Sylvia Gathoni, aka QueenArrow: Kenya’s gamer-slash-lawyer
The 22-year-old esport athlete and law student reflects on gender discrimination in gaming and why the industry needs more legal intervention.
2020 was supposed to be a milestone year for Sylvia Gathoni. The 22-year-old — who is known by her gaming pseudonym QueenArrow — was not only scheduled to compete on the Tekken World Tour, but she was also supposed to graduate from law school.
Although the pandemic changed her plans, Sylvia is still optimistic that next year she’ll realise her dreams of finishing her degree and representing her home country of Kenya on the esports international circuit. A gamer-slash-lawyer might seem like an unusual combination, but for Sylvia, the pairing makes perfect sense. As a professional gamer, she knows the industry inside and out, and plans to use that knowledge to help create laws that better protect and support her fellow athletes.
Sylvia broke onto the professional esports scene in 2017 during a Mortal Kombat tournament. For those new to the world of esports, Mortal Kombat is a type of fighting video game and during tournaments, players compete against each other, often in front of a live audience. After the success of her first tournament, Sylvia soon got involved in the Tekken 254 circuit (another type of fighting game competition) and became the first female professional gamer in Kenya. Since then, she’s created a name for herself at national and international tournaments — all while pursuing her law degree at Catholic University of Eastern Africa.
Sylvia has used her platform as a leading gamer to advocate for advancing and improving the industry. In a recent interview with Johana Riquier, Sylvia called out the lack of diversity in esports. “Video games, and by extension esports, was not meant for women, more so, Black women,” she shared. “The industry was created with straight White men from ages 16-40. We women have had to fight (and continue to fight) for a seat at the table.”
I spoke with the esports athlete and activist about gender discrimination in gaming, why the industry needs more legal intervention and how the Kenyan government can better support its gamers.
Tess Thomas (TT): I know that you got into esports because of your older brother’s influence. What initially made you fall in love with gaming? What do you like about it now?
Sylvia Gathoni (SG): What initially made me fall in love with gaming is that I got to do anything in those worlds created by the developers. One of the games I enjoyed was Contra and it allowed me to play with my older brother, bond with him, help him clear levels and be a badass. Moreover, I loved pretending that I was these powerful women in the games that I played like Sonya Blade, Tanya and Kitana from the Mortal Kombat franchise, Rose from Street Fighter and Lara Croft from Tomb Raider. It was rare for me to see women who could kick butt and take names at the time. Moreover, I loved the educational value that they offered and the fact that they opened my eyes to the world and allowed me to explore them from the comfort of my living room. In primary school, my dad got us a PlayStation 2 and one of the games that I had was Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness. The game taught me about the Nephilim race and about Prague. What I still like about gaming are for the same reasons. I learn about different places, I pretend to be these characters and I get to explore. I get to be Commander Shepard exploring the galaxy; I get to be Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad listening to the heralds on a building in Jerusalem during the Third Crusade and I get to bond with my community members over Tekken 7 playing as Ling Xiaoyu.
(Courtesy of Sylvia Gathoni)
TT: What does your training consist of? What do you do to keep your mental game strong?
SG: My training consists of looking over my previous matches from other tournaments I have played or casual matches then looking over the moves that blew me up and learn how to counter them. Moreover, I work on my movement (Korean Back Dash) and how to specifically way and move with Ling Xiaoyu since her gameplay style is centered on her tiny body and evasiveness of her stances. To keep my mental game strong, I work out in the evenings and stop playing when I begin to feel frustrated and fatigued because I won’t learn anything that way. I also don’t play the game if I don’t feel like it because it’ll take the fun from learning the game and playing it.
TT: What do you think are the most important characteristics or qualities of a good gamer?
SG: I think that the most important characteristics of a good gamer/esports athlete are for one, their ability to keep an open mind. Any competitive game that you will play can frustrate you and there are days where you will feel like giving up but if you keep an open mind to learning and trust that everything will fall in place and work out, it will be fine. This ties in with humility, grace and patience, which are other characteristics that a gamer should have. Moreover, I think authenticity is another important characteristic, more so when it comes to the content creation aspect of gaming. Audiences want to be able to relate with you as a creator and they won’t support someone who seems to be fake (for lack of a better word). Be true yourself (but don’t be rude or disrespectful). The last characteristic I think a gamer should have is to always be hungry. What do I mean by that? I mean that your desire to learn more and be better than you were should always be there to drive and motivate you.
“Moreover, I loved pretending that I was these powerful women in the games that I played...It was rare for me to see women who could kick butt and take names at the time.”
TT: What’s your favourite part of playing Tekken?
SG: My favorite part of playing Tekken is that it pushes me to be better. Tekken has a reputation for being one of the most difficult fighting games out there and with good reason. When I started out, I was overwhelmed with all these new terms like frame data, movement, fundamentals, punishment, etc. And when I couldn’t grasp them fast enough, I nearly gave up. However, when I overcame that barrier and started understanding how they applied in the game and started seeing the results, I started getting motivated. I wanted to master this game for real and the game taught me something about myself in the process: that I don’t back down from a challenge without a fight. There is still more to learn in-game and about myself and I’m excited for where this journey takes me.
TT: Tell me about your gaming streams on Thursdays. Why is Twitch such an important platform for gamers?
SG: So I primarily stream Tekken 7 on Twitch on Thursdays at 8 p.m. since it resonates well with my audience. I do player matches with a few friends of mine and I get to chat with my audience. I occasionally do adventure games like Mirror’s Edge and Tomb Raider. Twitch is an important platform for gamers because it allows us to connect with friends and fans around the globe and get to know them a little bit better. Moreover, it allows streamers to create content and actually earn from it through subscriptions and donations. Furthermore, it allows gaming communities around the world to get exposure. For example, the Tekken World Tour streams on Twitch and it has given exposure to underrepresented communities through the Challenger Events that stream on the platform.
(Courtesy of JD Photography)
TT: Can you describe the gaming community in Kenya? What do you think can be done to change the mindset in Kenya and around the world that esports is just for men?
SG: The gaming community in Kenya is relatively big though I don’t have the exact numbers to say how big. The most popular game is FIFA since a lot of us are fans of football, more so the English Premier League and La Liga. Call of Duty, Fortnite, Apex Legends, Mortal Kombat and Tekken are other games played at a competitive level here.
What I think can be done to change the mindset that esports is just for guys is to change the marketing of these games. The marketing of these games is directed at primarily men because that is the primary audience and is the assumption made when you talk of anything gaming related. Make the marketing of these games more inclusive so that it can reach out to women as well to have them more involved in gaming. Moreover, I think that the way in which we raise children is a factor in that we tell them from a young age that anything IT-related is a man’s thing. Let us allow our girls to aspire to work in these fields by letting them know that esports is for anyone with the interest and the determination to see it through and not just for men. Additionally, I think we can encourage them to work not just in the competitive aspect but also as content creators, commentators, journalists, etc. This will go a long way in creating diversity in this field.
TT: Why do you think esports are sometimes not taken seriously in Kenya? What can the gaming community, the government and companies do to change that?
SG: I think that esports is not taken seriously because for the longest time, video games have been seen as something children or people who don’t know what to do with their lives do. Hell, it has been chalked up to gambling as well. The message that has been perpetuated continuously is that if you want to be financially successful, you have to do medicine, law, engineering, nursing and business. What I think the gaming community, government and companies can do to change that narrative is by building long-lasting structures like what they do with the EPL [English Premier League]. A sport cannot exist without a structure. Moreover, the government needs to create a body whose role is to deal with all matters esports-related. Part of their mandate will be to educate the public on esports. Additionally, the government can create tax subsidies on gaming platforms and games to make them more affordable and accessible to the public. Companies can also invest more funds into the communities by funding events and building upon those structures, which in turn will grow the communities.
(Courtesy of Sylvia Gathoni)
TT: Have you experienced any challenges being a young woman in the field? How did you overcome them?
SG: Yes, I have experienced challenges being a woman in esports. I have had the experience of being overlooked and not being taken seriously because of either my gender or my age. Moreover, when I was starting out in Tekken, some people never took me seriously because I wasn’t a very strong competitor at the time. Additionally, when I was signed to my previous team (XiT Gaming), I had to deal with some colleagues of mine slamming me saying that I didn’t deserve it and the only reason that I had gotten that opportunity was because of my gender. I overcame these challenges by doing my best and focusing on my goals. After all, it is said that the best revenge is success.
TT: You’ve talked about the pressure of being a young woman in esports and the spotlight being on you after you first got signed to a U.S.-based team. How have you learned to navigate the spotlight and succeed under pressure?
SG: How I have learned to navigate the spotlight is to keep my two lives different. In school and at home, I’m just Sylvia. When I’m competing, I am QueenArrow. Moreover, I have my circle of friends and family who I trust to keep me grounded. I also have my faith as a Christian that reminds me that God has allowed me to come this far and succeed and I hope that it remains that way.
TT: What made you want to study law alongside your career as a gamer?
SG: To be honest, law wasn’t exactly a first choice but I did have an affinity for the humanities so I decided to take it in my stride. As I went on with law school, I realized that there was a niche in the law in terms of esports and regulation of microtransactions in the games industry and I decided that I would venture into esports law to help create some of the laws that will help in regulating the industry a little bit.
“As I went on with law school, I realized that there was a niche in the law in terms of esports and regulation of microtransactions in the games industry and I decided that I would venture into esports law to help create some of the laws that will help in regulating the industry a little bit.”
TT: How has what you’ve learned in the classroom helped your career as a gamer? How has what you’ve learned as a gamer helped you in the classroom?
SG: What I have learned in the classroom has helped me as a gamer in that I have been able to identify areas in the esports and gaming field that require regulation and more legal intervention. What I have learned as a gamer has helped in the classroom especially with my history. My playing Assassin’s Creed has taught me about different historical periods like the Italian Renaissance, which has been really helpful in my diplomacy classes when learning about the history of diplomacy and helpful in picking up Italian.
TT: What are your hopes for your future in gaming and what are your hopes for your future in law?
SG: My hopes for my future gaming career is that I become the most recognizable esports athlete on the continent and a big enough brand to be picked up by major corporations like Red Bull, Corsair and Victrix Pro. In terms of my future in law, I hope to create regulatory laws for the industry as mentioned above and maybe a venture into diplomacy.
TT: What is the most important lesson you’ve learned at law school?
SG: The most important lesson that I have learned at law school is that I am a guardian of the law and as such, I am beholden to fight for the values of truth, liberty and justice wherever I go. “Fight to the death for the truth and the Lord God shall war on your side.” — Sirach 4:28.
TT: Which of your many achievements are you most proud of?
SG: Of my many achievements, the one that I am most proud of is being the first Kenyan to be signed to a U.S.-based esports team. I never imagined my life taking such a turn to be truthful. I hope that future generations will learn about it and be inspired by that to follow their dreams, no matter how unconventional they may be.
We have edited and condensed this interview for clarity.
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