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Medford computer gamer now coaches after winning millions Clinton "Fear" Loomis, a 2006 graduate of North Medford High school, sits in the control booth for the 2015 Dota 2 International finals in Seattle. Photo courtesy of Valve Saturday Dec 31, 2016 at 2:00 AM Dec 31, 2016 at 11:01 AM Nick Morgan Mail Tribune @mtcrimebeat Where does one go after winning millions and reaching the top of the computer-gaming realm? If you're 2006 North Medford High School graduate Clinton "Fear" Loomis, it's on to San Francisco and a whole new generation of players. Loomis was the only American player featured in a 2014 documentary called "Free to Play," a film about the trials and triumphs of people who make their living playing computer games. Now Loomis is a millionaire and the coach of Evil Geniuses, the team he's been a part of since 2012. When Loomis retired from competition last year at 27, after winning more than a million dollars at the Dota 2 International in Seattle's KeyArena, The Indian Express called him "The Rocky Balboa of video games." Loomis now calls the Bay Area home, and he joins his team at tournaments around the world twice a month or more, most recently in Shenzhen, China, where his team won first place in the China Top 2016 tournament Dec. 18. The first week of the month, Loomis spent a week at the Boston Major 2016, where his team took bronze. He was already at the top of his field in September 2011 when film crews funded by Valve Corporation — developer of Dota 2 and maker of leading computer game distribution system Steam — followed Loomis to Medford, where they interviewed him and his mother, former deputy district attorney Karen Loomis. Jeff Unay of Valve told the Mail Tribune that Loomis and the other four players featured in the film — from China, Singapore, Denmark and the Ukraine — were all "elite gamers." "They hand-selected me to represent America," Loomis said at the time. In the film, available from Valve to stream free on YouTube, Karen Loomis said that as a single mother who put herself through law school to raise her sons, she was critical in the early days of her son's path. The film touches on their relationship's nadir, when Karen Loomis kicked her son out of the house because he'd keep her and the dog awake while keeping his European team's hours. She'd already come around by the time film crews filled her home, and Clinton attributed his success to his mother for allowing him to achieve proficiency in the complex tower-defense game. "For most parents, that's unrealistic," Loomis said. When Valve premiered the documentary at the Castro Theatre in San Francisco, Karen Loomis described it as a "huge success with lines wrapped around the block." She said recently that Clinton is "doing great" coaching Evil Geniuses. In China, the team won just under $230,000, and at The Boston Major 2016, the team tied for third with all-American team Digital Chaos, splitting a $250,000 prize. It's a far cry from 2011, when Loomis took a cut of a $25,000 prize in Cologne, Germany, allowing him to actually pay his bills playing computer games. "It's enough to live off," Loomis said. — Reach reporter Nick Morgan at 541-776-4471 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @MTCrimeBeat.