STR8 RIPPIN STR8 Sweepin
Article Written by: James "Fiend" Schneider


MLG Orlando 2004 will go down in history as the “Grudge Tournament.” Or so it will be for the foursome of Str8 Rippin: AYB Fonzi, Foulacy, Tsquared and K 2the ArmA. Their third place finish countered much of the smack talk encountered on MLG Forums. It also shows that dedication and teamwork are more important competitive traits in Halo 2 than the ability to talk trash, not that they did not throw it back, however.

“As a team you gotta take steps,” explains Foulacy. “Our first step was to beat Check Six. Our next step was to get second place." Check Six, which consists of Zyos, Sergio, TupaC and Killer N, had defeated Str8 Rippin in the first three tournaments, placing second in MLG DC, MLG SF and MLG Houston. In each of those, Str8 took third. He says, “Even though we didn't get second, beating Check Six to us was as good as getting second place.”

Check Six's TupaC and Sergio engaged in some pretty ruthless smack talk with the members of Str8 Rippin over at the MLG Forums. Foulacy and Fonzi are veterans of this arena. They have been known to spend hours in back-and-forths with players like Igamespot's McGavin and GandhiTheGreat. Although outsiders might expect that all insults are similarly cutting, Fonzi explains, “we consider the IGS kids friends. People just don't understand.” Check Six's comments were not as easily received, however, and as T2 explains, this made the air in Orlando tense.

The tournament was not quite as tense for StK, now Team 3D, which has won every one of those tournaments. Team 3D has stayed on top by keeping the same exact lineup, Ogre 1, Ogre 2, Walshy and Saiyan, for nearly a year. Everything about their team suggests that it will be extremely difficult to topple them. Because they are such a dominant foursome, practicing with them is extremely desirable. This turned out to be a boon for Str8, as 3D played countless practice games with them in the months between the tournament at Houston and at Orlando.

Str8's team has gained a lot from playing with Team 3D. They have become much better players, both in team play and as raw shooters. Although they look to defeat Team 3D one day soon, they recognize how skillful the top team is. For Orlando, as Foulacy said, they merely wanted to beat Check Six. Baby steps, as it were.

No longer content to finish in third, Fonzi and Foulacy, considered the core elements of Str8 Rippin, added Karma and T2. The majority opinion was that both of these choices would have a negative impact on the squad. “A lot of people thought we were absolutely doomed with T2 on our team,” explains Fonzi. “But you gotta understand his role on the team. He's the best sniper on the team.” Additionally, people doubted Karma. “People thought I was gonna be the worst on the team,” Karma says. “But I can replace anyone.”

The two newcomers to Str8 not only continued the teams streak of third place finishes, but also found some personal glory at MLG Orlando. Karma placed first and T2 placed second in the free-for-all (FFA) that determines seeding. “I wanted to destroy everyone in FFA and that pretty much happened,” T2 says. “Free for alls are random but when you go on an 'Untouchable' and then a 'Rampage' in the semis, it obviously shows something.”

T2 placed second in Houston as well and Karma made it to the finals. It was not that they came out of nowhere. It was more that they proved something to themselves and to the doubters. But, the real test in Orlando was pool play and the brackets.

Str8 Rippin was able to defeat Check Six. T2 recalls some of his own smack talk: “Losers bracket King of the Hill and we were up 4:50 to 4:25 with 20 seconds to go. Mathematically, they could not win so I put my controller down and I walked next to Sergio and I said, 'Are you gonna catch up? Come on, catch up.' Then in Beaver Creek we beat them 3-0 and we Str8 Sweeped 'Em. I told Pac I understand what his forum signature (Str8 Sweeped) means.”

“We felt really really good after beating Check Six,” Fonzi says. “It was quite a victory considering that they had been playing together for so long and we just put this team together to try it out.” They had tried out other teams, with BlackJak, Sad Panda Eh and Walka to name a few past teammates. Interestingly, T2 actually played for Check Six and for VGA Legendz (now IGS) in previous tournaments.

After beating Check Six, Str8 Rippin defeated TsK, the team which eliminated Check Six and sent them home without cash for the first time this season. Str8 Rippin was happy with their victories and perhaps a little distracted now that they had achieved their lone goal.

“IGS's victory over us was unexpected,” adds Fonzi. “I dont think we were ready for so much charging.”

T2 echoes the sentiment of his teammate. “The reason we lost against IGS is first because me and Karma never played together against them and second because they played really weird. We prepared to beat Check Six and put all our effort into that, so much so that I wasn't mentally into the game with IGS.”

“I think if we get our strategy a little more down,” Fonzi adds, “and get things on lockdown, that we'll definitely be able to beat both Check Six and IGS in the next tournament.” That optimism doesn't come blindly. It comes with the expectation of months of preparation where practice sessions stretch to six hours or longer and where every single day's practice is vital. And that's Str8 up good strategy.