Ryan Danford (born October 20, 1985) is an American former professional Halo player known by the handle Saiyan.
[4] After graduating from high school, Danford attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
[citation needed] Danford began competing professionally in 2004 with Major League Gaming (MLG).
[10][11] In October 2004, he played with KillerN, Toxin, Tupac as the Chargers at MLG Boston, taking first place in Halo: Combat Evolved 4 vs.
[citation needed] In December 2005, Danford discussed his recently expanded training regime: " I wake up.
Saiyan's natural awareness and fantastic shooting ability helped him edge out Karma in the race for gold in this category.
"[18] In addition, MLG said, "Saiyan came away with the gold medal [for Most Unpredictable Player] in the voting here, as he is known not only to support his teammates during combat but also to slip behind enemy lines and completely disrupt the game plans of his opponents.
"[19] Despite these successes, Danford became the fall guy in November 2006 when Final Boss had its first loss, coming in second place to the team Carbon at MLG Orlando.
[20] At the time, a reporter noted, "While one player hardly deserves credit for the failure of an entire team, Danford’s situation as a fallen superstar on a team rocketing towards fame and fortune has made him a unique target of criticism, with some of it deserved; it isn’t hard to see his name at the bottom of the scoreboard in many of Final Boss’ losing efforts against their new rival.
"[20] Danford admitted that his game was sub-par at the time, but he practiced and planned new strategies for the 2005 MLG national championships in New York City, saying, “I’m not taking any chances for this, since it’s the biggest I’ve ever played in.
I’m very confident going into tomorrow compared to how I’ve felt I’d play at the last few; I feel my hard work is going to pay off.”[20] Final Boss came in second place at the championships, losing the $100,000 first-place prize—more than the team had made by winning almost every MLG event of 2006.
[citation needed] In 2007, he formed the team Make It Rain (MiR) with Detach, BoO, and Neighbor (also known as Toxinsneighbor).
In June 2007, Danford played a new lineup with Detach, Burns, and Lunatic called the Rainmakers for the MLG Meadowlands Halo 2 4 vs. 4 competition.
[25][26] Playing with Final Boss and its predecessors StK and Team 3D, Danford never placed lower than second and won sixteen events between 2004 and 2006.