‘It’s like a paradise for esports players,’ says Not Ayanami after Riyadh triumph

RIYADH: With the whitest of sands, the most golden of sunsets and see-your-feet-clear aquamarine water, the island of Cebu in the Philippines is the epitome of an idyllic honeymoon destination.

Not everyone there, however, is happy to while away their time on the beach.

Each of the Omega Empress players — who recently won the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Women’s Invitational at the Esports World Cup at Boulevard Riyadh City — is from the island. But while it will always be home, the team also found their place in the state-of-the-art Saudi Esports Federation Arena and its surroundings.

“It’s like a paradise for esports players,” says Omega Empress player Not Ayanami, real name Gwyneth Diagon. “Everything here is perfect. The organization, the media, the player care, everything, everybody, all the stuff.”

With Riyadh summers soaring above 40 degrees Celsius, many people are used to indoor life at this time of year. Cebu may have a more moderate temperature, but the Riyadh way of life has long resonated with the 21-year-old.

“I grew up playing video games, but for the others they live beside the beach and some of them live beside the waterfalls and the lake,” she says.

A professional esports player for four years, whose position in the team is EXP Lane, added: “You’ll never run out of water there; you’ll never run out of falls or beaches. I’m not that much of an outdoor person. I prefer to be inside. I like to watch movies, just read books, and obviously play games.

“My family likes to go outside. I’m the only one that likes to read books. There was one time my family were like ‘why the obsession with books?!’ It was a heated argument and they started to throw away my books being like ‘why would you buy books?!’ But it was fine afterwards.

“It’s something I love, so now I’m a world champion I can buy as many books as I want! I can buy a library.”

The MWI featured the largest prize pool in the history of women’s esports — an incredible $500,000. The $180,000 winning total will be shared among the Omega Empress players who, as well as Not Ayanami, consist of Gold Laner Sheen ‘Shinoa’ Perez, Jungler Kaye ‘Keishi’ Alpuerto, and Mid Laner Rica ‘Amoree’ Amores. The team is led by coach Salman Macarambon.

“It’s the biggest prize pool, and it’s life changing,” says Not Ayanami. “I think I’ll save the majority of the money and spare some to renovate our house back in our province. Maybe some of it I’ll use to take seminars on financial education so I can learn how to handle it properly.”

Playing against favorites Team Vitality in the final, Omega Empress whitewashed their more fancied opponents 3-0. The victory ended a 24-game, three-year winning streak.

“It feels like a fantasy for me,” confessed Not Ayanami. “It’s still not really sinking in, but I feel so happy and proud of myself that we that we brought our country’s name to the top.

“We didn’t expect this. We just played our game. We stayed calm, stayed disciplined, and focused on the game with a 100 percent mentality. And that was it. At first, we didn’t really think that we were the strongest. But now I think we are. It feels so mind blowing.”

With women making up 48 percent of Saudi Arabia’s 23.5 million gamers, the Filipina star was delighted to see the huge support from females in the crowd during the MWI.

Asked if she had a message for them, she replied: “Go with your dreams. Don’t let the stereotypical set up that men are the ones for gaming stop you. I would say that they have to make sure it really is their passion and, if it is, I suggest that they really study the game they’re playing. They need to understand how it works to be good at it. Not just like, ‘okay, I’m pressing this, I’m pressing that, I’m good’. They have to understand the game in depth and that’s a faster way for them to improve.”

The EWC runs until Aug. 25 at Boulevard Riyadh City and features 22 global competitions in 21 leading games.