Toxjq: A bittersweet 2007

Indomitable. Invincible. Invulnerable.

Unemployed? After over a year of dominating the headlines — and the opposition — Johan “Toxjq” Quick finds himself facing off against the one opponent that can’t be beat.

The implosion of the World Series of Video Games left a giant vacuum in the Quake scene. Most fans that are left have lost faith that they’ll ever see giant, important competitions like the old days ever again.

Except for one notable exception (first place in i32’s Quake 4 comeptition in early November, worth $5,500), things have been bleak for Toxjq since the WSVG’s demise. His contract with Fatal1ty brand is probably still intact, but keeping him on the payroll to play a dead game is a dubious proposition.

His only remaining hope is to pick up a game that actually has competitions. Tox’s teammate, Stermy, adapted to the situation by signing up for the Championship Gaming Series qualifiers and got himself drafted by the San Francisco OPTX to play FIFA. Could Johan do the same?

“I will continue playing profesionally, but it’s unclear what game I will pick up yet. I’ll keep playing on a pro level as long as I believe it’s fun or worth it,” Johan told me. In terms of any sort of comeback, he didn’t rule out playing in online leagues again as long as it was the right game, with LAN finals.

Despite this optimistic note, Tox also added: “But I gotta say, you lose the inspiration when [organizers] don’t stick with the same games for a longer period of time. Also, you lose trust for organizations and leagues when they announce one thing and don’t stick with it.”

e-Sports legends never die; instead, it’s the organizations and communities that move on. Will Toxjq get left by the wayside like so many other pro gamers?