Georgia video game player, team win $1.3 million in tournament

Here’s a setback for parents trying to wean their kids from spending hours a day playing video games: A 24-year-old from Cartersville and his four teammates won the $1.3 million top prize in the finals of an international gaming tournament held in Cobb County over the weekend.

John Salter, who goes by the screen name BaRRaCCuDDa, was highlighted in a recent Atlanta Journal-Constitution story about gamers who make a living playing online.

He graduated from Kennesaw State University with a bachelor’s degree in exercise and health science but struggled to land a job as a cardiac rehab therapist. No matter: He said last year he managed to make what about the same amount of money — $40,000 — as a gamer, primarily by competing in tournaments and making ad money from people who watch him play online.

Salter and four other guys on the team "Cognitive Prime" won the January world championship in an online game called SMITE, a product of Alpharetta-based Hi-Rez Studios.

The total prize purse topped $2.5 million, most of it raised from special in-game purchases made by SMITE fans. By defeating a team from Europe, Cognitive Prime captured the top prize. Salter’s share? About $260,000.

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