Thread by @WIRED

Madison Marquer was a junior at the University of Wyoming when he met his wife, Katherine Landvogt, while playing guitar for a band called Medicine Bow in 2014. wired.trib.al/FFqgPP9 1/9

When they weren’t making music together, they were often side-by-side in front of their PC, clobbering dragons and druids and amassing hoards of gold in Dota 2, a complex fantasy-themed video game. 📸: Shawn Bush 2/9

After getting married, the couple struggled to make ends meet with the money made from touring. Landvogt began grappling with alcohol addiction that gradually stripped away her creative energies and her ability to handle daily tasks. 3/9

The couple’s main remaining source of joy was Dota 2. They found refuge in the game’s sprawling map, an expanse of dark forests and medieval fortresses. 4/9

As they played, Marquer started to get a notion in his head: What if he sought out a job in the industry that had emerged around Dota 2? Maybe he could work with one of the companies that stage the game’s massive tournaments and save his wife by finding them both a niche. 5/9

In 2018 he returned to the University of Wyoming to study for a master’s in geography, but his world and academic achievements would become hollow due to a series of unfortunate events. 📸: Shawn Bush 6/9

In April 2021, a friend of Marquer’s called to tell him about an article in The Cheyenne Post. Laramie County Community College (LCCC) was starting a varsity esports team.The school was looking to hire a coach to lead the program. 📸: Shawn Bush 7/9

It wasn’t the entrée to the gaming industry that Marquer had envisioned for himself, but it sent him on a journey that would nearly break him, and would introduce him to a team of Wyoming gamers that would change everything. wired.trib.al/FFqgPP9 📸: Shawn Bush 8/9

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