The Cyberathlete Professional League

The idea of professional computer gamer was in its nascent phase when John and I started writing the book.  Jonathan Wendall, better known as Fatal1ty, was making headlines, and Stevie Case was the new nerd pinup girl.

We spent a good deal of time traveling to QuakeCon and the Cyberathlete Professional League events to understand exactly how far computer game culture had come in just a few short decades. When the CPL received $45 million in sponsorship money from computer makers, it appeared as if Game Leagues would become big business.

They did not. But no matter. The culture of computer game worlds spread far and wide beyond the sponsored events of the early aughts.