Meet IraqiZorro: Iraqi player facing Trump’s immigration order

Hamza Najim is your typical esports player. He has a passion for gaming that started throughout his childhood, inspired by figures like Sean “Day9” Plott and Christopher “Montecristo” Mykles. Now, he’s a top competitor in Vainglory and co-owner of one of its top teams. What’s difference however, is that this Iraqi player may not be able to enter the U.S., and that could be a very big problem for Hamzawho planned to compete this year primarily in the U.S.

The order issued by President Donald Trump, dubbed by many a “Muslim Ban.” is currently being weighed in numerous courtrooms across the country, but for Hamza, uncertainty about his ability to enter the U.S. means completely re-evaluating his plans for the future. Given that Vainglory was created by a North American developer, that its World Championships last year were held in downtown Hollywood, and that he’s planning on competing in the North American premiere Evil Eight tournament this year—well, not being able to enter the U.S. could be a very big problem.

Hamza says that he “lived about as normal of a childhood as you could in a worn-torn country… focused on school, hobbies during free time, and just being a child.” With war as a background, however, nothing is normal. He describes living in such conditions as “constant fear for one’s life and one’s safety throughout every day and every minute.” Things blew up “right next to us” on multiple occasions.

A passion for gaming was a thing that Hamza got from his family. He was extremely attached to one of his brothers, who would save up his lunch money and spend it in internet cafes playing things like Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2, Counter-Strike, and Medal of Honor were his favorites.

A few years after the invasion, Hamza moved to Turkey with his siblings to create a new life in a place where “they felt our basic human rights were met.” Turkey soon proved to be a blessing, not only for Hamza’s life, but for his gaming interests as well. He soon started to watch two of the bigger names like Day9 for StarCraft 2 and MonteCristo for League of Legends. His passion only grew bigger from there on, only with one problem, he had one thing to game on and it was an iPad.

Vainglory—created by Super Evil MegaCorp, a company founded by veterans of Riot Games, Blizzard, and more—was an industry-wide solution to the very personal problem that Hamza was facing. Hamza’s discovery of Vainglory, then, went probably how you would expected.

“I was immediately very attracted to it. I needed a good mobile game badly, and I was lucky enough to find Vainglory. That’s basically how it started; I just played a game that I enjoyed a lot and now two and a half years later, here we are.”

He formed a series of friendships that led to the creation of his very first esports team, GankStars. GankStars, formed in 2015, was an instant success. The team placed 3rd in the Ongamenet Vainglory World Invitational, then finished in first at OGN’s followup Vainglory International Premier League without dropping a single match. The team has finished near the top of almost every major tournament since.

Then came the “Muslim Ban”, and Hamza’s plans -including the P-1 visa he got in the year prior- seemed to have gone in vain. Not only do most of his business partners live in the U.S., but he was planning on setting up a gaming house in California. There’s also a notable ping disadvantage living so far away from where the North American servers are set up.

Still, Hamza is trying to be positive and remain productive as the order is weighed by the courts. If he is unable to live in the U.S., he plans on staying on as manager, and will compete “wherever possible, whenever possible.” For his supportive fans, however, he wants to give a different message.

“There have been so many people reaching out and supporting me, their words and thoughts are so deeply appreciated, especially since it shows me that there are many out there who still care, even though they’re not directly affected. To them, I say thank you, for being there for me.”