- I created an all women's team
literally starting from nothing to making it
to the grand finals of a world championship tournament
and meeting my husband all in the same weekend.
(upbeat music)
Hi, I'm Emmalee Garrido, in game I go by Emuhleet.
My eSports career started in 2014.
When a tournament called the electronic sports
world cup was coming up.
That's held in Paris, France every year.
This was the tournament of the year for counter strike.
I was only competing in local tournaments here in California
but I always dreamt of playing on the big stages.
This year it was just the right moment
and right time to make my own team.
And I decided to make an all women's team
to compete in this event,
I had met some amazing girls online
and we got along really well,
and we all shared the same goals.
So we knew that we would go
to this event together and do our best.
We were literally the only team that went there
that had no financial backing, no sponsors.
We were able to raise some money from Twitch.
The community donated to us to pay for our traveling.
We did have to end up spending a few thousand
of our own dollars to go to this tournament.
Some of my teammates had to use college fund money to go
to this tournament, but we wanted it.
We wanted to prove ourselves, we were passionate about it.
I wanted our team to look professional.
So I went to a local swap meet here in California
and I made a Jersey.
So we looked like a professional team
like everybody else that had an iron on the names
on the back of our jerseys.
I was missing an N for some reason.
So for my teammates rains name, I had to use a Z for an N,
no matter what nothing was gonna get in our way
I'm telling you, it was the tournament of the year
at this time.
(plane engine roaring)
Arriving to this tournament in France
was such a euphoric moment.
Time was literally slowing down.
There was so many people crowded
watching live matches that were already going on
at the time.
All these lights that were flashing
was such an amazing experience to be my first big event
like this, one moment goes by and my teammates like,
oh, my friend's here, Xp3.
He's gonna help coach us,
because we had a very little experience on the big stages.
And he was a local from France.
So he spoke French.
So he was super helpful in game and out.
Every time before we go into a match on stage,
he just gives such a motivational speech.
And any nerves that we might've had going
into this game are completely gone.
Going into the players arena was such an experience for me.
There was teams that were lined up face to face
with each other.
So who we were gonna play was directly in front of us.
So that's a good opportunity to taunt them
trying to distract them from hitting their shots.
Oh, nice try, oh you missed that shot.
Nothing too disrespectful
but enough to kind of get in their heads a little bit.
'Cause it is a mind game.
I think a lot of the teams weren't used to another team
being loud, so we were there to show that we're here
to fight, so because I'm the in game leader for the team,
Xp3 was directly behind me kind of helping
and guiding me on what strategy to call at the time.
I mean, I barely had any end game leading experience.
We needed to win this match to make it to the grand finals.
It was close.
It was 15, 14 and we had to win this last round.
We just ran the most insane fake on these girls.
And it was down to a two versus four,
I'm not alive in the game
but I'm trying my best to help them from an observing view.
And I was just thinking, oh my gosh, please learn this.
I did not fly all the way over here to live.
Please win this, they won the round.
It was a two V four
everyone behind us is like in complete shock.
I was in shock.
I didn't think that they would win 92 before it was hard.
And we had shocked everybody
by making it to the grand finals.
This stage was amazing, who didn't want to play on it.
There was a massive crowd
and all of these lights and cameras on you.
You just wanted that experience.
And they said, you're gonna have a walkout song,
like in boxing or something.
So we're like, oh gosh, what song are we going to put on?
So we decided to do the do, do, do, do, do, do, do.
(laughs)
What's the one you don't talk about like (indistinct)
and then in Twitch chat they were like, do do, do, do.
(laughs)
- "Sandstorm"
- "Sandstorm", let's say that's it.
And then there was this really pretty French girls
that looked like cheerleaders with our flag
the American flag and the Canadian flag.
And we were playing against the French team.
And so it's their home team.
The crowd's gonna be cheering for the French team of course.
- [Commentator] Emuhleet taking down one,
if they can come back from this,
they can come back from it all, on three, reigns
and that's gonna do it, 3D Max takes it.
- Didn't end up winning the tournament
but just the accomplishment of making it to the grand finals
in our very first international event,
was such a big accomplishment for us.
We went there from literally nothing.
We had to use our own money to get there.
We were be only team with no financial sponsors or backing
or an organization.
We had an iron on the names of the back of our jerseys.
We wanted that.
And this was just only the beginning for us.
The night after we decided to have in a very relaxing time
around Paris, Xp3 decided that he was gonna take us around
to the Eiffel Tower.
I just kind of had a moment of pause time,
time had slowed to where I was taking in this moment
and breathing in and looking to my left seeing my girls
looking to my right and seeing David,
how can you not fall in love with each other?
A few years later we ended up getting married,
(laughs)
and we got married here in California in a mission
in San Juan Capistrano
which is a mapping Counter-Strike.
Making it to the grand finals, meeting my husband,
creating sisters that I'll have for lifetime
with my teammates, all of this happened
because I never gave up when people doubted me,
and I kept pushing to reach my goals.
And now me and my teammates are five time world champions
and paving the way for future women in e-sports.
(dramatic music)
- Hey everybody, thanks for watching.
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Go on, have fun, keep watching.
I'll just be here
(dramatic music)