corp Preferences: tempo assets, Punitive Azmari

12. Amarum (he/him)

4th at APAC (2024)

A relatively unknown player outside of Russia, Amarum has been iterating on World Tree Arissana since Rw/oR was released. Unaffected by testing team bias, expect to see an outsider take on which tech cards will really make the frog loving Street Artist sing.

Runner Preferences: World Tree Arissana
Corp Preferences: Facet Ob

13. Santa (he/him)

5th at APAC (2024)
5th at Intercontinentals (2023)
1st at APAC (2023)

Santa has been playing, and getting great results, with asset Thule for a considerable amount of time. His understanding of the deck, and his ability to anticipate his opponents moves, are second to none. Expect to see him suddenly pull at least one carefully calculated win out of seemingly nowhere. Also expect another week of playing against Thule on j.net casual.

Team: Muntal Bost
Runner Preferences: World Tree Arissana
Corp Preferences: Thule, Outfit

14. Bridgeman (he/him)

6th at EMEA (2024)
4th at Intercontinentals (2023)
7th at Worlds (2023)
Intercontinental Champion (2022)

One of the best, and most methodical, players in the world, Bridgeman took one step out of semi-retirement and straight into the Top-16 at EMEA. Expect to see him put his opponents into some very awkward spots that they would rather not be in.

Runner Preferences: control
Corp Preferences: glacier, Punitive RH, prison

15. testrunning (any)

7th at EMEA (2024)

A veteran of the tournament scene, and a familiar face in many of the most competitive Top Cuts, testrunning will be on all of the ICC hopefuls radar as a major threat. Expect to see some incredibly high level netrunner on display.

Team: NWE
Runner Preferences: Esâ, aggro
Corp Preferences: rush, tempo assets

16. xiaat (he/him)

6th at APAC and 8th at EMEA (2024)
New Zealand Nationals Champion (2023)

Probably the most dedicated competitive player in the world, and a highly regarded travel blogger in the netrunner community, xiaat competed in all three Continental Championships, and has more than earned his invitation to ICC. Expect to see him fight tooth and nail for his chance at the championship title.

Team: TAI Breakers
Runner Preferences: World Tree Arissana
Corp Preferences: rush