Attention joypad jockeys: All that couch-potato time could pay off. Just ask former Quake champ Dennis “Thresh” Fong. “Gaming was just a hobby,” he says. “Then I started winning tournaments and the money started rolling in.” Fong used his winnings and fame to lure investors to several Web ventures, including UltimateArena.com, which lets anyone play PC games competitively for real money, just like Fong did.

In fact, competitive gamers today have many ways to get into the play-for-cash-and-loot racket. On the console side, they can join Major League Gaming, which holds nationwide tournaments for Halo, Madden, Gran Turismo 3, and Soul Calibur II. Participants at its recent Halo event walked away with 10,000 bucks.

PC fans have more options, including the bustling Cyberathlete Professional League (www.cyberathlete.com). Factor in upstart outfits like the Global Gaming League and event-based tourneys at QuakeCon and the World Cyber Games, and skilled players have ample chance to nab some green—especially if they land on a corporate-sponsored team. And if you really want to bank on your skills, try YouPlayGames.com, which lets players wager on multiplayer matches. While such gambling hardly seems legit, the government has yet to get involved.

Don’t count on getting rich quick, though; competition for top slots is fierce. Considering the potential payoffs, however (“The Ferrari I won still sits in my parking lot, looking real pretty,” affirms Fong), we figure a few of you will rise to the challenge. “Now that gaming has become more mainstream,” Fong says, “lots of professional leagues exist. I was once the undisputed champion. Now there are many.”

joypad jockeys: All that couch-potato time could pay off. Just ask former Quake champ Dennis “Thresh” Fong. “Gaming was just a hobby,” he says. “Then I started winning tournaments and the money started rolling in.” Fong used his winnings and fame to lure investors to several Web ventures, including UltimateArena.com, which lets anyone play PC games competitively for real money, just like Fong did.

In fact, competitive gamers today have many ways to get into the play-for-cash-and-loot racket. On the console side, they can join Major League Gaming, which holds nationwide tournaments for Halo, Madden, Gran Turismo 3, and Soul Calibur II. Participants at its recent Halo event walked away with 10,000 bucks.

PC fans have more options, including the bustling Cyberathlete Professional League (www.cyberathlete.com). Factor in upstart outfits like the Global Gaming League and event-based tourneys at QuakeCon and the World Cyber Games, and skilled players have ample chance to nab some green—especially if they land on a corporate-sponsored team. And if you really want to bank on your skills, try YouPlayGames.com, which lets players wager on multiplayer matches. While such gambling hardly seems legit, the government has yet to get involved.

Don’t count on getting rich quick, though; competition for top slots is fierce. Considering the potential payoffs, however (“The Ferrari I won still sits in my parking lot, looking real pretty,” affirms Fong), we figure a few of you will rise to the challenge. “Now that gaming has become more mainstream,” Fong says, “lots of professional leagues exist. I was once the undisputed champion. Now there are many.”

joypad jockeys: All that couch-potato time could pay off. Just ask former Quake champ Dennis “Thresh” Fong. “Gaming was just a hobby,” he says. “Then I started winning tournaments and the money started rolling in.” Fong used his winnings and fame to lure investors to several Web ventures, including UltimateArena.com, which lets anyone play PC games competitively for real money, just like Fong did.

In fact, competitive gamers today have many ways to get into the play-for-cash-and-loot racket. On the console side, they can join Major League Gaming, which holds nationwide tournaments for Halo, Madden, Gran Turismo 3, and Soul Calibur II. Participants at its recent Halo event walked away with 10,000 bucks.

PC fans have more options, including the bustling Cyberathlete Professional League (www.cyberathlete.com). Factor in upstart outfits like the Global Gaming League and event-based tourneys at QuakeCon and the World Cyber Games, and skilled players have ample chance to nab some green—especially if they land on a corporate-sponsored team. And if you really want to bank on your skills, try YouPlayGames.com, which lets players wager on multiplayer matches. While such gambling hardly seems legit, the government has yet to get involved.

Don’t count on getting rich quick, though; competition for top slots is fierce. Considering the potential payoffs, however (“The Ferrari I won still sits in my parking lot, looking real pretty,” affirms Fong), we figure a few of you will rise to the challenge. “Now that gaming has become more mainstream,” Fong says, “lots of professional leagues exist. I was once the undisputed champion. Now there are many.”

joypad jockeys: All that couch-potato time could pay off. Just ask former Quake champ Dennis “Thresh” Fong. “Gaming was just a hobby,” he says. “Then I started winning tournaments and the money started rolling in.” Fong used his winnings and fame to lure investors to several Web ventures, including UltimateArena.com, which lets anyone play PC games competitively for real money, just like Fong did.

In fact, competitive gamers today have many ways to get into the play-for-cash-and-loot racket. On the console side, they can join Major League Gaming, which holds nationwide tournaments for Halo, Madden, Gran Turismo 3, and Soul Calibur II. Participants at its recent Halo event walked away with 10,000 bucks.

PC fans have more options, including the bustling Cyberathlete Professional League (www.cyberathlete.com). Factor in upstart outfits like the Global Gaming League and event-based tourneys at QuakeCon and the World Cyber Games, and skilled players have ample chance to nab some green—especially if they land on a corporate-sponsored team. And if you really want to bank on your skills, try YouPlayGames.com, which lets players wager on multiplayer matches. While such gambling hardly seems legit, the government has yet to get involved.

Don’t count on getting rich quick, though; competition for top slots is fierce. Considering the potential payoffs, however (“The Ferrari I won still sits in my parking lot, looking real pretty,” affirms Fong), we figure a few of you will rise to the challenge. “Now that gaming has become more mainstream,” Fong says, “lots of professional leagues exist. I was once the undisputed champion. Now there are many.”

Copyright © 2003 Ziff Davis Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. Originally appearing in Electronic Gaming Monthly.