Artosis | |
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Artosis (left) with Tasteless at 2011 South Korean StarCraft tournament
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Born |
Daniel Stemkoski April 6, 1983 Salem, New Hampshire, United States |
Residence | Seoul, South Korea |
Nationality | American |
Other names | "Artosis" |
Occupation | eSports commentator |
Children | 3 |
Daniel Stemkoski (born April 6, 1983), better known by his nickname Artosis, is an American professional eSports commentator. Together with Nick "Tasteless" Plott, he provides commentary for GOMTV Global StarCraft II League games.
Stemkoski was raised in Salem, New Hampshire. In his youth, his interests included skateboarding, basketball, chess tournaments, and competitive strategy games. Sports were his primary interest before he found competitive StarCraft. His consuming interest in playing and studying the game interfered with his high school education, where he failed many of his classes. He graduated from Salem High School in 2002.
Stemkoski was 14 years old when he was introduced to StarCraft at his best friend's house, where he watched his friend play. He received a copy of the game for his 15th birthday and played it casually with friends. When bedridden with a broken ankle and metal implants after a trampoline accident, he began to play StarCraft competitively. While his friends lost interest, he continued to compete over the Internet. Stemkoski has said that after his first year, he had spent about 1,200 hours in-game, up to 16 hours a day, and knew he could play in tournaments. As his StarCraft habits began to affect his life, his parents confiscated his dial-up modem and computer peripherals, which he circumvented with replacements. Despite his parents' requests to desist, Stemkoski decided in high school that he would pursue the game as a career based on the game's popularity in South Korea. At this time, he was ranked as within the top three American StarCraft players. He represented North America twice at the StarCraft World Championships, and competed in the United States finals eight times.