| If you think your kids are spending too much time | | | | interesting, unique and famous places including the |
| playing video games on their Playstation 3, | | | | Great Wall Of China and Red Square in Moscow, |
| Nintendo Wii, Xbox 360, PC or PSP or Playstation | | | | so the idea of holding one in Antarctica some day |
| Portable consoles then you may have a reason to | | | | may be not be so far fetched. |
| be concerned, but not worried. Before you tell | | | | Everywhere Johnathan goes he is swarmed by |
| your child to put down the game remote and pick | | | | fans who just love the way he plays video |
| up a text book you should consider one fact and | | | | games. All of his expenses are paid when he |
| that is that there is a professional video game | | | | travels and he lives like a rock star. With world |
| circuit out there with professional gamers who | | | | championships in five different video games, |
| earn thousands, even millions of dollars. | | | | Johnathan is considered by most in his sport to be |
| South Korea has a genuine passion for playing | | | | the best in the world. No other gamer has even |
| video games. This is a video game obsessed | | | | come close to matching his accomplishments. |
| nation. The electronic gaming events in this | | | | In November of 2006 Johnathan Wendel defeated |
| country can draw up to 100,000 spectators at a | | | | his biggest nemesis and won the world |
| single event. Their cyber athletes make hundreds | | | | championship for his fifth video game, PainKiller, |
| of thousands of dollars playing in tournaments | | | | and in doing so he took home a prize check for |
| that are televised nationwide. Some of them are | | | | $150,000. He defeated the reigning world |
| so popular they cannot go out in public without | | | | champion for that game, a 20 year old man from |
| body guards to shield them from adoring fans. | | | | Holland that goes by the screen name Vo0. |
| They even date movie stars and get their faces | | | | Johnathan is becoming more and more popular |
| on the covers of newspapers and magazines. | | | | every day as he continues to shine as a |
| Recently there was an electronic gaming | | | | Superstar in the world of professional gamers. He |
| tournament held in Seoul, South Korea at Jamsil | | | | is a force to be reckoned with in the |
| Indoor Stadium. This event was the equivalent of | | | | Cyberathlete Professional League. He has recently |
| our Superbowl. The game of choice for this event | | | | launched a line of Fatal1ty products that include |
| was StarCraft, which is a web game that is | | | | such things as mouse pads, headsets and |
| played on PCs. This event was nationally televised | | | | keyboards that are made specifically for playing |
| and broadcast on the Internet. The audience of | | | | video games. He has a marketing Guru named |
| 1.78 million who viewed it on television and online | | | | Mark Walden working with him and both expect |
| were glued to their seats as they watched the | | | | to make millions of dollars selling these products |
| daylong event unfold. They came to watch the | | | | to gamers worldwide. |
| most popular gamer in their country strut his | | | | The video gaming industry is expected to make |
| stuff. | | | | $30 billion dollars this year selling video games and |
| His name is Lim Yo Hwan, he is 27 years old and | | | | consoles for products like Nintendo Wii, Playstation |
| he is the Mick Jagger of e-sports in South Korea. | | | | 3, Xbox 360 and PSP. This is an enormous |
| This young man has made quite a name for | | | | amount of money that is more than twice the |
| himself playing StarCraft, the only game that | | | | yearly grosses of the NBA, NFL and Major |
| matters on the video game circuit in this country. | | | | League Baseball combined. With this kind of |
| His fans wanted to see him put on a show, and | | | | money involved and hundreds of millions of people |
| he did, winning the event easily with a take home | | | | playing video games all over the world the sport |
| prize of $20,000. Lim Yo Hwan has won many of | | | | of professional video gaming is starting to attract |
| these events in recent years and this has put his | | | | major advertising sponsors and merchandising |
| income in the six figure category. Not bad for | | | | companies. |
| playing video games. | | | | Professional video gamers are no longer just kids |
| The United States has some Superstar cyber | | | | who are wasting their time spending endless hours |
| athletes too who make a very good living on the | | | | playing video games. Many of them have |
| electronic gaming circuit. The brightest star in this | | | | managed to transform a hobby into a lucrative |
| country is a 26 year old man named Johnathan | | | | career. There are hundred of thousands, and |
| Wendel, otherwise known to his fans as Fatal1ty, | | | | even millions of dollars being made these days by |
| which is his screen name. He lives in Kansas City, | | | | gamers who travel the world all expenses paid |
| Missouri but his reputation lives all over the world. | | | | and live like rock stars. |
| Johnathan became a professional gamer at the | | | | So the next time you think your child is spending |
| age of 19, and in the past seven years he has | | | | too much time playing Nintendo Wii, Playstation 3, |
| won 41 major eSports video game tournaments. | | | | Xbox 360, PC or PSP games you should not |
| He has won more electronic gaming competitions | | | | worry too much. If they show more than the |
| than anyone else in America. Johnathan has also | | | | average amount of interest in the sport of |
| done very well financially, winning over $450,000 | | | | electronic gaming, try not to discourage them |
| in prize money. | | | | from playing video games. It is important for you |
| Johnathan Wendel has traveled all over the world | | | | to realize that they may not just be playing |
| playing in video game tournaments. To date he | | | | games when they sit down in front of their |
| has played on every continent except Antarctica. | | | | television or computer, they could also be training |
| These tournaments have been held at some very | | | | to be a world famous cyber athlete millionaire. |