Posted By: Margaret Pozzini
By Lisa BaertleinWed Nov 8, 8:32 AM ET
LOS ANGELES, Nov 8 (Reuters Life!) - Professional video
gamer Tom Taylor, aka Tsquared, is the envy of every young
video game player but he wants to debunk the myth that wielding
a joystick for a living is all fun and games.
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The self-taught player, who has been playing competitively
since aged 14 and turned pro at 16, dropped out of school to
concentrate on building a career in gaming.
Taylor, 19, now earns $120,000 to $150,000 a year between
prize money reaped playing "Halo 2" and Gaming-lessons.com, an
online site he founded last year to teach people gaming skills
-- and he is about to almost double the hourly tutoring rate he
charges.
But he says he has had to be disciplined to succeed,
sometimes playing games for up to 12 hours a day ahead of
competitions and sticking to an exercise regime and good diet
to keep a mental and physical edge.
"A lot of people think playing video games isn't a lot of
work. It doesn't leave a lot of time for vacation. In five
years I've never had any personal downtime for myself," Taylor,
told Reuters.
Putting in the hours has paid off for Taylor.
In June 2004 he signed a $250,000 contract with
professional league Major League Gaming and as team leader of
Str8 Rippin, he is one of the league's top-ranked players.
He appears on Stuff Magazine's list of the 20 most
influential people under the age of 30 and after the MLG
National Championships in Las Vegas later this month, he's
raising his video game tutoring rate to $115 an hour from $65.
Taylor is also shifting to a different screen soon with USA
Networks, which will start airing coverage of the MLG 2006 Pro
Circuit on November 11. The TV series chronicles the
eight-month competition that culminates in Nevada's "Sin City,"
where gamers will battle for the title and a $234,000 purse.
Jupiter, Florida-based Taylor, whose handle started out as
T and evolved to T2 -- Tsquared -- says he now finds himself at
home just seven to 10 days a month between traveling for
competitions, training, media appearances or personal reasons.
But while his work schedule has decimated his personal
time, he admits the publicity has its benefits.
"I guess it works to your advantage," he said when asked if
his profile with women has been enhanced by his rising fame.
On an average day, Taylor plays two to three hours of video
games -- a session that usually starts after 11 p.m.. That time
investment jumps to 10 to 12 hours ahead of tournaments.
If he's not training, he puts in a couple hours teaching
game lessons, blogging and returning fan e-mail.
Taylor works to keep a mental and physical edge with
running, weight lifting and eating well. He also limits energy
drinks like Red Bull to competitions.
While Taylor says no age is too old to be a pro gamer, he
admits the average competitor is college-aged.
"You'll notice that there are not too many people over 30
placing well at the tournaments," said Taylor, who isn't
spending much time worrying about his life post pro gaming.
"I try to focus on what's ahead of me when I'm in
tournaments instead of daydreaming about what's going to happen
15 years down the road," he said.
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