With his heart rate increased and his lips dried, junior Jonathan Wong tried to suppress his excitement as he opened his invitation to the Major League Gaming (MLG) Championships in Anaheim. In this tournament, professional gaming clans compete for a spot in Call of Duty (COD) Championships in which the top 20 teams compete for a grand prize of one million dollars. At MLG Anaheim, players can compete for $50,000-$80,000. Junior Jonathan Wong has the opportunity to play in MLG Anaheim this coming Jun. 3 to Jun. 5 with his team Fariko Gaming.

“I started playing COD after Halo 3 was released and what really got me into first person shooting games was because of Halo. I think Halo originated the best gameplay for all of the COD series,” Wong said.

Wong, also a varsity water polo player, spends much of his time perfecting his game in water polo and is always busy. When he has time to relax, Wong plays an assortment of video games, but trains most rigorously for his favorite game, COD Advanced Warfare. Wong saw it in himself that he had the potential to play in a professional team and compete with other exemplary, skilled players. Wong knew he had the necessary skills to join a team because of his outstanding amount of kills and low number of deaths, meeting the standards for professional players. He saw an opportunity to be accepted into a competitive clan, which is like a sports team to video games, and completed the recruitment challenge, which was to submit a recording of his gameplay and a commentary needed to play on the team. Wong submitted a recording of his gameplay with commentary to Fariko Gaming and was chosen for a rare position.

“Before I play in tournaments, I would put on my headphones to get the adrenaline rush so I could play my best. While I get ready, I would stretch my hands so I would not get cramps in my hands,” Wong said.

MLG Anaheim is a competitive tournament where 32 clans from across the world have the opportunity to compete for a grand prize of $50,000 and many teams come to play and support their country. The feeling in the tournament is electric, with players wanting to move on to the next round and play for glory. The tournament is broadcast throughout the world where people can see their favorite games and teams compete for spots on other major tournaments. There are many sponsors who support the tournament and announcers to commentate on what the players are doing during the game.

Wong dedicates two to three hours for playing COD on the weekdays and five to six hours on weekends. COD became his favorite game after he played the similar one, Halo. In the game, Wong has no specific weapon choice. He uses the best weapons that fit the game modes that he plays, which include hardpoint where the objective is to defend a certain area the computer randomly selects, and capture the flag. Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, Wong plays with his clanmates and they play what they call a “skirmish” or a practice game so they can develop their plays during a real match. Their main goal is to win both MLG Anaheim and COD Championships so they can gain sponsors and money for new equipment.

“There is little technique but it really takes a lot of practice to master it and it can go from calling out to where an enemy team member is to defending your own flag,” Wong said.

Wong is a dedicated player that works hard to perfect his play style so he can be ready to take on the top players and clans in the nation. He is working to lead his team to victory in the MLG tournament so they can advance to COD championships and become the number one clan in COD.