When David Hockey first began playing video games when he was a child, he never imagined it would take him anywhere. But through the years, his hobby turned into a passion. As a student at the University of Michigan, his passion became lucrative when he accepted a job at Pinball Pete's, a video arcade he frequented.
While working at the arcade, Hockey found time to improve his skills and began hosting gaming tournaments, driving business to the arcade.
He his network of like-minded gaming enthusiasts began to grow.
"These guys they knew what they were doing," Hockey said. "We all took time and effort to practice. We started learning stuff from each other. We'd go online and check for certain combos and different strategies. We really learned how to play these games."
The interest and skill level began to grow in Hockey's circle of friends and eventually they started looking for more competition. They found it in the form of live tournaments on the competitive gaming circuit.
Hockey said that he has traveled to Ohio, Chicago, Pennsylvania and California for tournaments.
The biggest tournament on the circuit is EVO Championship Series.
"You go out there and you meet people just like you," Hockey said. "What better way to meet people, get better at what you like and basically just have fun, than to go to a place where it all comes together."
It is not all just for fun, large sums of money can be won. Hockey said that at some of the tournaments, top prizes can be in the thousands.
"I was never really a top competitor," Hockey said. "I was kind of in the middle of the pack, but I would still win enough."
Hockey said that he was also helped out by being sponsored by his employee Pinball Pete's who help him with travel expenses.
It took a lot of time and practice, but Hockey said he wouldn't trade the experience for anything.
"What can I say, I'm a nerd," Hockey said. "But I love it."
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