As we draw closer to the end Season One of the Halo Championship Series, the top eight teams are practicing harder than ever in hopes of taking home a sizable chunk of the $100,000 prize pool that will be awarded at the Season Finals. Today, to continue with our team profiles, we’re going to take a look at Str8 Rippin, arguably one of the best known teams in the history of competitive Halo.

Tsquared, Str8 Rippin’s current captain, has been a permanent fixture on the team since early 2005 and has continued its legacy into this new era of Halo, but the remainder of the current roster has undergone some changes since the announcement of the Halo Championship Series. Tsquared and Str8 Sick competed together during the Halo: The Master Chief Collection Launch Invitational where they came in second place, but after their previous team members, Ryanoob and Roy, went off to pursue interests in other teams, they had to find replacements.

Naded had briefly been a part of the Str8 Rippin team before and joined before the season officially began. Up until HCS Cup #3, Prototype occupied the fourth seat on the roster, but mid-season roster changes resulted in the team picking up Legit. Legit similarly has a history of competing under Str8 Rippin; while on the team he walked away with first place at the MLG Las Vegas National Championships in 2008. He and Naded also teamed together for the entirety of 2006 under the team Storm Ventures.

While there’s a certain level of cohesion that comes with having previous experiences teaming together, each member brings their own individual skill to the team, including Str8 Sick. Str8 Sick is particularly adept when it comes to FFA; at the Halo 4 Global Championships, he went completely undefeated up until the 1v1 portion of the event which demonstrates a high level of talent. While their recent performances have not been as dominating as they’ve desired, it’s likely that with enough preparation, we will still be seeing some exciting things from Str8 Rippin. Now, let’s take a closer look at the players:

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Name: Tom “Tsquared” Taylor
Age: 27
Location: Las Vegas, NV
Controller Settings: Bumper jumper, 4 sensitivity
Twitch Channel: Twitch.tv/Tsquared
First Competitive Halo Game: Halo: CE
Favorite HCS Map and Gametype: KotH Lockdown
Greatest Halo Achievement: 2008 Halo 3 National Championship

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Name: Bryan “Legit” Rizzo
Age: 24
Location: Tampa, FL
Controller Settings: Default, 4 sensitivity
Twitch Channel: N/A
First Competitive Halo Game: Halo 2
Favorite HCS Map and Gametype: KotH/Oddball Lockdown
Greatest Halo Achievement: 2008 National Champion

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Name: Cory “Str8 SicK” Sloss
Age: 22
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Controller Settings: Bumper jumper, 4 sensitivity
Twitch Channel: Twitch.tv/therealstr8sick
First Competitive Halo Game: Halo 2
Favorite HCS Map and Gametype: Neutral Bomb Assault Warlord
Greatest Halo Achievement: Winning RTX by 20 kills, going undefeated in FFA at the Global Championships (lost in the 1v1s) and placing 3rd with Classic at Anaheim 2011!

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Name: Brett “Naded” Leonard
Age: 24
Location: California
Controller Setting: Default, 10 sensitivity
Twitch Channel: Twitch.tv/Naded
First Competitive Halo Game: Halo: CE

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Make sure to tune in to see Str8 Rippin in action at PAX East March 6-8th. To keep up with Str8 Rippin, make to sure like them on Facebook and follow all the team members on Twitter @TsquaredMLG, @therealstr8sick, @Nadedl and @BRIZZ_Legit. Follow us on Twitter @ESLHalo to stay updated through the weekend about the happenings at the HCS Season One Finals and to keep informed about all things HCS including our next team profiles!