Newsday

For major league gamer, 9, prizes are hardly minor

BY STEPHEN WILLIAMS
June 8, 2007

Victor De Leon III of Mastic likes what most 9-year-old boys like - Double Bubble, SpongeBob, gym, basketball, video games - and dislikes what most 9-year-old boys dislike - homework, girls ("Girls? No!").

Did we mention that he likes video games?

So much so, in fact, that even at such a tender age he has pointedly turned his hobby into a profession, one that his family expects will subsidize his college education.

In the third grade at Nathaniel Woodhull Elementary, Victor - game name: Lil' Poison - isn't much of a celebrity, despite his proficiency wielding an Xbox 360 controller while blasting opponents to micro-bits in the violent but very popular game Halo 2. But in the video game universe, he's already something of a legend, attracting sponsors, endorsements and, in the works, a deal to star in or create - or both - his own video game.






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