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. http://ftw.usatoday.com/2014/06/x-games-mlg