Last week, the gaming company, Unikrn, in conjunction with Luxbet, a division of Tabcorp, a world leading wagering business, announced their ALL female Counter-Strike: Global Offensive eSports team. Team Unikrn – is made up of Captain – Melania “Gina” Mylioti, Julia “Julie” Strunkowski, Perrine “Laità” Allesiardo , Sophia “Kim” Benfakir and Camilla “Parmaviolet”.
The ladies of Team Unikrn have become extremely busy, with media interviews and preparing for upcoming tournaments – I was able to do a quick interview with the team’s Captain Melania “Gina” Mylioti, to get some insight on the team, and their upcoming plans for 2016.
1. What made you want to join an all-female eSports team? And why Counter-Strike Globe Offensive?
I want to show the world that female players can be as good as male players in eSports. I have great passion for the game, and I want to evolve myself as a player. CS:GO fits the needs of being my personal favorite shooter game and has that ‘competitive edge.’
2. Were tryouts held in order to join “Team Unikrn?”
There were tryouts held for our 5th position. ‘Parmaviolet’ got the spot after a week of intense tryouts. I knew her for a few months and within that short amount of time, she has shown great progress. She is eager to learn and I’m sure she be a major reason for our success.
3. Do you ladies feel you will be given the same respect as if you were an all-male team?
We don’t always get the same respect. Women in eSports usually get a lot of bad comments, but you learn to ignore it somehow. We hope to gain the same respect as a male pro team one day.
4. What advice would you give to other women who are looking into becoming professional players?
If you are eager to learn and want to become a pro, look at events where the best teams are playing and try to pick up as much as you can. Play with the best people you know and can learn from. Things will fall into place the more you learn and the more you play and compete.
5. What are your plans for this tournament season?
Our next big tournaments will be in Q1 2016. Until then, we are in practice mode, learning how to play together as a team, watching some of our previous matches so we can learn from our mistakes, and playing in several online tournaments to put our tactics into play. We can’t wait for 2016!
We can’t wait to see these ladies show off their skills – we will keep you up-to-date as more news comes in.