Often I have heard the muttering of a phrase accompanied with the words “… like a girl.” “You hit like a girl.” “You throw like a girl.” and sometimes in our community “You play like a girl.” or “She is pretty good for a girl.” Well guys, put your controller down so you don’t get discouraged. I have seen the female presence in the community and the skill level is strong, for any gender, never more so than back across the pond where you will find Riot Gaming.
The Riot Gaming organization is owned and powered by females, and they’re not here to look pretty. They’re here to make you question your manhood, make you retire from gaming, make you go back to your daddy and ask forgiveness for getting your butt handed to you by the opposite sex.
The org is currently 2 years old and shares ownership among four women, Catt, Kimmie, Angel, and Nikita which all met in a clan called RSR a few years earlier. The org boasts two competitive COD teams and one of which comprises of two owners, Angel and Kimmie. Soon they are branching into other games such as League of Legends, but for now they may well be one of the best teams in all of EU, and I’m not talking just for females. They have turned so many heads in the community they have been interviewed by schoolyynation.com and EU’s very own Channel 4, which did a piece on the eSports community centering on The Riot Gaming squad. The piece will be airing shortly after the release of this publication, so stay tuned.
During my interview with Riot Gaming, I found myself mesmerized by the whimsical nature of these ladies, forgetting at moments that I was even in an interview, as I may have burst a stitch at one of their good turned ribs at any given moment. Despite their comical approach upon this interview we covered many of their accomplishments, not only as individuals but as an org. Besides their two Call of Duty teams, they also are branching into League of Legends and Minecraft. The org has streamers, snipers, competitive teams, pub teams, and they host tourneys, open to all teams, on their website (Get there early cause they fill up quick).
All of the owner’s passion for video games stems from their child hood, and seemingly all started from different consoles. Serenity, like myself, began on an Atari (for those of you not old enough to remember Atari, bite me) with her favorite game called “Whoop. Whoop.” as she so simply put it, which gently translates into Pong. She logged hours on a console of which its origination seems somewhat clouded (wink). Catt on the other hand started on a game called Alex the Kid, on Sega, and has an unending quest to defeat the game of her beginning. Apparently she has nightmares about completing her first game. Angel started destroying her brother’s friends at Call of Duty and was soon requested over her brother to take his place while they played pubs, maybe her brother likes dolls now? Kimmie sat near her father, growing up, watching him bang away at the PC with titles such as Crazy Taxi and Sims.
When asked ‘what are your goals for the org?’ without hesitation Catt responded “To pay my mortgage.” and as the others laughed Catt held stern. Judging by her demeanor and the accomplishments thus far, I don’t believe it was a joke either, nor do I see it as very improbable. Just as important to her, if not more so, is to be able to pay for her entire org to be able to achieve their individual dreams, so she dedicates herself as do all of the owners. If you want to know what kind of dedication it takes to make it in the community then look no further. They don’t sit at home all day in front of the Xbox or pc hoping to be discovered, they put the work in, developing the org through every avenue possible all while still punching a clock for work or showing up to get their bachelor’s in college(or university). Angel just graduated and plans on completing a master’s in the Forensic field, so while you’re on your Xbox pretending to examine a crime scene she will be examining a real one. Nikita owns her own business; I bet the Xbox doesn’t come on until work time is over. You have to invest just as much time and energy in this community as you do money and dreams, it’s not handed to you. And according to Riot Gaming it’s not hard to make it in this community, and I believe they feel that way because they have an affinity for the video game community and it does not feel like a job to them. The old adage is ‘Are you working to live, or living to work?’
Though we may have only briefly touched on the history of Riot and its owners and its accomplishments, I will leave you with this:
Many players have similar beginnings to their relationship with gaming, many players have similar dreams inside the community, many players want to aspire to these levels and further, but you have to ask yourself ‘Are you Riot enough?’