Editing Stevie Case (section)

=== Professional ''Quake'' player and John Romero deathmatch ===
While at the University of Kansas as a [[freshman]] studying [[political science]], Case enjoyed playing ''[[Doom (1993 video game)|Doom]]'' and ''[[Doom II]]'' with her circle of friends.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=http://www.playboy.com/digital/feature/steviecase/|title=Stevie Case|last=Kushner|first=David|date=2000-05-11|website=Playboy|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010215034859/http://www.playboy.com:80/digital/feature/steviecase/|archive-date=2001-02-15|access-date=2019-07-09}}</ref> Through her then-boyfriend, Tom "Entropy" Kimzey, she became interested in playing ''[[Quake (video game)|Quake]]'' competitively. Case joined Kimzey's team, Impulse 9, and began competing under the name KillCreek.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|180}} This alias was taken from the [[Lawrence, Kansas]] band Kill Creek, who had a member Case was friends with.<ref name="VanityFair_Kushner2022" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://playboy.com/digital/chat/steviecase/|title=Chat With Daikatana Designer/Playboy.com Celebrity Model Stevie Case|website=Playboy|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010106190300/http://playboy.com/digital/chat/steviecase/|archive-date=2001-01-06|access-date=2019-07-10|quote=guest27: Are you talking about the band Kill Creek from Lawrence? steviecase: Yes, definitely. I borrowed my name from them, and they were very nice about it.}}</ref> Impulse 9 competed in the ''Quake'' competitive league Clanring, and won the T1 championship event in 1996.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gamespot.com/articles/quake-competition-upcoming/1100-2462467/|title=Quake Competition Upcoming|last=Jebens|first=Harley|date=2000-04-28|website=GameSpot|language=en-US|access-date=2019-07-10}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bluesnews.com/archives/sept96-5.html|title=blue's Quake News September 28-October 4, 1996|website=Blue's News|access-date=2019-07-12}}</ref>

After a few months of competing and making a name for herself, Case traveled to [[Dallas]] on a pilgrimage to meet some of the developers of her favorite [[First-person shooter|first-person-shooter]] computer games.<ref name=":1" /><ref name="VanityFair_Kushner2022" /> During her trip, she got the chance to play a ''Quake'' [[Deathmatch (video games)|deathmatch]] against the game's designer, [[John Romero]], but was beaten by him in a close game.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|186}} After Romero put up a [[web page]] jokingly insulting her skill at the game, Case publicly demanded a rematch with him.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web|url=http://nytsyn.com/live/Latest/170_061997_140001_12576.html|title=Queen of 'Quake' Making a Killing|last=Saunders|first=Michael|date=1997|website=The Boston Globe|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19990117032020/http://nytsyn.com/live/Latest/170_061997_140001_12576.html|archive-date=1999-01-17|access-date=2019-07-10}}</ref> While Case initially struggled in the best-of-three rematch, she rallied back to win the first round 25–19, and went on to ultimately defeat Romero.<ref>{{Cite magazine|last=Uttermann|first=Alex|date=August 1997|title=Beating Romero At His Own Game|magazine=Computer Gaming World|issue=157|page=42}}</ref> As punishment, Romero agreed to set up a web page praising Case.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2000/04/13/games-people-play/026d51f9-9fda-4230-b592-4a90548d0ed1/|title=Games People Play|last=Copel|first=Lib|date=2000-04-13|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=2019-07-10}}</ref>

Case was twenty years old at the time she won the rematch in 1997,<ref name=":6">{{Cite book |title=Smartbomb : the quest for art, entertainment, and big bucks in the videogame revolution|last1=Chaplin|first1=Heather|last2=Ruby|first2=Aaron|publisher=Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill |year=2005|isbn=1565123468|edition=1st |location=Chapel Hill, N.C.|oclc=60359576}}</ref>{{Rp|104}} and beating one of the co-creators of ''Quake'' at his own game brought her a lot of publicity. She gained a sponsor in computer mouse manufacturer [[Labtec|SpaceTec IMC]] that year,<ref name=":4" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.gamespot.com/features/killcreek/index.html|title=KillCreek: Master Murderess!|last=Soete|first=Tim|website=GameSpot|page=2|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021022104525/http://www.gamespot.com/features/killcreek/index.html|archive-date=2002-10-22|access-date=2019-07-10}}</ref><ref name=":9">{{Cite web|url=http://www.elecplay.com/feature/quake/killcreek.shtml|title=Killcreek interview|website=Electric Playground|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19990203072248/http://www.elecplay.com:80/feature/quake/killcreek.shtml|archive-date=1999-02-03|access-date=2019-07-10}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.wired.com/1997/07/quakefest-gathers-warrior-geekstresses/|title=Quakefest Gathers Warrior Geekstresses|last=Brown|first=Janelle|date=1997-07-08|magazine=Wired|access-date=2019-07-10|issn=1059-1028}}</ref> and her victory against Romero received coverage in ''[[Rolling Stone]]''.<ref name="JonW.2006">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S7Vn3P7JFSwC&pg=RA2-PT101|title=Game Cultures: Computer Games As New Media: Computer Games as New Media|last1=Dovey|first1=Jon|last2=Kennedy|first2=Helen W.|date=2006-05-01|publisher=McGraw-Hill Education (UK)|isbn=978-0-335-21357-3|pages=128}}</ref> Angel Munoz, the founder of the [[Cyberathlete Professional League]] (CPL), convinced Case to join his league in July 1997, becoming its first signed professional gamer.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB938809040692404256|title=A Showdown at the Quake Corral Becomes a High-School Nightmare|last=Fitzgerald|first=Brian R.|date=1999-10-04|work=Wall Street Journal|access-date=2019-07-10|language=en-US|issn=0099-9660}}</ref><ref name=":5">{{Cite web|url=http://www.gamespy.com/|title=GameSpy Interviews - Women of Gaming: Stevie "Killcreek" Case--Ion Storm|last=Law|first=Caryn|website=GameSpy|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110224142002/http://archive.gamespy.com/legacy/interviews/womengaming5_a.shtm|archive-date=2011-02-24|access-date=2019-07-10}}</ref> She eventually became one of the league's original founders.<ref name=":6" />{{Rp|104}} Case competed in the first all-female ''Quake'' tournament that year, coming in second behind Kornelia Takacs.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/library/cyber/week/090297quake.html|title=Cyber-Amazons in a Death Match Sans Testosterone|last=Raney|first=Rebecca Fairley|date=1997-09-02|website=archive.nytimes.com|access-date=2019-07-10}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine|date=November 1997|title=Kornelia Triumphs|magazine=PC Gamer|page=83}}</ref> With the stability of sponsors and a $1000 monthly stipend from the CPL, Case decided to drop out of university and move to Dallas in the middle of 1997;<ref name="VanityFair_Kushner2022" /><ref name=":5" /> she said that while she had a passion for political science, she "was not excited about the day-to-day aspects of politics or practicing law."<ref name=":2" />