The chants of “USA! USA! USA!” drown out the play-by-play commentator during a tightly contested soccer match. A rabid thunderstick-wielding audience hoists an American flag into the air, their eyes glued on an oversized monitor showcasing the match between USA’s Ryan “Peekay” DePalmer and South Korea’s Gwan Hyeong “Unlimited” Kim.

Despite demonstrating some fancy footwork and sprinting down the field, neither player is feeling the least bit winded. And both are breaking the fundamental rule of soccer: they’re playing entirely with their hands. That’s because it’s the quarterfinals of the Championship Gaming Series (CGS), an international videogame tournament pitting the world’s best gamers from 12 different nations against each other in individual and team competitions. It’s the first gaming tournament to be televised live and the stakes are high.

South Korea’s team erupts triumphantly after Kim secures a shootout victory, bringing them one step closer to first place. The inaugural CGS World Final has a total prize purse of $1,000,000, which means big name professional gamers have come to play, including Los Angeles native Ron “Rambo” Kim, an iconic expert of the popular first-person shooting game Counter-Strike.

“Ron’s a living legend,” says Jason Lake, general manager of Ron’s team, Los Angeles Complexity. “He’s the Michael Jordan of Counter-Strike. At any gaming convention or competition, there isn’t a person in the room who doesn’t want to shake his hand.”

Following the soccer match, Kim and his teammates file into the arena to prepare for the individual 5-on-5 Counter-Strike final. He fine-tunes his keyboard settings and carefully adjusts his state-of-the-art studio headphones. Before the competition begins, Complexity gathers around Kim, the designated strategist. In a world where players hit their prime in their late teens, the 24-year-old is affectionately referred to by teammates as “Master Splinter” — the elderly sensei of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. “He’s a father figure for the team,” says Lake. “But his skills haven’t diminished one bit.”

One minute into the first round versus Brazilian team Rio Sinistro, Kim demonstrates his razor-sharp reflexes after connecting on a headshot. Lake yells triumphantly and pumps his fist. Moments later, Kim finds himself the last Complexity man standing against the two remaining Brazilian players. Displaying the patience of a seasoned veteran, he waits them out under the cover of a stealthily planted smoke bomb. Rio Sinistro falls into his trap and meets the fate of Kim’s sniper rifle. “Boom!” yells a victorious Kim, giving his team a 1-0 lead in the first-to-10 championship match.

The heavily favored Complexity drops four of the next five games, falling behind 5-2. Commentators discuss the possibility of a monumental upset, prompting Kim to rally his troops back to a commanding 9-6 lead. “C’mon, let’s go!” he yells, lifting his arms in the air before the deciding game. The team responds to his burst of emotion with primordial grunts, screaming in unison.