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Virtual Sports Pay Off in Real Money
They train, they compete, and they win huge cash prizes - all without leaving their chairs! They are professional video game players and they call themselves cyber-athletes. Player Jonathan Wendel is number one.
Wendel makes over three hundred thousand dollars a year just for playing video games! Well, not just for playing - he has to win! And winning takes lots of training. He keeps his body in top physical condition, which he claims helps keep his reflexes fast and his thinking sharp. He trains by playing games eight to twelve hours a day, every day. He talks fast, and he plays even faster.
His training and winning have really paid off. Wendel plays in tournaments around the world. He's played in China, in Russia, and across Europe. He plays first person shooter games like Doom and Quake. The most he has ever won in a tournament was one hundred and fifty thousand dollars!
While the idea of professional video game players may sound strange in the United States, it is much more popular in South Korea. There are 225 professional players of the game Starcraft in the Korean e-sports Association. Tournaments are played in arenas for crowds of up to a hundred thousand people. Some people think it's only a matter of time before professional gaming becomes mainstream in the U.S., too.
Hear that, Lucy! Better start practicing! Ha-ha!
I'm Isaac and that's what happened in arts and tech this week!
I've got my own game for you to play! Click Match Game and figure out which game is which!
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