An Intimate Look at Fatal1ty

[CSN NewsBot]

Pro gamers are often seen as kids with no lives who sit in their parent's basement for hours on end playing a game long enough to "master" it. Such is not the case with pro-gamer Fatal1ty, one of the most successful competive gamers in the world. Complete with his own line of merchandise, a six-figure annual income, and the fear of a majority of his fellow gamers, Johnathan Wendel (aka: Fatal1ty) sits down with My Way News to break the gamer cliche.

Around the age of 15, he started taking home prizes from local competitions. At 18, he entered his first professional tournament in Dallas.



He came in third, earned a $4,000 check and decided to make gaming a full-time endeavor, going on to garner titles in competitions in the shooting games Alien vs. Predator 2, Quake 3, Unreal Tournament 2004 and Doom 3.



Wendel, who is for now at least forgoing college, has become the leader in titles and prize money.



And he has licensed his Fatal1ty name - inspired by the word that flashes on the screen with a kill in the game Mortal Kombat, one of his early favorites - to companies for which he helps develop products geared at gamers, from mouse pads to motherboards.



He says he made about $110,000 in 2000, his first pro year, and has been consistently earning a respectable salary built on play he considers work. This year, Wendel expects to make about $200,000 between winnings and products.

The full article is certainly an interesting read, especially for those who view pro gaming as a flash in the pan experience. You may just see things differently now.

[Deadly Assass|n]

what a nerd

[Zips]

Deadly Assass|n wrote..

what a nerd

That "nerd" is making more money per win than most any of us can even fathom right now.

[Deadly Assass|n]

Zips wrote..

That "nerd" is making more money per win than most any of us can even fathom right now.

that doesnt make him better than anyone tho, he has to live with this his whole life, im sure chicks are dying to get with a dude who calls himself F@Ta|ity

[thor2488]

So you're saying there are no girls who respect gamers? That only men play games?



Get with the times, man, get with the times...

[Deadly Assass|n]

thor2488 wrote..

So you're saying there are no girls who respect gamers? That only men play games?



Get with the times, man, get with the times...

how is that anything close to what i said?

[m4elite]

I am sure the girls cant stay out of your pants "Deadly Assass|n"

[scottyk87]

Fatal1ty is actually a cool guy. He doesn't have a big ego and he does get chicks regardless of what he does. I saw him at cpl and shook his hand to congratulate him.

Check out some pictures I took last summer CPL of him

http://scottyk87.dmservers.com/thumbnai...arch=fatal1ty

[meowmeow]

"And he has licensed his Fatal1ty name.."



Oh my god.. the end of the world is at hand.. HE LICENSED HIS NAME! OH GOD HELP US ALL! OH THE HUMANITY!



Yeah, he's a real stud alright. Just check out that 70's style hair cut, and that well groomed beard, I'm sure the ladies are just dieing to ride him all night long.



"Next to him, a pilsner glass full of orange juice. Atop his monitor, a stuffed tiger named smU."



Awwww sheeeet, we got ourselves a real P-I-M-P right here.



He may be good, but there will always be someone else better than him, and then another, and then another.. and so forth.

[Antinous-ODY]

he doesn't need ladies dieing to ride him all night long.. he has a girlfriend which is true of most pro-gamers



anyone see the mtv show ?

[rizzuh]

Edited by [user="2065"] @ [time="1132562655"]

Deadly Assass|n wrote..

that doesnt make him better than anyone tho, he has to live with this his whole life, im sure chicks are dying to get with a dude who calls himself F@Ta|ity

You say that as if anyone who posts on CSN has a girlfriend.



In a few years, he's probably going to have half a million dollars just lying around. A girl sees that and then sees your recently-won high school diploma and, sorry Betsy, it ain't much of a competition. But maybe you can tell her than your Internet nickname is cooler.

meowmeow wrote..

Yeah, he's a real stud alright. Just check out that 70's style hair cut, and that well groomed beard, I'm sure the ladies are just dieing to ride him all night long.

Uh, this is a bit ridiculous.



Why don't you guys spend time developing a genuine personality instead of berating someone you don't even know on a comments board? He's not even close to ugly, either.



Personality is what gets girls, not a bunch of a 16-year-old Internet beauty judges signing off on your looks. I promise you that Christine from AP European History isn't going to run up to your dirty monitor and admire your witty insults toward a "Fatal1ty." But, yeah, some grade-A "playas" we have on this comments page tonight, I'm sure.

appended @ [time="1132562709"]

Antinous-ODY wrote..

he doesn't need ladies dieing to ride him all night long.. he has a girlfriend which is true of most pro-gamers

what's a gf when you got hos left n right like mah bros D|A n meow moew! y3h

[Antinous-ODY]

hahaha true.. i've always preferred the playa lifestyle

[DaRk-AnGeL]

Ok - To the idiots who know absolutely nothing about fatal1ty, he is so much better than you all in the respect that he is always striving to be the best, he wants to win, but at the same time he has this huge passion and love for what he does, and what he has done for e-sports has been tremendous, especially promoting it overseas.

And to those who say he doesn't or wouldn't get the chicks... http://www.fatal1ty.com/videos/videos.a...WARD-DSCF0548

Well, they are chicks. maybe not multi million dollar babes, but hey



Anyway, this guy has done so much for e-sports around the globe, and I think he deserves a lot of respect for that alone. GG Jonathan :)

[DigitalisAkujin]

Despite the fact that he's good.... people seriously need to get off his dick and start looking at themselves. Props to the first person that realizes they can become better themselves and not just look at some idle for admiration.

[Cheesy Goodness]

Don't take this the wrong way but I could care less about e-sports. I don't ever think it will become mainstream anytime soon, if ever. Games are always replaced with something new and nothing ever sticks. There will be a day where you may no long see Counter-Strike being played. Other sports don’t have this problem. Football and basketball players will always play either football or basketball.



I’m also one of those people that doesn’t really enjoy watching other people play a game. I know I’d be bored at one of these events after the novelty wore off. I wouldn’t bother trying to compete either because I know I’m not good enough against someone who plays religiously.



There’s a lot of people who brag about being in CAL and say they are all that. Listening to these people ramble on about how people in CAL make the big bucks is annoying. However, there’s only a very small portion of the gaming community that makes any money at it. These people probably just talk big. Either way, it is this kind of attitude that has helped turn me off completely to pro-gaming. Even the respectable ones still have a hint of this pretentious personality trait.

DaRk-AnGeL wrote..

Ok - To the idiots who know absolutely nothing about fatal1ty, he is so much better than you all in the respect that he is always striving to be the best, he wants to win, but at the same time he has this huge passion and love for what he does,

Nobody is better then anybody, period. By this type of statement you could claim that anybody who strives to make more money is better then you. I'm sure he wants to win. He wouldn't get paid otherwise. Tournament winnings would stop coming and his endorsement contracts would disappear. You are not the contents of your wallet. When you die, you don't take it with you.