Esports is a form of competition using video games. Most commonly, esports takes the form of organized, multiplayer video game competitions, particularly between professional players and teams. Although organized online and offline competitions have long been a part of video game culture, these were largely between amateurs until the late 2000s, when participation by professional gamers and spectatorship in these events through live streaming saw a large surge in popularity. By the 2010s, esports was a significant factor in the video game industry, with many game developers actively designing toward a professional esports subculture.
Matt Leto, gamertag Zyos, is a former American professional player of the first-person shooter video games Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2. Zyos spent a year in his late teens accumulating video game records, and for a while was the holder of the most records. After dropping out of DigiPen Institute of Technology, Leto pursued a career in professional gaming.
Tom Taylor, known by the gamertag Tsquared, is a former professional gamer and captain of one of the most successful teams in Major League Gaming (MLG) history, Str8 Rippin, and was also the coach of Status Quo during the 2010 National Championships in Dallas where he helped them place 2nd behind Final Boss. Making him one of the only players to also coach an event. He was signed to a US$250,000 contract by MLG. and earns between $120,000 and $150,000 each year in prize money and endorsement deals. He has founded his own company, Gaming Lessons, which tutors prospective professional gamers on various video games, specifically on the Halo series. Several other professional gamers from MLG are also employed by Gaming Lessons as instructors. His home town is Syracuse, New York. He also runs an active YouTube channel with over 10,000 subscribers and 24 hours worth of content.
Dan Ryan is a retired professional Halo player. In January 2005, Ryan started his career as a professional Halo 2 gamer under the pseudonym Ogre 1. That same year, he and his twin brother, Tom Ryan, won the gold in Halo 2 for the World Cyber Games. In 2006, he returned with his team as a member of the Major League Gaming (MLG) four-on-four team Final Boss, previously known as "Team 3D." In June, 2006, he signed a three-year contract with MLG worth 250,000 dollars. Ryan has been featured in Electronic Gaming Monthly and BPM. He also made an appearance in all of the Boost Mobile MLG Pro Circuit episodes on USA Network in 2006. His favorite game type is Oddball on the Halo 2 level Midship. Ryan grew up in Columbus, Ohio.
David "Dave" Walsh is an American professional gamer, entrepreneur, writer, and commentator. His career in gaming began in March 2003, originally under the pseudonym Hotshy, and later under the name Walshy and briefly yhslaW. Walsh is widely regarded as the greatest and most successful Halo player of all time. Walshy is currently a commentator for the Halo Championship Series.
Ryan Danford is a professional American Halo player known by the handle Saiyan. He began competing in May 2004. Currently retired from professional gaming, he was a member of the Major League Gaming 4-on-4 team Final Boss during the 2006 season. In June 2006, he signed a three-year contract with Major League Gaming, but filed for free agency after the 2006 season's conclusion. He was also shown on many of the Boost Mobile MLG Pro Circuit episodes on USA Network in 2006.
Eric Hewitt, United States, known by his tag GH057ayame (Ghostayame), is a retired professional Major League Gaming (MLG) gamer. He now works for 343 Industries working on future Halo games.
Carlos Morales is a Halo player who goes under the gamertag Cpt Anarchy. He has been an on/off member of Major League Gaming (MLG) 4v4 teams Str8 Rippin and Team Carbon. Morales's first time on Str8 Rippin's roster was once during mid-2005 season. During the 2006 season, he was a part of Team eX until August 2006 when he joined Team Str8 Rippin. Morales has also been shown on all of the Boost Mobile MLG Pro Circuit episodes on USA Network in 2006. For the 2007 season, Morales joined Team Redemption along with teammate AYB Fonzi.
Ben Jackson is a professional Halo player from Murrieta, California, United States. He attended Murrieta Valley High School, graduating in 2006. Jackson initially began playing the Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game around the time of his sophomore year; he then started playing Halo intensively when Halo 2 was announced and widespread promotion of the Xbox 360 commenced. Jackson first attended a Major League Gaming tournament for Halo: Combat Evolved in Los Angeles, but performed poorly.
The following content may be biased. Tom Ryan, known under the pseudonym Ogre 2, is a retired professional Halo player from Columbus, Ohio, widely considered to be the greatest Halo player of all time. He and his twin brother Dan are known as the "Ogre Twins". In 2005, he and his brother won the gold medal in Halo 2 at the World Cyber Games. His eSports tournament history includes in Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2, Shadowrun, Halo 3, Halo: Reach, Halo 4, Halo 5: Guardians, Halo 2: Anniversary, and Call of Duty: Ghosts.
Matthew Haag, known by his handle Nadeshot, is a former professional American Call Of Duty player. He is the owner of eSports team 100 Thieves and former captain of OpTic Gaming in the 2014 Call of Duty: Ghosts season and the 2014–2015 Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare season, playing the objective support role.
Final Boss was a professional esports team that competed in Halo competitions sponsored by Major League Gaming (MLG) and other tournaments. With its most successful lineups consisting of a core of Dan "Ogre 1" Ryan, Tom "Ogre 2" Ryan and Dave "Walshy" Walsh, Final Boss is regarded as one of the best Halo teams of all time due to their numerous tournament victories and MLG National Championships from 2004 to 2010. They also hold the record for the longest consecutive event winning streak, with 8 straight tournament victories from 2005 into 2006. The Final Boss name is owned by MLG and continues to be used on official MLG merchandise.
OpTic Gaming is an American professional esports organization with teams competing in Call of Duty,Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Gears of War, League of Legends, Overwatch and Fortnite Battle Royale. It was founded in 2006 by Ryan "OpTic J" Musselman and "OpTic KR3W". The company is owned by Texas Rangers co-owner Neil Leibman and Hector "H3CZ" Rodriguez.
Str8 Rippin is a professional Halo team in the United States that competes in the Halo Championship Series. Str8 Rippin was first formed in 2005 for Halo 2 on the Major League Gaming (MLG) Pro Circuit. Their most successful period was during the MLG Halo 3 Pro Circuit, when they won several tournaments. Tom "Tsquared" Taylor was their longtime captain and was considered the face of the team for several years.
Carbon, variously known as Team Carbon, was a professional Halo team. Team Carbon won the 2006 Halo 2 championships at MLG Vegas 2006 defeating rivals Final Boss.
Boost Mobile MLG Pro Circuit was a television program on US cable television network USA network and later G4 airing recordings of the Major League Gaming (MLG) Halo 2 Pro Circuit in 2006 and 2007. It was sponsored by Boost Mobile and Scion. Boost subscribers had access to exclusive videos such as match highlights and player profiles. The production company was Red Brick Entertainment.
Team Envy is an American esports organization primarily based in Dallas, Texas. Founded in 2007 as a professional Call of Duty team, they have since gone to field rosters in Counter-Strike, FIFA, Fortnite, Gears of War, Halo, League of Legends, Overwatch, Paladins, PUBG, Rocket League, SMITE, StarCraft, and Street Fighter.
