Thor Aackerlund

Thor Bjorn Thorlei Aackerlund (born 4 January 1977) is a competitive video gamer considered one of the first to go professional.[4]

As a child, he started playing computer games while waiting for a new school year to begin after having missed one due to his mother being hospitalized after a fire.[5] He couldn't afford a Nintendo Entertainment System, so he bought a Game Boy but didn't have the money for any extra games, which put him on the path of playing Tetris, as it was included for free.[5] He was one of the winners of the 1990 Nintendo World Championships, for which he was bestowed a Mario trophy, a $10,000 U.S. savings bond, a 1990 Geo Metro Convertible, a 40-inch rear-projection television, and a golden Mario trophy.[1][2][3] Soon after the competition, Camerica, a producer of unlicensed Nintendo Entertainment System games, signed a deal with Aackerlund to make him the official spokesman for their games.[2] Aackerlund then became the poster child for the game, featured in commercials and fairs.[6] As a child, he felt pressured to play, as the prize money and endorsements were financially important for his family.[5] At the time, he was known as the only player to claim to have reached level 30 in Tetris.[6] Aackerlund soon disappeared from the scene, but remained known as perhaps the most well-known name in Tetris prior to the domination of 7-time World Champion Jonas Neubauer.[7]

He is a featured player in the 2011 documentary film Ecstasy of Order: The Tetris Masters, which covers his second effort in competitive video gaming at the 2010 Classic Tetris World Championship.