Product Code Database
Dennis Fong (first=t), (born March 11, 1977), better known by his online alias Thresh, is an American businessman and retired esports player of the first-person shooter video games Quake and Doom. He is a co-founder of Xfire, an instant messenger and social networking site for gamers, which was acquired by Viacom for 102 million in April 2006. He also co-founded Lithium Technologies, a social customer relationship management (CRM) company. In his playing career his highest profile victory came in 1997 at the Red Annihilation Quake tournament, where he placed first and won id Software CEO John Carmack's Ferrari 328. Fong is recognized by the Guinness World Records as the first professional gamer.
Fong attended the Microsoft-sponsored Doom tournament Judgment Day 1995 in Seattle and defeated Ted "Merlock" Peterson to finish first among 24 competitors from across the US and United Kingdom.
The highlight of his gaming career was at the Red Annihilation tournament in 1997. He and Tom "Entropy" Kimzey emerged from a crowded field to face off in the Quake level E1M2 "Castle of the Damned", where Thresh defeated Entropy 14 to -1.
At the peak of his gaming career in the middle to late 1990s, he earned approximately $100,000 (~$ in ) a year from prize money and endorsements. He retired in 1997 to focus on his business ventures.
On July 27, 2016, Thresh was the second person to be inducted into the ESL Hall of Fame. Fong has also been featured in Rolling Stone for his gaming prowess.
In 1999, GX Media raised over US$11 million from CMGI and built gamers.com, a popular web portal. Thresh plays the portal game Marius Meland, Forbes, 11.12.99 Video Game Champ Creates Web Portal Kelly Zito, San Francisco Chronicle, December 15, 1999 Fong's Ferrari was parked in the lobby of the GX Media offices. In 2001, gamers.com was acquired by Ziff-Davis.
While running GX Media, Fong was also editor-in-chief at the video gaming site FiringSquad, wrote a monthly column in the popular PC Gamer magazine and co-authored the official Quake II strategy guide with Jonathan Mendoza and Kenn Spear Hwang.
GX Media spun off Lithium Technologies, a leading Social CRM platform provider that counts AT&T, PlayStation, Verizon, Comcast and Best Buy as some of its customers. The company has raised over $40 million from Benchmark Capital, Emergence Capital, Shasta Ventures, DAG Ventures and Tenaya Capital.
Fong went on to co-found Xfire, an instant messaging client designed for online gaming, that was acquired by Viacom in April 2006 for 102 million. Entrepreneur Launches His Third Interactive Computer-Gaming Company. San Jose Mercury News. 01-SEP-03 In 2007, Fong founded Raptr, a social network and related software client for gamers. The company has raised over $12 million in financing from Accel Partners.
In May 2021, Fong backed Bright Star Studios in a $2 million investment deal for the company's massively multiplayer online sandbox game Ember Sword.
Fong serves as an adviser for WeGame.com Inc and previously served in the same capacity for the defunct Booyah, Inc.
Fong has been credited with popularizing the WASD keys commonly used in PC game.
|
|
