Str8 Rippin
Str8 Rippin has been one of the top Halo teams ever since the Halo 2 era of Major League Gaming. They have finished at the top positions of tournaments since the team was created in 2005. The teams most successful season was 2008 as they won MLG San Diego, MLG Toronto and the National Championships in Las Vegas where they won $100,000.
Winnings in Halo 3: $226,800
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Current Roster
Tom Taylor "Tsquard" (Captain), Kyle Elam "Elamite Warrior", Mason Cobb "Neighbor", Bryan Rizzo "Legit",
Everett Coleman "Small" (Coach)
History
The team's original roster was AYB Fonzi, Foulacy, Karma and Synergy. Under the name "Not So STR8 RIPPIN" they placed 3rd at San Francisco. That was the only event they attended under that name, as it was shortened to just "STR8 RIPPIN" for the next event. Zyos was added to the roster later in the season and they were able to defeat the dominating Final Boss squad in Philadelphia. They struggled to place after that event so Zyos was eventually dropped. Zyos retired soon after. They were sponsored by Trademark Gamers for part of the 2005 season.
Fonzi and Foulacy struggled to find players that matched their playing style in the 2006 season. They started the season off with Tsquared and Defy. After four events and a 7th place finish, they let go of Defy. They picked up Cpt. Anarchy to take his place. Defy rejoined his old teammates Vash and Mack. The team continued to struggle so Fonzi and Cpt. Anarchy were eventually released.
At the 2006 Halo 2 National Championships, Str8 Rippin finished 3rd and won $30,000. On December 18, 2006 MLG signed the team to a 3-year, $1,000,000 deal. The team appeared on all MLG shows that were shown weekly on the USA Network from November to December 2006 and G4TV's Halo 3 show that aired in the fall of 2007.
At the start of 2007, Str8 was composed of Tsquared, Foulacy, Legit and Naded. The team placed 5th at MLG Charlotte after losing to the 1st place finishers Final Boss and second place Carbon. Legit and Naded then left to join Perfect Storm. They were replaced by Neighbor from Team Make It Rain and BigTimer. After MLG Meadowlands Tsquared's longtime teammate Foulacy and BigTimer left the team. Tsquared then recruited highly acclaimed players Havok and MimiC for the MLG Dallas tournament. After the event, Legit rejoined Str8 Rippin along with Tsquared's good personal friend, Elamite Warrior (of FBI The Agency and Team Ex) to replace MimiC and Havok.
In the next event in Orlando, Tsquared, Neighbor, Legit and Elamite Warrior won the tournament defeating Final Boss 6-2 in the Championship match, becoming the first team other than Final Boss and Carbon to win an event in two seasons. Str8 gained a lot of support going into the National Championships in Las Vegas. Sundance DiGiovanni actually picked them to win the tournament. In reality, Las Vegas turned out to be a disappointment as they lost to Carbon in the Losers Bracket Finals. They finished third.
They continued with the same lineup in Meadowlands 2008 which was the first MLG Halo 3 event. They finished in 5th. The team rallied back in San Diego, dropping only one gametype the entire tournament. Neighbor was then offered to join Final Boss to fill the space of the dropped Walshy. He received a bonus grant from 'Gilbert Arenas' (the sponsor of Final Boss) to join the team. Str8 needed a strong main slayer to fill the void left by Neighbor. Triggers Down's young superstar Snipedown joined the team during a massive series of team changes where every top 8 team made a change.
With their new lineup, they defeated Instinct in the finals to take MLG Toronto. During the tournament, Str8 made an amazing comeback against Final Boss and their former teammate Neighbor after being down 0-2. They then won 3 straight games to take the series.
They went into the playoffs in Dallas as the favorites but came up short, losing two series in a row to the new Triggers Down with newly acquired Karma. They finished 2nd. Str8 took the loss hard and practiced very hard for the 2008 National Championships in Las Vegas. The hard work paid off and they won, becoming the first Halo 3 National Champions.
In the first event of 2009 in the Meadowlands, the team took 4th in the tournament after being defeated by Triggers Down. Practicing really hard for the next event in Columbus, they beat Triggers Down in convincing fashion, taking 1st.
Str8 Rippin came in 6th at the 2009 Orlando National Championship. Many fans were shocked as they were upset by Believe the Hype. They could not recover from this loss and were quickly taken out of the tournament by Carbon. The 2009 season showed a glimmer of hope for the team in Columbus, but they couldn't match the success they had in 2008.
Str8 Rippin Montage
Here is the highly touted Str8 Rippin Montage. Regarded at the time as being the best Halo 3 montage ever, the 2008 National Champions Tsquared, Snipedown, Elamite Warrior and Legit put their skills on display. Zola shows off his excellent editing skills in this masterpiece.
Songs in the montage:
Insomnium - The Gale
Eighteen Visions - Victim
The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus - In Fate's Hands
Max Richter - Written on the Sky
Str8 Rippin House
The team made the decision in 2009 to move into a house in Florida so they could practice full-time. At first they had problems getting the internet set up which led to a late start on practice for the Meadowlands. Legit said that moving in was the right move: "Living in the house has for sure been a positive for our team," says the longtime veteran. "It's brought us all even closer, especially Tom and I since we've been living in the house full-time."
There have been no fights, no drama and no fatigue resulting from gaming full-time. According to Legit, the only problems have just been the result of living in a house full of young guys: "It's the normal house living negatives - leaving things out, not turning lights off, cleaning - but that's something everyone goes through, and it's not a big deal."
Placings
Year Competition Roster Standing Winnings 2007 MLG Charlotte Tsquared, Foulacy, Legit, Naded 5th $4,000 2007 MLG Meadowlands Tsquared, Foulacy, BigTimer, Neighbor 11th
2007 MLG Dallas Tsquared, Mimic, Havok, Foulacy 7th $2,000 2007 MLG Chicago Tsquared, Elamite Warrior, Legit, Neighbor 2nd $12,000 2007 MLG Orlando Tsquared, Elamite Warrior, Legit, Neighbor 1st $20,000 2007 MLG Las Vegas Tsquared, Elamite Warrior, Legit, Neighbor 3rd $40,000 2008 MLG Meadowlands Tsquared, Elamite Warrior, Legit, Neighbor 5th $4,000 2008 MLG San Diego Tsquared, Elamite Warrior, Legit, Neighbor 1st $20,000 2008 MLG Orlando Tsquared, Elamite Warrior, Legit, Neighbor 2nd $12,000 2008 MLG Toronto Tsquared, Elamite Warrior, Legit, Snipedown 1st $20,000 2008 MLG Dallas Tsquared, Elamite Warrior, Legit, Snipedown 2nd $12,000 2008 MLG Las Vegas Tsquared, Elamite Warrior, Legit, Snipedown 1st $100,000 2009 MLG Meadowlands Tsquared, Elamite Warrior, Legit, Snipedown 4th $5,600 2009 MLG Columbus Tsquared, Elamite Warrior, Legit, Snipedown 1st $20,000 2009 MLG Dallas Tsquared, Elamite Warrior, Legit, Snipedown 4th $5,600 2009 MLG Anaheim Tsquared, Elamite Warrior, Legit, Snipedown 2nd $12,000 2009 MLG Orlando Tsquared, Elamite Warrior, Legit, Snipedown 6th $14,000 2010 MLG Orlando Tsquared, Heinz, Legit, Snipedown 8th $1,600 2010 MLG Columbus Tsquared, Heinz, Legit, Snipedown 10th
2010 MLG Raleigh
