The World's Best Video Gamer

In high school I worked at an Internet company called Q-Networks (QNI). One of my co-workers there was the now Internet-famous Jonathan Wendel. I believe this to be the last consistent job he had before he became a professional gamer. (QNI was also home to Tech Report's Scott Wasson, Mike Wheeler, and Wes Burrows amongst other characters). KC Host (a startup I was partner in) was created by a half dozen or so ex-QNI employees -- but that's another story. Back to Mr. Wendel.

I can recall Jonathan winning Quake tournaments while on customer support calls and playing in a tiny (1x1 inch) window in the bottom corner of his screen so that the customer service manager wouldn't notice. His playing was graceful and serene, mesmerizing and sometimes bordering on nauseating to watch (spinning, hopping, running backwards). His customer support calls were awkward, stuttered, and confusing. In general, he was very competitive, and only played to win no matter the sport. (This is why he hated Quake 2, he lost at it).

Anyhow, Wendel went on to win cars and motorcycles and cash prices, and to have a line of sound cards, mouse pads and Abit motherboards branded in his honor and he now points to the future of cyber gaming. The glory and the fame of true domination are brought to him and his pride (read ego), though to the best of my knowledge he still lives in his parent's basement. Still though, I have to admire his business savvy and personal re-investment.

I recall one time when he asked to borrow a video card because his parents had taken his away for playing too much. They were always meddling and grounding him from his computer. I suspect that changed when he began travelling the world and winning $40,000 prizes. I assume they are now quite proud and supportive of his dedication. I hope he's still a nice guy like he used to be -- I suspect he still is as long as gaming doesn't come up.

Anyhow, here he is in the news again on MSNBC. He's been in Time and Newsweek and everywhere else. His website is fatal1ty.com

Be shocked, be amazed, be completely and totally unsurprised. The video game industry is a mainstream multi-billion dollar industry that drives hardware sales and cyber-athletes are here to stay.

(While we're on the topic, see if you can beat me to build the world's first video game that tricks people into doing something useful without realizing it. Or rather, bring uselessness to life by bringing video games to reality)