Michael Cavanaugh (electronic sports player)
Michael Cavanaugh (born August 25 1988), also known by his gamertag StrongSide, grew up in Edgewood, Kentucky, United States. Cavanaugh has been a professional Major League Gaming (hereinafter "MLG") HaLo 2 player since April 2006. Currently a member of team Final Boss, Cavanaugh has been a member of Carbon and LeGendZ in previous seasons.
Cavanaugh has enjoyed a great degree of success within Major League Gaming's Halo 2 division. In addition to consistently placing highly with Final Boss during the 2007 MLG season, Cavanaugh finished second in MLG's 2006 1v1 Halo 2 competition. Moreover, his 2006 4v4 team, LegendZ, placed fourth overall in the 2006 championship tournament. Cavanaugh's intensive Halo 2 practice regimen is also notable; analysts of Major League Gaming have referred to Cavanaugh as "the equivalent of a gym rat in Halo 2" due to the long hours he dedicates to developing his skills at the game.
Cavanaugh has appeared regularly on MLG's television show on USA Network. On June 13, 2007 Cavanaugh was awarded a $250,000 league contract from MLG.
Gaming career
MLGpro.com on Cavanaugh's ability:
His Signature move, a.k.a. "The Strongside" is now used by almost every pro player on the circuit. When he is being shot by more people than he feels safe shooting back at, he turns around and puts his head down so that the people shooting at him cannot shoot him in the head, therefore giving him a chance to run away. In the words of his teammate and MLG Legend Walshy, "I don't know why people shoot Strongside in the back. They are just wasting their ammo." The rational for this move is the fact that it is impossible to get a headshot on the target looking at the ground and without shields the back is still the thickest part of the player's armour.
Strongside became a pro player during the 2005 season.
MLG history
2007
Event |
Championship 4v4 |
Championship FFA |
|---|---|---|
Dallas |
Final Boss - 2nd |
Top 16 |
Meadowlands |
Final Boss - 1st |
Top 16 |
Charlotte |
Final Boss - 1st |
5th |
2006
Event |
Championship 4v4 |
Championship FFA |
Teammates |
|---|---|---|---|
New York |
Team Carbon |
-- |
Team Carbon |
Dallas |
Team Carbon |
-- |
Team Carbon |
Anaheim |
Team Carbon |
4th |
Team Carbon |
Chicago |
Team Carbon |
-- |
Team Carbon |
Orlando |
Team LeGendz - 8th |
2nd |
Defy, Mack, Vash |
NY Playoffs |
Team LeGendz - 5th |
2nd |
Defy, Mack, Vash |
Las Vegas National CC |
Team LeGendz - 4th |
2nd |
Defy, Mack, Vash |
Pro's Choice Awards
3rd Best FFA (8-man) Player and 2nd Best 1v1 Player
2005
Event |
Championship 4v4 |
Championship FFA |
Teammates <!-- |- |
Washington D.C. |
-- |
-- |
-- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
San Francisco |
-- |
-- |
-- |
||||
Houston |
-- |
-- |
-- |
||||
Orlando |
-- |
-- |
-- |
||||
St. Louis |
-- |
-- |
-- |
||||
Philadelphia |
-- |
-- |
-- --> |
||||
Las Vegas |
9th |
4th |
Suff3r, Blondie, ElamiteWarrior |
||||
Nashville |
9th |
9th |
Metallic Aqua, Foxy, Manova |
||||
Seattle |
2nd |
2nd |
Ramby, Murfman, Samurai |
||||
LA Western CC |
KSI - 4th |
4th |
G-spot, Sad Panda, Blackjack |
||||
Atlanta Eastern CC |
KSI - 3rd |
3rd |
G-spot, Sad Panda, Blackjack |
||||
Chicago Central CC |
IGS Monglers - 4th |
1st |
Karma, ShocKWav3, Ghandhi |
||||
NY National Championships |
Phreaks - 2nd |
2nd |
Karma, ShocKWav3, Ghandhi |
Awards
2005 Pro's Choice Awards
Preferences
Cavanaugh's preferred game is Halo 2 (with his favorite MLG gametype being Lockout Ball), using default controls, 5 look sensitivity. His other favorite video games include Guitar Hero and many of the old school systems like SNES, NES, N64 and Sega