Josh "Jesus" Pryor is representing the Islands in the semifinals of America's largest video game tournament today after beating the state's 12 best "Street Fighter IV" players at the July 5 "Street Fight For Hunger" competition at the Loft.

"Josh is more than qualified to show the level of skill that we have here on the island," said Jeff Young, commissioner of the Hawaii Video Gaming League, which put together an all-expenses-paid package to send 28-year-old Pryor to Las Vegas to compete in the Evolution Championship Series, known by fans as EVO.

Due to expected record- high pre-attendance estimates, Pryor estimates around 32 semifinal tickets were awarded across the country, but that no one — not even the promoters — could say for sure how many players will compete.

Pryor said he would be practicing for about six to seven days before the tournament, but that he probably already knows everything he could learn; it's just a matter of the matchup.

To Pryor, the game is essentially fast chess. He quoted a friend: "You never hate a game you're good at."

Pryor — known by fellow players as "Jesus" due to his prominent beard and long hair — is working toward a Ph.D. in political science at the University of Hawai'i and is renowned within the local fighting game community — a group of players whose niche of competition is one person vs. one person — for inventing new techniques and elevating the competitive spirit of his competition.

One technique is wearing a ring around his knuckle with the ring centerpiece down toward his palm when he plays. "We used to use bottle caps back in the day," Pryor said. The ring helps him slide his hand across the buttons faster than pressing them individually. "It's called pianoing, when you tap out the buttons, but I can't — I got old-man fingers." Pryor said.

"When you're young, you're fast, but when you're old, you have experience."

Pryor has lived in Honolulu for three years, but played in California with professional players before moving. He has also attended EVO four times before, but said he is just going to have fun this year.

"The players out here, all of them, could be 10 times as good as they are if they were in a place like Los Angeles. We are isolated. Sorry, but that's the reality," he said. "We need competition." And that's what a win at EVO could mean for Hawai'i.

"(Pryor's win) would ensure us in the public eye," said Young.

Pryor believes that games could learn a lot from communities like Magic: The Gathering, which use the Internet and a wider distribution of prize money among the winners.

"You finish eighth and you're still going home with some money, it's like golf. In the top tournaments, everybody is getting paid. And that's what we need. Playing your hobby and getting paid? It doesn't get any better than that."