Backstory
“I came out of the womb with a controller in my hand,” jokes Bryce Cousins (aka, Mr. B) of the South Carolina Phantoms. “It’s just in my DNA.”
As a young child, Cousins would watch his father, an avid gamer, and his brothers’ friends play every day and “on every console you could think of”. At just four years old, he often watched his father play Maximo and played a lot of Grand Theft Auto himself.
His love of competition continued throughout his life as an athlete. “Competition brings out the fire in me,” he says.
Commitment
According to Cousins, he didn’t find the Ultimate Endgamers League (UEL), the league found him.
“I was just messing around on Insta when I saw the ad and I decided to check it out,” Cousins explains. And before he knew it, he signed up for the draft and got into the league as a free agent in season 7.
Despite his 2-hour drive each way to Stafford for competitions, Cousins still finds time to teach, write, stream, and create YouTube content.
Motivation
Born and raised in Hampton, Virginia, a town known for turning out many great athletes, Cousins is hoping to emerge as one of the next great athletes. “This is about the competition and everything I have worked for so far. I’m turning my dreams into reality,” he says.
But watch out, Cousins considers this his grudge season, warning, “The Phantoms are coming… everyone’s scared of ghosts, but these are different. We don’t leave after the exorcism. We mean business.”
M.O.
Cousins gleans some of his game and stream style from watching YouTubers like Dashie, Vanoss, and Bash. “YouTubers keep me going. I watch their walk-throughs, playthroughs, and reviews to learn their style, then I add my own charisma,” he explains.
He also learns a lot from fighters like his favorite game, Tekken. “Fighters are the best strategy games. Knowing when to attack and not to attack has taught me a lot more patience. And that can be applied to every fighter.”
Shoutouts:
- To Herb for teaching the ins and outs of Tekken.
- To Mom and Dad for all their support.
- To my sister who drove me to every game… if it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t be in the league.