A few days ago, Str8 Rippin made the announcement that they have acquired a Call of Duty team. This was news that shocked many people in the esports world.
Str8 Rippin is an esports organization that has been around since as early as 2006. When you think of Str8 Rippin, the main person that comes to mind would be Halo pro Tom “TSquared” Taylor. Even though he was one of their most successful players and is closely associated with the org, he did not create it. He does, however, continue to be a major part in the management of things to this day. Str8 Rippin is currently being managed by Tom with the help of Everett “Small” Coleman, and Lalo aka “Muggsy”. This org has been making noise in the competitive Halo scene for years, and now they are expanding into Call of Duty.
The biggest part of this whole deal is the acquisition of Jeremy “StuDyy” Astacio from Evil Geniuses. After the first stage of the Global Pro League, Evil Geniuses made a roster change which caused StuDyy to lose his spot on the team. This meant he was up for grabs by any other org that would be willing to pick him up. Str8 Rippin hopped on it very quickly and acquired him.
Having a veteran like StuDyy on your team is a great way to make your debut into the Call of Duty competitive scene. His competitive resume is quite impressive.
Along with StuDyy comes an impressive roster to back him up. Ricky Stacy aka “Ricky” has played for both OpTiC Gaming and OpTiC Nation as well as Cloud9 and other major orgs. He has numerous top four finishes on his resume. Jonathan “SinfuL” Baez also spent some time on OpTiC Nation as well as teams such as Echo Fox, Strictly Business, and vVv Gaming. Meanwhile, Brandon “Dashy” Otell is one of the hottest up and coming amateur players trying to make his big break.
Over the years, Anaheim has been home to some of the largest Call of Duty events. The crowds come in masses to watch their favorite teams compete.
This event will be an “open” tournament, meaning anyone who pays for a team pass will be able to fight their way through the open tournament brackets for a chance to duke it out with the pros later on in the tournament. Since Str8 Rippin did not qualify for pool play, they will be forced to enter as an amateur team and play their way through the open brackets to make it there. With a strong roster, Str8 Rippin is one team expected to make a big run.
CWL Anaheim takes place this weekend at the Anaheim Convention Center with a total prize pool of $200,000. Look for Str8 Rippin to come out and show the world that they are here to tear up the competition. How well do you think they will do this weekend?
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Images courtesy of Str8 Rippin
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