Zapman

Steven "Zapman" Zapas is an American SMITE player. He is currently playing hunter for Team Eager.

Biography
Zapman lives in New York City.

Zapman is one of the first competitive SMITE players. He was originally known throughout the SMITE scene for his incredible mechanical skill and overaggressive playstyle, matched only by his attitude and willingness to join or create a team. He came into the spotlight with other high level players such as Lassiz and JeffHindla in 2013 when the competitive scene for SMITE began to take shape, his most distinctive role was as hunter for Team Dignitas. The team's dominance was equaled only by COGnitive Prime, creating his long-standing rivalry with hunter player BaRRaCCuDDa. Zapman himself was the key to many of the team's victories, carrying the majority of the late game as well as forcing plays in the early game. The team took second place at the SMITE Launch Tournament in March of 2014, kicking off Season 1. Dignitas's performance was not the same throughout Season 1, their top 2 place taken by COGnitive Red, a team with mechanical skill rivalling if not exceeding Dignitas. Iconic support and midlane players Shadowq and TheBest had left the team, citing disappointment and college commitments respectively, replaced by DaretoCare and Gnaw, as well as solo laner AnatoLiy relinquishing his role to former jungler Shing. Dignitas ended the season with a third-fourth place finish, with the same W-L ratio as SNIPE Gaming, the perennial third-place team in the months preceding the launch tournament. Dignitas failed to make it to SMITE World Championship 2015, defeated 3-0 by COGnitive Red in the semifinals.

Disappointed, the team departed from its sponsor to form an organisation (with Zapman as the owner and Lassiz as the captain) by the name of Team Eager, except for Shing, who left the team altogether to search for better options. Their renown was further questioned by their inability to make it into the Season 2 Spring Split, replaced by Busters, a team almost universally seen as weak. Their dominance in the Challenger Cup was not to be questioned however, as they crushed every team with ease but Legion of Carrots, finishing first. This was due in part to the roster changes on the team: Gnaw stepped down to substitute, replaced by Lassiz (midlane had been his original role), DaretoCare filled in the jungle role, and Aror moved from substitute to starter support. Zapman and Aror became known as the most aggressive duo lane in North America. The Summer Split changed the rules for the SPL, expanding both regions from 6 teams to 8, automatically qualifying Team Eager into the SPL. Aror left the team shortly afterward, replaced by Challenger Cup unknown PolarBearMike; AnatoLiy went inactive after the next split, replaced by world champion 0mega. Throughout the summer and fall splits, Eager had placed fifth and second, qualifying for Super Regionals. Eager was heartbrokenly defeated by Cloud 9, COGnitive Prime's new sponsor for Season 2, after 5 games, losing 3-2.

Eager was no exception to the so-called "Rosterpocalypse" that hit nearly every team across both regions in the months between Super Regionals and the start of Season 3. Every member but Zapman left the organization (as he was the CEO), PolarBearMike to find another team that he thought would treat him more equally, 0mega to find another team that he believed could make it to the World Championship and DaretoCare as everyone else was leaving. Lassiz, his longtime teammate and best friend, tearfully admitted that he needed a new start, and perhaps he could not make it with Zapman. However, not qualifying for the World Championship twice in a row did not deter Zapman, who was then more driven than ever before. He swiftly picked up the remainder of the COGnitive Gaming roster (djpernicus, Aror, TheBest) as well as the teamless Divios for the solo lane. This new Team Eager was viewed by fans as a potential powerhouse that would either eternally rule at the top with skill and grace or flounder at the bottom in arrogance and bickering.

Season 3 marked a new start for Zapman, whose hyperaggressive playstyle was replaced by a carefully calculated passiveness, but with no loss in mechanical skill. Eager ended the Spring Split in 2nd place, brought in part by Zapman's KDA and GPM, ranking second and third respectively. However, the Fall Placement was markedly different, with Eager struggling to find wins, ending in 5th place, with no source agreeing on what caused the decline. The Group Stage was much different however, with Eager returning to glory. Eager only took 2 losses out of 12, with Zapman playing behind-the-scenes to captain djpernicus's and teammate TheBest's  picks. Eager's strategies led them to Regionals, where Zapman himself only had one negative game, 37 kills (tied for first with andinster of SoaR Gaming), 6 deaths, and 2 losses total, crowning them the victor and qualifying Eager to Worlds. Zapman had lost the flashiness of the past, which he took as his newfound maturity and control as a player.

Trivia

 * Is of Jewish religion, but was not born into it. He converted to it in order to not have to eat pig's feet during the Spring Fling Cancer Charity event in 2015.
 * Originally he wanted for his username to be Zap, but due to character requirements he proceeded to simply add -man to the end of it.
 * Gyros are his favorite food.
 * Formerly roommates with Lassiz, DaretoCare, Krett and AnatoLiy.
 * The term 'zapulated' is named for him, meaning spectacularly and flashily outplayed.
 * He was known for his aggression in-lane at early levels, such as jumping into battle as at level 2, so much so that these types of early game plays were simply named "Zapman plays" even if he was not the one executing the play.
 * His relationship with BaRRaCCuDDa is one of the longest-standing rivalries in SMITE, dating back to 2013. Zapman was originally aggressive and standoffish, whereas BaRRaCCuDDa was passive and kind. In Season 3, the two switched playstyles, with Zapman becoming more passive and controlled, where BaRRaCCuDDa became the one to aggress and lead his team (Luminosity Gaming) into battle.
 * He is the influence for the in-game Eager skin.

Vlogs

 * August 2013
 * November 2013

Other

 * Ullr Guide June 2014, by team-dignitas.net