Dennis Fong won the first Quake world championship at the 1997 Red Annihilation tournament.
Fong competed under the handle Thresh and defeated Tom “Entropy” Kim in the final of the Quake tournament at E3 in 1997. His prize was John Carmack’s Ferrari 328, making the event one of the most famous early esports stories.
The tournament was organized by Microsoft and ran alongside the Electronic Entertainment Expo. Quake’s fast arena combat, networked multiplayer, and emerging spectator culture helped establish the template for later PC esports.
A common mix-up is treating John Carmack as the winner because he was Quake’s lead programmer and supplied the Ferrari. Carmack did not win the tournament; Fong won it and received the car as the prize.