Johnathan Wendel facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Fatal1ty |
|
|---|---|
Wendel in 2023
|
|
| Personal information | |
| Name | Johnathan Wendel |
| Born | February 26, 1981 |
| Nationality | American |
| Career information | |
| Games |
|
| Playing career | 1999–2006 |
Johnathan Wendel (born February 26, 1981), known as Fatal1ty (say "Fatality"), is an American entrepreneur and former professional esports player. He is famous for being one of the first big stars in competitive video gaming.
Fatal1ty started his professional gaming journey in 1999. He quickly became known for winning many championships in different video games. He won world titles in games like Aliens vs. Predator 2, Unreal Tournament 2003, Doom 3, and Painkiller. By the time he stopped playing professionally in 2006, he had won a record-breaking $450,000 in prize money. Even after retiring, he stayed involved in esports and has received several awards for his impact on the gaming world.
Contents
Becoming a Pro Gamer
From a young age, Johnathan Wendel loved playing first-person shooters (FPS) like Doom. In the early 1990s, he spent hours playing Quake online after school. He also went to local gaming events called LAN parties in the Midwest.
At one of these events, he met another player named Eric "Batch" Paik. They started playing Quake together every weekend. After Wendel beat Paik many times in a row, Paik suggested that Wendel should try playing in bigger tournaments.
After high school, Wendel wanted to become a professional video game player. He made a deal with his father: if he didn't win any money in his first big tournament, he would go back to school.
Fatal1ty's Gaming Success
Wendel began his professional gaming career with the game Quake III Arena. In October 1999, when he was 18, he paid $500 to enter a Cyberathlete Professional League (CPL) tournament in Dallas, Texas. He finished third and won $4,000, proving he could make money from gaming.
The next year, in 2000, he went to Sweden for his first international tournament. He won every single match, finishing with 18 wins and zero losses! Throughout 2000, Wendel showed off his skills at major CPL events in Europe, Asia, and the United States. He also won the 2000 World Cyber Games in Seoul. From Quake III tournaments, he earned a total of $110,000 in prize money. He also got $25,000 from sponsors like Razer.
.jpg)
In 2001, Wendel won the CPL World Championship for Aliens vs. Predator 2. For this win, he received a custom-painted Ford Focus car and $40,000.
After not qualifying for the 2002 World Cyber Games, he decided to focus on a new game: Unreal Tournament 2003. He played in the 2002 CPL Winter event in Dallas and won the championship, taking home $10,000. In 2004, he became the first-ever Doom 3 champion at QuakeCon 2004, winning $25,000. These wins made him a very important player in esports.
In 2005, Wendel switched to playing Painkiller for the CPL World Tour. This was a year-long tournament series that ended in New York City. In the grand finals, he faced Sander "Vo0" Kaasjager, who was the top Painkiller player. Wendel had to win two best-of-three matches because he had lost once before. He won four games in a row, taking first place and an amazing $150,000 prize! This was his fifth world title, and he won each one in a different FPS game.
In 2006, Wendel focused on Quake IV. He competed in the World Series of Video Games (WSVG) Finals. He made it to the finals, where he played against Johan "Toxjq" Quick. Wendel was the first player to beat Quick in a match. However, Quick won the second match, and Wendel finished in second place. After this, Wendel decided to retire from professional gaming because his favorite type of games were becoming less popular in tournaments.
Even after retiring from competitive play in 2006, Wendel still appeared at various gaming events. He played in exhibition matches and even participated in a Guinness World Record event.
Fatal1ty's Lasting Impact
Throughout his career, Johnathan Wendel earned $450,000 in prize money from seven different games. This was a record in esports for over six years! It was finally broken by Lee "Jaedong" Jae-dong, a famous StarCraft player, in 2013.
Because of his huge impact on esports, Wendel received the first-ever Lifetime Achievement Award at the Leipzig Games Convention in Germany in 2007. This award recognized his great sportsmanship and how much he helped shape the world of esports. In 2010, Wendel was added to the International Video Game Hall of Fame. He was also inducted into the ESL Esports Hall of Fame in 2018. In 2020, he received another Lifetime Achievement Award from the Esports Awards.
Personal Life
Johnathan Wendel was born on February 26, 1981, in Kansas City, Missouri. He grew up there. His parents worked in car factories, and his father also managed a pool hall. During high school, he played on the school's tennis team.
In 2006, Wendel moved to Las Vegas, Nevada.
Media and Business
Media Appearances
In 2003, Johnathan Wendel became more widely known when he appeared in MTV's documentary MTV True Life: I'm a Gamer. The show followed his journey as he played Unreal Tournament 2003 and won the 2002 CPL Winter tournament. Wendel said the MTV show helped his career a lot by giving him constant attention. He even said, "For nine years MTV was re-airing my show. I constantly get exposure, media. You can't even pay for that." In January 2006, Wendel was also featured on the news program 60 Minutes, which talked about his gaming career and the growth of esports around the world.
Business Ventures
In 2002, Wendel started his own company, Fatal1ty Inc. He wanted to rely less on sponsorships for his gaming career. Soon after starting, he made $50,000 just by selling mousepads. By 2007, he had partnered with big gaming companies like Creative Labs, XFX, Universal Abit, and Zalman. These companies put his brand name on their products. Wendel said his company made about $5 million in royalties in 2006. His partnership with Creative in 2006 led to the Fatal1ty Gaming Headset, which was the first headset with a removable microphone. This design is now common in many gaming headsets.
In 2017, Wendel helped start ReadyUp, a service to help both amateur and professional esports teams manage themselves. In 2023, he joined the advisory board of Glytch, a company that builds esports and gaming venues.
See also
In Spanish: Fatal1ty para niños
