Season 1 of the podcast is complete.  Season 2 is coming soon!

 At the age of 11, Joe was one of the youngest finalists in the first Blockbuster Video World Game Championship in the summer of 1994.  He meticulous kept memorabilia and documentation from that tournament and wrote a blog about his experience back in 2007.  He still plays video games today, and is active in the trading card game scene.  You can read his Blockbuster Championship blog here...  http://crazdgamer.com/2007/01/1994-blockbuster-video-world-game-championship-the-intro/   

The Pioneers of eSports Podcast is a project to document the stories, people, games, and events of the golden age of video game competitions.  The podcast is hosted by Dorion Whitlock, a finalist in the 1994 Nintendo World Championships (aka Powerfest 94) and Chris Bidwell, a finalist in the 2015 Nintendo World Championships. 

 Vince and Patrick's rivalry began during the qualifying round of the 2015 Nintendo World Championships, where both players submitted scores ranked in the top 5 nationally, but only one slot was available from their regional tournament, with Packie slightly edging out Vince for a ticket to the NWC finals in Los Angeles where he finished 5th.  

Since the summer of 2015, their rivalry has grown and morphed into friendship as the two have battled it out in more recent years at the Classic Tetris World Championships and the Dr. Mario National Championships.  

The Pioneers of eSports Podcast is a project to document the stories, people, games, and events of the golden age of video game competitions.  The podcast is hosted by Dorion Whitlock, a finalist in the 1994 Nintendo World Championships (aka Powerfest 94) and Chris Bidwell, a finalist in the 2015 Nintendo World Championships. 

 Dan is a professional level Splatoon player from Toronto, Ontario who represented Canada as an invitee in the 2017 Nintendo World Championships.  Aside from finishing 4th in the 2017 NWC, Dan's video game journey has taken him from the arcades of Chile to tournament organizing for Nintendo.  Follow his twitch channel at https://www.twitch.tv/pastecat

The Pioneers of eSports Podcast is a project to document the stories, people, games, and events of the golden age of video game competitions.  The podcast is hosted by Dorion Whitlock, a finalist in the 1994 Nintendo World Championships (aka Powerfest 94) and Chris Bidwell, a finalist in the 2015 Nintendo World Championships. 

Dave was one of only three players to reach the finals of both the 1990 Nintendo World Championships and the 1994 Nintendo World Championships.  He was a member of the winning Tornados team in the 1994 NWC as well as one of the "Jersey Boys"  who traveled around the United States in the summer of 1994 attending several local 1994 NWC/Powerfest events.  

After years of not playing video games, Dave picked up an NES controller again in 2018 after watching Classic Tetris World Championships videos on YouTube and now regularly streams at https://www.twitch.tv/real_diculous and is a regular on the Classic Tetris Monthly circuit.  

The Pioneers of eSports Podcast is a project to document the stories, people, games, and events of the golden age of video game competitions.  The podcast is hosted by Dorion Whitlock, a finalist in the 1994 Nintendo World Championships (aka Powerfest 94) and Chris Bidwell, a finalist in the 2015 Nintendo World Championships. 

 Rich Ambler was the runner up in the 12-17 division of the 1990 Nintendo World Championships, finishing just behind the champion Thor Aackerlund.  His path to Hollywood took him through seven of the thirty stops of the 1990 Powerfest tour, from the second stop in Cleveland, Ohio where the top scores failed to crack one million points, to the final stop in Ft. Lauderdale where many of the top players gathered to put in their last official practice before the upcoming finals in California.  Rich witnessed the evolution of the strategy of the NWC cartridge first hand and came within 100,000 points of taking the title. 

The Pioneers of eSports Podcast is a project to document the stories, people, games, and events of the golden age of video game competitions.  The podcast is hosted by Dorion Whitlock, a finalist in the 1994 Nintendo World Championships (aka Powerfest 94) and Chris Bidwell, a finalist in the 2015 Nintendo World Championships. 

 Nintendo World Championships 2015 finalist Chris Bidwell (BSG4000) presents an abridged history of national video game tournaments of the 1980's and 90's and shares his experiences at the 2015 NWC.  

The national video game tournaments covered in this video:  

National Space Invaders Championship / 11.10.80 / New York, NY

Presentation recorded at GDEX conference in Columbus, OH 9.30.18  Clip credits to the following youtube accounts 

Grooveraider

CORRECTIONS:  

The Pioneers of eSports Podcast is a project to document the stories, people, games, and events of the golden age of video game competitions.  The podcast is hosted by Dorion Whitlock, a finalist in the 1994 Nintendo World Championships (aka Powerfest 94) and Chris Bidwell, a finalist in the 2015 Nintendo World Championships. 

 John is a genuine legendary Nintendo player by virtue of winning the 2015 Nintendo World Championships.  He then followed up that feat by finishing as the runner up at the 2017 Nintendo World Championships and the 2019 North American Smash Bros. Open. 

John is a uniquely talented video game player who is truly skilled in many different genres of both modern and classic video games.  In this episode he recalls his history with video game competitions and explains where his skill set came from.  

The Pioneers of eSports Podcast is a project to document the stories, people, games, and events of the golden age of video game competitions.  The podcast is hosted by Dorion Whitlock, a finalist in the 1994 Nintendo World Championships (aka Powerfest 94) and Chris Bidwell, a finalist in the 2015 Nintendo World Championships. 

 Robert Whiteman was the "lost" 1990 Nintendo World Champion, but over the past two and a half decades, he had been hiding in plain site until his rival Mike Iarossi found him in 2018. 

In this episode, Bob talks about his unlikely journey to the championship, the bond he and his father shared on that journey, and his love of Minecraft. 

The Pioneers of eSports Podcast is a project to document the stories, people, games, and events of the golden age of video game competitions.  The podcast is hosted by Dorion Whitlock, a finalist in the 1994 Nintendo World Championships (aka Powerfest 94) and Chris Bidwell, a finalist in the 2015 Nintendo World Championships. 

 Mike Iarossi was the winner of the 1994 Nintendo World Championships (aka Powerfest '94).  He was also one of only three players to qualify for the finals in both the 1990 NWC and the 1994 NWC.  In more recent years, Mike was an early successful streamer from the days of Justin.tv.  You can catch his stream at https://www.twitch.tv/qik1.  

The Pioneers of eSports Podcast is a project to document the stories, people, games, and events of the golden age of video game competitions.  The podcast is hosted by Dorion Whitlock, a finalist in the 1994 Nintendo World Championships (aka Powerfest 94) and Chris Bidwell, a finalist in the 2015 Nintendo World Championships.