Legendary FPS duel champion Fatal1ty is the fifth person inducted into the Esports Hall of Fame, presented by paysafecard.
Key achievements:
- 2000 Razer CPL champion (Quake 3)
- 2000 WCGC champion (Quake 3)
- 2002 CPL Summer champion (Alien vs. Predator)
- 2002 CPL Winter champion (Unreal Tournament 2003)
- 2005 CPL World Tour champion (Painkiller)
- 2006 WSVG Grand Finals runner-up (Quake 4)
Johnathan Wendel, famous the world over as "Fatal1ty", is one of esports greatest champions and ambassadors. The Missouri native promised his father he'd quit esports competition entirely if he flunked out at a tournament back in 1999. Within a few months, he'd parlayed a deep finish there into a world number one ranking in Quake 3.
Half a decade later and Fatal1ty was still competing for world championship titles, but in other games. Moving over to the infamously different Unreal Tournament 2002, he dispatched the best the game sent to the first major tournament to become a champion again. Perhaps his magnum opus, though, was overcoming the steep learning curve of Painkiller, yet another FPS title, on the CPL World Tour in 2005, in time matching and later besting Vo0, the undisputed best player until then, to win $150,000.
Fatal1ty was known for his time in the spotlight winning major championships, but it was his diligent approach to "practice, practice, practice!" that earned him such accolades and created a legendary legacy for the guy who basically told his dad the equivalent of "one more game before bed!".
