Thor Bjorn Thorlei Aackerlund (born ) is a competitive video gamer considered one of the first to go professional. As a child, he started playing

computer games A personal computer game, also known as a PC game or computer game, is a type of video game played on a personal computer (PC) rather than a video game console or arcade machine. Its defining characteristics include: more diverse and user-d ...

while waiting for a new school year to begin after having missed one due to his mother being hospitalized after a fire.Norström, Tobias.
Legenden om Thor Aackerlund
, P3 Spel, Sveriges Radio. 14 November 2018. Retrieved 29 December 2020. He couldn't afford a

Nintendo Entertainment System The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit third-generation home video game console produced by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan in 1983 as the commonly known as the The NES, a redesigned version, was released in American ...

, so he bought a

Game Boy The is an 8-bit fourth generation handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on April 21, 1989, in North America later the same year, and in Europe in late 1990. It was designed by the same te ...

but didn't have the money for any extra games, which put him on the path of playing

Tetris ''Tetris'' (russian: link=no, Тетрис) is a puzzle video game created by Soviet Union, Soviet software engineer Alexey Pajitnov in 1984. It has been published by several companies for multiple platforms, most prominently during a dispute o ...

as it was included for free. He was one of the winners of the 1990

Nintendo World Championships The Nintendo World Championships (NWC) is a nationwide video game competition series, organized by Nintendo of America at no particular interval. The first Nintendo World Championships was in 1990, touring 29 American cities, being hosted in ...

, for which he was bestowed a Mario trophy. Soon after the competition, Camerica, a producer of unlicensed

games, signed a deal with Aackerlund to make him the official spokesman for their games. Aackerlund then became the poster child for the game, featured in commercials and fairs.Jersenius, Erik. "Tetris är det ultimata tidsfördrivet",

Vestmanlands Läns Tidning ''Vestmanlands Läns Tidning'' (''VLT'') is a Swedish liberal newspaper published in Västerås, Sweden. History and profile ''VLT'' was established in 1831. The paper was published in broadsheet format until 13 October 2004 when it was change ...

. 18 April 2020. Retrieved 29 December 2020. Pages 6–7. As a child, he felt pressured to play as the prize money and endorsements were financially important for his family. At the time, he was known as the only player to claim to have reached level 30 in Tetris. Aackerlund soon disappeared from the scene, but remained known as perhaps the most well-known name in Tetris.Säfström, Orvar. "Den mästerlige spelnörden",

Sydsvenskan ''Sydsvenska Dagbladet Snällposten'', generally known simply as ''Sydsvenskan'' (, ''The South Swedish''), is a daily newspaper published in Scania in Sweden. History and profile ''Sydsvenskan'' was founded in 1870. In 1871 the paper merged ...

. 10 February 2012. Retrieved 29 December 2020. Page 15. 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.

References

Further reading