Eric Tai (born August 23, 1984) is a

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

n-born

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

actor, model, TV host, comedian,

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

player who played for the Alabang Eagles and represented the

Philippines national rugby union team The Philippines national rugby union team, nicknamed the "Volcanoes", represents the Philippines in international rugby union. The Philippines have been playing in the Asia Rugby Championship since 2006 when the team was first created. In 2012 t ...

in 15s and 7s and professional ''

Arena of Valor ''Arena of Valor'' (), formerly ''Strike of Kings'', is an international adaptation of ''Honor of Kings'' (), a multiplayer online battle arena developed by TiMi Studio Group and published by Level Infinite for Android, iOS and Nintendo Switch ...

esports Esports, short for electronic sports, is a form of competition using video games. Esports often takes the form of organized, multiplayer video game competitions, particularly between professional players, individually or as teams. Although orga ...

player. He was also one of the hosts of '' It's Showtime'', where he goes by the screen name, Eruption.

Early life

Tai spent his childhood in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. In high school he became involved in various sports such as

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

, and

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

. Tai first came to the Philippines as a missionary for the

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The c ...

where he was able to serve a 2-year mission in

Naga, Camarines Sur Naga, officially the City of Naga (Central Bikol: ''Siyudad nin Naga''; Rinconada Bikol: ''Syudad ka Naga''; fil, Lungsod ng Naga) or the Pilgrim City of Naga, is a 1st class independent component city in the Bicol Region of the Philippines. ...

Rugby career

Tai was part of the

in 2011. For two years he did not play for the national team. In 2013, he made his return to the national team. In club rugby, Tai played for the Alabang Eagles.

Acting career

Before his stint in the Philippines he was already pursuing a career in acting, commercial modelling, and hosting in Australia.

Television

He made a guest appearance in '' It's Showtime'' as a ''hurado'' or a judge in a segment of the variety show and also made a dance exhibition. In 2012, he became a full-time host in the show and became known under the screen name "Eruption". He was offered to be part of various television shows in

ABS-CBN ABS-CBN (an initialism of its two predecessors' names, Alto Broadcasting System and Chronicle Broadcasting Network) is a Television in the Philippines, Philippine Commercial broadcasting, commercial broadcast broadcast network, network tha ...

but declining saying that he wants to focus with ''It's Showtime''. As part of

McCann Erickson McCann, formerly McCann Erickson, is an American global advertising agency network, with offices in 120 countries. McCann is part of McCann Worldgroup, along with several other agencies, including direct digital marketing agency MRM//McCann, expe ...

's "Everybody Break Now" advertising campaign for

KitKat Kit Kat (stylised as KitKat in various countries) is a chocolate-covered wafer bar confection created by Rowntree's of York, United Kingdom, and is now produced globally by Nestlé (which acquired Rowntree's in 1988), except in the United Stat ...

, Tai portrayed Dan, the Breakinator in a television commercial for the chocolate brand. He took a break after his stint in a Canadian Tour of '' It's Showtime'' in September 2014 and returned in December of the same year. Tai announced his departure in ''It's Showtime'' in early 2016. Co-host

Coleen Garcia Danielle Claudine Ortega Garcia-Crawford (born September 24, 1992), known professionally as Coleen Garcia (, is a Filipino actress, host, and model. Garcia started her career as a child and teenager appearing in several commercials. She was eve ...

also left. His last appearance in the television show was in December 2015. Tai along with his wife, Rona Samson joined the fifth season of ''

The Amazing Race Asia ''The Amazing Race Asia'' is an Asian adventure reality game show based on the international ''Amazing Race'' franchise. Following the premise of other versions of the format, the show follows teams of two as they race across Asia and around the ...

'' as contestants. Tai is formerly part of an action adventure series

Bagani Bagani or magani refers to the class of warrior-leaders of various Lumad ethnic groups of the island of Mindanao, Philippines. Bagani were most notably integral to the traditional society and government of the Mandaya, Mansaka, Manobo, and Bagobo ...

in 2018, which he plays a Giant guy. This was Eric Tai’s 1st Teleserye, followed by his 2nd teleserye ''Ngayon At Kailanman'' which he plays as a bodyguard in 2019.

Film

Tai appeared in ''Madaling Araw, Mahabang Gabi'', an independent film which also featured

Angelica Panganiban Angelica Panganiban (; born Angelica Jane David Charlson on November 4, 1986) is a Filipino-American actress, model, TV host and comedienne. Regarded as the new “Queen of Drama” by various media outlets, Panganiban is recognized as one of ...

. In May 2012, Tai expressed his desire to act in an action film but he says he doesn't find any opportunity to do so in the Philippines.

Hosting

Tai hosted Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Southeast Asia Cup 2019 (MSC 2019) held at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on June 21–23, 2018.

Personal life

Tai is married to Rona Samson. The two became engaged in August 2014 when Tai proposed to Samson in

Albay Albay,