You mention e-sports, and you are most likely to visualize a male player playing. However, Esports is not just a boys’ forte, and India has proof. There are many female enthusiasts too, who have challenged prevalent norms around gaming. Let’s take a look at the top female gamers who have literally taken the question “Why should boys have all the fun?”, a tad bit seriously.
1. Saloni Pawar a.k.a. Meow16k
She is the first female player to represent India at any international gaming competition. She represented the country in LOV Thailand. She plays CS: GO on a competitive level. She has also won the Central Asian Qualifiers for Legion; a CS Tournament by Lenovo She has participated in the Valorant Streamer Battle Tournament and in the Fall Guys showdown as well.
2.Monika Joseph a.k.a. Sherlock
Armed with a prominent online presence and a good fan base, Monika is currently concentrating on her streaming career, playing myriad games on her streaming channels. She has collaborated with famous esports players like TSM Entity Jonathan. A streamer and content creator for Esports Organisation S8UL, she earns around over $1.4k per month from her YouTube streams and videos.
3.Shazia Ayub a.k.a. Mysterious YT
This Kolkata-based interior designer plus gaming enthusiast is now a full-time streamer and influencer. With her instagram base of over 27k followers, she is a member of the gaming group Intoxicated and she streams PUBG videos for YouTube.
4. Payal Dhare a.k.a. Payal Gaming
Payal mainly streams on her channel Payal gaming, which has more than 1.5 million subscribers and plays action games like BGMI, GTA and other arcade games. Part of the Entity Gaming Clan, this 21-year-old from Chhattisgarh was honored with “Startup Business Meet 2021’s Face of The Year”
5. Kaashvi Hiranandani a.k.a Kaash Plays
She started her career by uploading gaming videos in which she played COD Mobile. However, after that she started playing other games like Minecraft and It Takes Two. She now creates content for Esports Organization Samurai Esports and has 225k subscribers on YouTube and over 130k followers on Instagram.
6. Pari a.k.a.8bitRaV3n
Pari is a pro-PUBG Mobile player. She is a member of the 8bit clan. 8bit clan led by Animesh have played finals of the PMSC, 2018. She hails from Indore and live streams from her YouTube channel without any facecam. She mostly plays PUBGM, giving important insights about the game.
These girls are breaking gender stereotypes and are inspiring other girls too to take up gaming seriously. And their contribution too, has helped India become visible on the gaming map.
