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| Ōtautahi Poetry Slam 2026: L-R 3rd place Jay Madriaga; 2nd Jor Dansaren; 2026 Slam Champion Jordan Irvine. |
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| Our 2026 Ōtautahi Poetry Slam top 3 - and some other poetry dudes |
The dust may have settled but the buzz hasn't. A sell-out crowd at Space Academy witnessed a slam for the ages. Ōtautahi crowned a new champion - Jordan Irvine - taking out top spot after 3 rounds of extremely close scoring. A tie in the second round saw four poets in round 3, Mighty Melissa coming 4th overall before a slam-off for runner-up was unable to separate Jay Madriaga and experienced slammer Jor Dansaren - a haiku deathmatch was called for and Jor got the nod from the judges. Jay took the audience by storm however, a future star coming through the youth/secondary schools slam competition over the past couple of years. One to watch!
Congratulations to all the poets in the Ōtautahi Poetry Slam 2026 for making it an unforgettable, dramatic night of spoken word.
