Get to know the Women in Esports Committee – Sue Lavasani

With the Women in Esports committee recently expanding, the initiative is continuing to grow and blossom.

But, who are the people behind the Women in Esports committee?

In this series, we highlight each member of the committee, their role in esports, and how they view female and marginalised gender representation in the industry.For this spotlight, we spoke to Tundra Esports’ Account Manager, Sue Lavasani, about her time on the committee, and her journey into the industry.

The full interview with Sue is available on the British Esports YouTube channel, or through the link below.

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Quickfire Round:

Q1 – What is your favourite food?

“I would have to say pizza. Ifg I have to choose something specific it would be my mum’s cooking. She makes great Iranian food, that’s where my parents are from, and I miss it dearly.”

Q2 – What is the worst game you’ve ever played?

“If I had to pick one, it would specifically be Shark Tale for the PlayStation 2. As a kid I had this game and there was one particular part like 15 minutes into the game, I think not even 15 minutes in, but there’s a dance sequence and I could not get past it.

“I was hard-stuck on this level, and it was kind of like a DDR (Dance Dance Revolution) thing to push the buttons to the song Can’t Touch This by MC Hammer. The amount of times I’ve heard that song, I think that’s my pick for the worst game I’ve ever played.” 

Q3 – PC or Console?

“See, I started with console, but as I built my first PC, and then kind of getting into PC gaming through going to Internet Cafe’s back in the day, I think I’d have to choose PC. Just for general use, like I can have a game running, and watch a stream at the same time, it’s kind of nice. But, I do have to admit I miss couch gaming – I miss being away from this desk when I’m done with work and just unplugging myself.”

Q4 – If you could become any gaming character, who would it be and why?

“I think I would pick DoomGuy – he’s pretty cool, and I love Doom also! Has a good soundtrack, so yeah, DoomGuy would be my pick.”

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General Questions:

Q1. How did you get started in esports?

“I always went to Internet cafes and I never really considered that to be something like esports, it was just something out of a necessity. I played a lot of RTS and I kind of got into Starcraft when I was younger, and then kind of got into networking with a bunch of people working within Starcraft – and I still talk to them to this day.

“Fast forward to while I was in the middle of my degree, I started streaming on Twitch, and I started to promote this now dead, unfortunately, game called Infinite Crisis. Before I knew it, I became a community member just streaming, I got skin codes to give away, and I grew my Twitch channel back in 2012.

“I started streaming daily, and things started to pay off and I got involved in casting. Unfortunately, real life had to take priority and I had to stop streaming for a bit to focus on my degree, but a friend of mine reached out to me, he was working at FaceIt at the time, and he said Dota 2 just launched on the platform and he needed volunteers to help. So I started becoming a Life Admin, and before I knew it, FaceIt approached me and requested me to relocate – so that was kind of the trajectory of my way into esports.”

Q2 – When did you realise you wanted a career in esports?

“I would say when I was in Cologne, Germany, casting the first Finals of Infinite Crisis. I was at the ESL studio, and I was so nervous, but it was exactly what I wanted – and it was awesome! In one way or another, I wanted to be involved within the industry, and now I’ve chosen what I like to do, which is Account Management. It’s really fun for me because it’s project management and you do have to be very quick thinking.

“I worked at Corsair after FaceIt, I worked at a Marketing Agency called Heaven Media after Corsair, and nothing compares to that rewarding feeling I’ve always had working in esports.”

Q3 – Where do you see yourself in five years?

“Five years is a long time considering I have been living in London for seven years now!  Like, even when I look at myself back, five years ago, I just feel so inexperienced and new, and it’s crazy how fast time is going with a blink of an eye. I don’t know [where I’ll be], I hope I’ll be somewhere where, you know, I’ll still enjoy it as much as I do every day.

“I never plan ahead that far but yeah, generally whenever I think about that, in terms of timelines, I often make the joke because I moved to London when I was 22, and it was just me with a 20 kilo suitcase. I often think to myself, like, who let me make that decision, like, no one stopped me and It’s insane because now I see 22 year olds and they look like a baby to me now. I don’t know where I’ll be in five years. I hope I’ll be very very happy still talking about my favourite games and my favourite foods.”

Q4 – How does it feel to be part of the Women in Esports committee?

“The word that always comes to mind is just honoured, because when I was away from FaceIt, and kind of away from esports, I felt disconnected from it, but I had the Women in Esports Committee to kind of keep my still kind of in the industry – making sure I was working within the industry and doing what I love. So, I feel really appreciative of Women in Esports in general.”

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Representation Questions:

Q1 – Do you feel that women and marginalised genders are represented well enough in esports?

“I’d definitely say compared to previous years, I’ve seen a lot of improvements, and I’m very impressed with how much it has improved. I think it tends to be difficult, and these are really difficult topics, but I’ve definitely seen a big improvement in the last decade.It’s definitely a lot more common and a lot more supportive now for women – and I really see a lot more support and discussions and I’m optimistic for the future.”

Q2 – What are your thoughts on female-only tournaments versus co-ed?

“I understand both arguments. but I definitely think they’re needed just to get a start somewhere. It’s really tough, and whenever I think about these kinds of things, I always think of what was needed when I was younger, and if I had a group of women to play games with, I feel like I would have had more experience playing competitive games. So why not have that opportunity for other new people in the scene?

“I feel like it’s definitely needed, but I also understand why people don’t really consider it as an issue.”

Q3 – What would you like to see change in the wider industry to promote further inclusion?

“I know this is probably already the case, but maybe just general awareness of how people treat each other in voice chat. I know that voice chat is often a feature, and should be treated as such, but from the content I’ve seen and from what I’ve experienced playing CS:GO, it’s very exhausting and I think I’d like to see more examples of how to handle that better.

“I often see people argue with it like ‘oh just mute them’, but I’ve never really accepted that as an option- so yeah, maybe how to handle these situations better.”

Q4 – What does Women in Esports mean to you?

“I’m sure that Alice is sick of me saying this, but whenever I think about Women in Esports, I always think about what was it that I needed as my younger self to be a little bit more, like confident into what I like to pursue and what I like. When I was growing up you know, video games were just not the not the main thing to consider as a future or job opportunity. so, to see where it is now is just already very overwhelming sometimes to me because it’s just such a change from what I knew when I grew up in Holland. That’s not really the esports heaven compared to Sweden for example.

That’s what it means to me, just doing something, you know, paying it forward, being able to be there, and  just being able to to help and support anyone.”

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If you want to learn more about Sue, you can follow her on Twitter, or watch the full interview over on the British Esports YouTube channel.

Eager to learn more about Women in Esports, and the committee? Make sure to follow the Women in Esports social accounts for the latest news, as well as the committee hub on our website for more content.