"Suddenly, we were contenders. From being just a few people messing around in the casual space, we transformed ourselves into a practiced team. We played systematically for four hours, three times a week. ... By this time, I was obsessed. I was a player-coach, unable to focus on anything beyond making my team stronger, faster and more efficient. ... I meticulously researched the ways in which modems could be tuned for better response and greater signal stability. I rebuilt the Quake III configurations of the team, fine-tuning the setups as one might fine-tune a race car."

Professional gaming ruined Jim Rossignol's life. In "Deathmatch-making" he tells the story of how competitive Quake III became his obsession, costing him his job, his friends and almost his very soul.

Deathmatch-making

Feels very familiar to me. I had similar experiences with Counter-strike a long while back. Oddly enough I'd say the tools I learned managing a clan have served me well in my current employment as a manager. It's always been about relationships and people.