Taylor is a big name in eSports. He has been into gaming since he was four years old and started playing professionally in 2003. In 2009, he was selected as the face of MLG and his image appeared on over 175 million MLG Dr. Pepper soft drink bottles. As one of the first star players to come out of MLG, he's reported to earn between $120,000 and $150,000 each year in prize money and endorsement deals. He's been recognized as MLG's All Star Game MVP twice and has racked up nine first place finishes.
Having risen to the top, staying there isn't easy. This year success has been elusive for Str8 Rippin. Taylor and his team had their best finish early in the season with a second place at MLG Pro Circuit 2011, Columbus. Then catastrophe struck with a total meltdown to 20th place. Taylor reformulated the squad and coming into Providence they are seeded 13th. That still leaves a long way to go to equal the team's national championship win in 2008.
Taylor said that the team changes and days lost in travel took a toll on his performance, but he felt confident about the national championships.
"If you miss even a couple of days of gaming that leaves hours and hours where other people are practicing," Taylor said. "Everybody knows that the championship tournament is the most important thing going in. The others have been regular season events, but if you perform at playoff time or championship time, that's when you become an elite player."
It takes a lot of dedication to be a star in Major League Gaming. With the growing prize money and attention given to eSports, the competition is fierce. Taylor commented that dexterity and great hand-eye coordination are essential.
“It's all scenario-based and memorization so you need a clear mind while you're doing it,” he added. “We play anywhere from eight to twelve hours a day and sometimes even more than that. There are days when we go even 15 or 16 hours. The next day, you definitely sleep in.”
But the attention he's now receiving makes the effort worthwhile. Taylor finds it gratifying that people are finally starting to take cyber athletes seriously. He said that his mother was convinced early on when she saw that he was earning $1,000 a day as a teenager. She'd even let him miss the occasional school day to compete. But in the beginning, it really was all about the game, not the fame. Just a few years ago, cyber athletes had to bring their own consoles and televisions to tournaments. Now there are sponsors and main stages and MLG has even been broadcast on ESPN. Moving forward, Taylor believes that online streaming will be the way to go since people are switching to watching digital content on computers.
"Right now we're seeing the highest streaming numbers ever," he advised. "It has gotten very, very big this year and I'm very excited for the 2012 season."
And despite the issues Str8 Rippin has encountered this year, Taylor is still enthusiastic to be playing.
"Competing is my number one thing," Taylor said. "I want to win every single tournament. That's my goal going in. Just because I've had a few rough tournaments, that's not going to change the sixty good ones that I've had."
Eventually, Taylor hopes to branch out — either owning a team, commentating or hosting a gaming program. He already owns a company that tutors prospective pro gamers and now he's trying acting. Taylor is currently appearing in the "Controller," a competition reality show where six pro-gamers and six gaming novices compete in various challenges. Watch it through www.youtube.com/user/gamespot.
