Pro gaming takes center stage at Spring Hill Mall

Stephen Harris, or "Stevomaru," as he's known to his online friends, watched coolly from the back of Spring Hill Mall's center court as Annie Leung, or "Ecstacy," took on and slew challengers on "Guitar Hero" one by one.

Harris, an avid gamer from Milwaukee, smiled when asked if he's into gaming.

"You could say that," Harris says. "I'm semipro."

Harris made the trek from Wisconsin to challenge his rival on "Dead or Alive," Jeremy Florence, or "Black Mamba."

Florence and other pro gamers were at the West Dundee Saturday as part of "The Scene," an annual tour of U.S. malls geared toward teens.

"It's just to get kids involved and get them ready for going back to school," said Donovan Will, field manager for Grand Central Marketing, which helped put on the event.

The main attraction of "The Scene" was the "Fatal1ty" stage, named after one of the country's best-known pro gamers. There, local kids could take on pro gamers on "Guitar Hero," "Dead or Alive" and "Forza."

Before he was scheduled to do battle on "Dead or Alive," a fighting game, Florence talked about his life since he became a pro gamer.

"It's almost like a rock-star life," said Florence, a California native who now lives in Albuquerque. "A lot of traveling, competing, hanging out."

Wes "Ch0mpr" Cwiklo, an ace on "Forza," a racing game, said he hoped to make more young people aware of professional gaming and change the wider public's perception of hard-core gamers.

"We're trying to buck the stereotypes," Cwiklo said. "We're just like normal people."

Leung said she want to see PC gaming, where she got her start, achieve the same status in the gaming world as console gaming.

"We want people to take it seriously as a sport," said the 23-year-old University of California at Berkeley student.

Jacobs High School junior John Neylon hoped to beat Leung, a regional champion on "Guitar Hero," by challenging her on Black Sabbath's "Paranoid."

"I'm kind of nervous," said the 16-year-old Neylon. "I think I can take her."

Harris, a seasoned "Dead or Alive" player, talked trash about his frequent opponent, "Black Mamba."

"I'm here to do something I usually do - beat up on 'Mamba' a little bit," he said.

The pro gamers didn't seem worried. Cwiklo, who was on his second mall stop, said he hadn't been beaten at "The Scene" yet.