Here is the lineup for the #MLGXGAMES 4v4 All-Star showdown. Who do you think will take home the W? pic.twitter.com/vEjYvMRT1i — MLG (@MLG) June 6, 2014

Shawn Abner is a former professional baseball player who was drafted by the New York Mets in the first round of the 1984 amateur draft and went on to play six seasons in the pros. Now his 18-year-old son Seth is an elite athlete of his own, although not in a sport you might expect: He’s a 3-time Major League Gaming champion.

When the X Games begin in Austin on Friday, a new type of competition with a different breed of athlete could gain the event a new culture of followers: Gamers.

Major League Gaming and the X Games are teaming up for the MLG X Games Invitational to compete in Call of Duty: Ghosts, which will bring eight teams of the top gamers to compete for X Games medals and prizes. It’s a growing sport with more than 9 million users on the MLG network, according to the company. And some of the top players compete for prizes around the country in tournaments and events — almost similar to how poker became a major phenomenon during the past decade. The top players, according to a spokesperson for MLG, can earn in the “around six figures” each year.

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So what does it take to be a pro compared to just some kid who’s camped out on the couch to the annoyance of their parents?

“I think it’s not unlike most sports — you can almost apply the Malcolm Gladwell 10,000 hour rule and a mix of natural talent for sure,” said Mike Sepso, the co-founder and president of MLG. “But what tends to separate people from your typical hardcore computer gamer to someone who can be a professional is a mix of natural talent and real practice.”

Abner, one of the biggest stars of Major League Gaming competing at this weekend’s event, gave up his more traditional sports to pursue his passion in gaming.

“I’ve been playing video games since I can’t remember when,” he said. “I’ve always had a passion for video games and my dad was a pro baseball player. I quit (other) sports which disappointed him a lot but I knew I wanted to pursue my dreams.”

Abner started out, like many teens, playing against his friends. He then started playing on the MLG platform and suddenly started to have just a little more success than many of his friends. Then he started playing against other people and kept rising in the rankings. Finally, he was invited to play on more selective teams and invited to compete in tournaments on the pro circuit where he had to adjust to the different speed and skills of playing the game live instead of on the internet.

It’s likely, Sepso said, that players like Abner have better manual dexterity, hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills and situational awareness than many who don’t make it to his level — similar skills needed to ultimately rise to the top of sports like baseball and football. Competitive gamers are also likely to have excellent visual acuity, another skill found in professional baseball and softball players.

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He also can scout other players through the equivalent of game footage which streams on the platform and practice on certain courses so that the tricks and skills of getting used to the maps of the games and tricks that other people use.

But mostly, Abner said, it’s just repetition. He plays eight hours a day — at least — many games which MLG broadcasts so that his fans can watch him playing live.

“I don’t take days off,” he said.