SonicFox

Dominique McLean (born March 2, 1998), better known by their[1] alias SonicFox, is an American professional esports player of several fighting games. McLean is recognized for their versatility to pick up a new game or character and master it for professional play relatively quickly. McLean has topped many tournaments, including five Evolution Championship Series (EVO) events for four different game franchises, and is the highest paid fighting game esports player in the world as of August 4, 2019, with over $600,000 in earnings.[2] McLean was named Esports Player of the Year at The Game Awards 2018 and included in Forbes's 2020 "30 Under 30" for Games.

SonicFox
Dominique McLean
SonicFox at Evo 2015
Personal information
Born (1998-03-02) March 2, 1998
HometownTownsend, Delaware
NationalityAmerican
Career information
StatusActive
Current teamEvil Geniuses
Career history
2014–2015Revolution Gaming
2015–2016Critical Reaction
2017–2019Echo Fox
2020–presentEvil Geniuses

McLean is openly gay[3] and non-binary[4] as well as a furry. They are known to often participate in fighting game tournaments in the fursuit of their fursona, a blue-and-white anthropomorphic fox.[5]

Career

McLean's older brother, Christian, got McLean interested in fighting video games when McLean was three years old.[6] Over the next several years, while McLean continued to play games, they came into the furry fandom around the age of ten or eleven, and developed the "SonicFox" character.[5]

Around 2011, McLean was playing in non-competitive online Mortal Kombat games, and their online friends encouraged them to try their skills at an offline Mortal Kombat tournament.[7] While McLean only came in ninth at the event, they were enthralled with the competitive atmosphere, and they have continued to participate in various fighting game championships.[5]

SonicFox achieved a 6–0 victory at the Injustice: Gods Among Us tournament at Evo 2014.[8] News.com.au reported in December 2015 that McLean had not lost a single tournament in the previous 18 months, and that they earned $150,000 USD within the span of two weeks by winning Mortal Kombat tournaments.[9]

McLean was named the "Esports Player of the Year" at The Game Awards 2018 ceremony, earning media attention for their acceptance speech.[10] Forbes included McLean on their 2020 "30 Under 30" in the Games category.[11]

In 2020, SonicFox was added as a background character in Skullgirls.[12]

Personal life

McLean was born and raised in Townsend, Delaware.[13] As of 2018, McLean is a student at the New York Institute of Technology.[5]

In September 2019, McLean came out on Twitter as non-binary.[4][14] McLean publicly uses singular they pronouns.[1]

References
  1. SonicFox, FOX | (September 13, 2019). "So while He They does work, if I dont know ya like that or we aint close, please use they them!!". @SonicFox5000. Retrieved September 14, 2019.
  2. "Top Fighting Game Players". Retrieved December 28, 2018.
  3. https://twitter.com/SonicFox/status/1157906069932269573
  4. SonicFox (September 3, 2019). "Hey ya'll! I've been thinking critically about myself these last couple of months, and my entire life perspective on how I look. The more I reflect on my pass and likes the more this makes sense to me..
    With that being said, I'm coming out as a Non-Binary Man!
    (He/They) please!"    . @SonicFox5000. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
  5. Myers, Maddy; Tayamo, Paul (October 15, 2018). "Meet SonicFox, The Queer Furry Who's Destroying Everyone Else At Fighting Games". Kotaku. Retrieved December 7, 2018.
  6. Lelinwalla, Mark (September 15, 2017). "Meet The Guy Who Has Your Dream Job". BET. Retrieved December 7, 2018.
  7. Sankin, Aaron (December 10, 2015). "Dominique 'Sonic Fox' McLean is at the top of his game". The Daily Dot. Retrieved December 7, 2018.
  8. Warr, Philippa (July 15, 2014). "The ridiculous battles of EVO 2014 you have to see". Red Bull.
  9. Dunn, Matthew (December 15, 2015). "Dominique 'Sonic Fox' McLean made $150,000 in two weeks playing Mortal Kombat". News.com.au.
  10. Alexandra, Heather (December 7, 2018). "SonicFox Steals The Show At The Game Awards". Kotaku. Retrieved December 7, 2018.
  11. Perez, Matt; Cai, Kenrick (December 3, 2019). "Forbes' 2020 30 Under 30 - Games: Leading a technological and artistic revolution". Forbes. Retrieved December 3, 2019.
  12. Walker, Ian (May 26, 2020). "Skullgirls Honors Two High-Level Queer Players In Latest Update". Kotaku. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
  13. Van Allen, Eric (January 26, 2019). "How a Trash-Talking Furry Became Esports' Dominant Player". Wired. Retrieved January 26, 2019.
  14. Bell, Brian C. (September 5, 2019). "Evo champion SonicFox comes out as non-binary". Outsports. Retrieved February 13, 2020.
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