Video game champs share over $700,000 in prizes

Team Final Boss

While professional video gamers may still struggle to be thought of as athletes by the general public, they're starting to see paydays that are on par with some of today's sports stars. Major League Gaming, the largest of the so-called eSports gaming leagues, wrapped up its 2010 season Sunday, handing out some $700,000 in prizes to joystick jockeys. 

Team Final Boss was the big winner in this year's finals, narrowly beating Team Instinct in "Halo 3" for a $100,000 purse and the title of MLG League Champions. (Both teams were highly ranked and had already wracked up $80,000 in wins earlier in the 2010 tour.) All totaled, teams playing "Halo 3" shared a purse valued at almost $250,000.

Final Boss, a four-person squad, which was previously sponsored by Washington Wizards basketball player Gilbert Arenas, is gaming's equivalent of the New York Yankees. It has been winning "Halo" tournaments since 2004 and previously boasted an unbeaten eight-event streak. Players have come and gone through the years, but the strength of the team has rarely wavered. MadOne