Abit AN9 32X 1. Introduction

1. Introduction

Who knew that at age 19, I would be

a World Champion PC gamer. When

I was 13, I actually played

competitive billiards in professional

tournaments and won four or five

games off guys who played at the

highest level. I actually thought of

making a career of it, but at that

young age situations change rapidly.

Because I’ve been blessed with great

hand-eye coordination and a grasp of

mathematics (an important element

in video gaming) I gravitated to that

activity.

I started professional gaming in 1999 when I entered the CPL (Cyberathlete Professional

League) tournament in Dallas and won $4,000 for coming in third place. Emerging as one of

the top players in the United States, a company interested in sponsoring me flew me to Sweden

to compete against the top 12 players in the world. I won 18 straight games, lost none, and

took first place, becoming the number one ranked Quake III player in the world in the process.

Two months later I followed that success by traveling to Dallas and defending my title as the

world’s best Quake III player, winning the $40,000 grand prize. My earned frags allowed at

this tournament were 2.5. From there I entered competitions all over the world, including

Singapore, Korea, Germany, Australia, Holland and Brazil in addition to Los Angeles, New York

and St. Louis.

I was excited to showcase my true gaming skills when defending my title as CPL Champion of

the year at the CPL Winter 2001 because I would be competing in a totally different first person

shooter (fps) game, Alien vs. Predator II. I won that competition and walked away with a new

car. The next year I won the same title playing Unreal Tournament 2003, becoming the only

three-time CPL champion. And I did it playing a different game each year, something no one

else has ever done and a feat of which I am extremely proud.

At QuakeCon 2002, I faced off against my rival ZeRo4 in one of the most highly anticipated

matches of the year, winning in a 14 to (-1) killer victory. Competing at Quakecon 2004, I

became the World’s 1st Doom3 Champion by defeating Daler in a series of very challenging

matches and earning $25,000 for the victory.

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