Business Photo Slideshows

We Play

They train several hours a day, have high-profile sponsorships, and travel around the world to compete. They aren't athletes, some say. But many of today's superstar players would beg to differ—or to frag you in Halo 2.

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Jonathan Wendel (Handle: Fatal1ty)

Photo by Charlie Riedel/Associated Press

In 1999, this 18-year-old Missourian won $4,000 in a gaming tournament, convincing his parents that his hobby could pay off. Now he's one of the highest-earning players in the U.S., having won more than $500,000 in prize money. Competing in first-person shooters like Painkiller, Wendel is a world champ in five different games, has been featured on 60 Minutes, and has his own line of computer accessories.

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Tom Taylor (Handle: Tsquared)

Photo by Rick Silva/Associated Press

The 19-year-old native of Jupiter, Florida, leads the Halo 2 team Str8 Rippin, has been featured on MTV, and just signed a $1.25 million contract with Major League Gaming.

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Dennis Fong (Handle: Thresh)

He's known as the Michael Jordan of videogames, for his E.S.P.-like ability to get inside his opponent's head. Fong, 30, applies the same strategy to the world of business. He's been the C.E.O. of a couple of successful startups, and he sold his gaming-networking site, Xfire, to Viacom for $102 million in 2006.

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Alyson Craghead (Handle: Calyber)

The 22-year-old gamer (top center) is a member of the Frag Dolls, a women's gaming team started as a marketing ploy by French videogame publisher Ubisoft. The Arizona native is known for her skill at Halo 2. The Frag Dolls have teams in the U.S., Britain, and France. In 2006, they won the Rainbow Six Vegas tournament, the first team of women to do so.

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Victor De Leon III

Photo by lilpoison.com

Nine-year-old De Leon (Handle: Lil' Poison) watched his father and uncle play the videogame Halo when he was a toddler. By age four he had surpassed them both, along with most of the world's Halo-playing population. Now he wins prizes of as much as $20,000, along with free trips to tournaments all over the country. De Leon can't receive pro status until he turns 15, but in the meantime he gives lessons.

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Lim Yo-hwan

Photo by Sang-Hoon Kish Kim

(Handle: SlayerS_'BoxeR')
In South Korea, 26-year-old Lim, or Boxer, as his 500,000 fans know him, is a national hero. Sponsored by the country's largest cell phone company, SK Telecom, Lim is one of the highest-paid gamers in the world, earning $300,000 in prize money each year. Right now he's taking a break from the limelight, having joined Korea's air force, where he's started a StarCraft team.

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Girlz of Destruction

They're some of the best Quake 4 players in the world. Thanks in part to sharing a house in Stockholm, this international team of women can focus on their game 24 hours a day. Sponsored by Via Technologies, the seven members travel the world together, taking part in tournaments from Moscow to Dallas.

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Kornelia Takacs (Handle: Kornelia)

Photo by Ann Summa/Time Life Pictures/Getty Images

Also known as the Queen of Quake, Hungarian-born Takacs mastered Quake when Id Software first released a demo in 1996. Competing in tournaments, she soon went pro. A reluctant spokesperson for women in gaming, Takacs emphasizes skill above all else. The 30-year-old continues to dominate exhibition matches.

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