2. Johnathan Wendel, aka "Fatal1ty"
Sport: Video Games
Career Highlights: A member of the Cyberathlete Professional League (yes, this exists) since 1999, Wendel won two world Quake III championships in a month, earning him a total of $44,000. According to his website, "(Wendel) presently reigns as the only three-time CPL Champion of the Year, winning each annual title in a different game, a feat never before accomplished." Cool.
So, why are his opponents so scared of him? Believe it or not, there are thousands of professional video game players around the globe. Known as "cyberathletes," these characters earn hundreds of thousands of dollars a year doing for a living what hungover college kids do on Sunday mornings for fun. Wendel, whose "handle" is "Fatal1ty," is the nastiest one of all. In an October 10th article in Business Week, we learn, "In this new world, Johnathan Wendel is the undisputed star. Over a period of five years, he has won more tournaments and pulled in more prize money than any other player, a total that has now topped $350,000. Girl gamers buzz about him at matches, like a group of Swedish players in Barcelona this summer. And boys idolize him. "He's so good," says Iisakki "Beam" Ahonen, an up-and-coming 17-year-old Finn player. 'I want to be like him to travel and compete in tournaments and make a living at it.'" He's pretty much the Matt Leinart/Derek Jeter/Jason from Laguna Beach of the video-game world. Girls want him, and guys want to be him. And yet, no one wants to face him one-on-one.
