The team captain for the Team Dignitas CS:GO Female team, Emmalee"EMUHLEET"Garrido (1.13 HLTV rating), took a moment to talk to us about the team's time at the Philadelphia 76ers training facility. We spoke about the team's preparation for tournaments and how gaming compares to traditional sports. We also dove into her gaming roots and the future of eSports.

Let’s start from the beginning, what was your motivation to become a pro and at what point did you decide to go all in on eSports?

EMUHLEET: I’ve always had a competitive drive, even when I used to play soccer when I was younger. I couldn’t stand losing and I couldn’t stand knowing I wasn’t one of the best at something. Once I fell in love with the competitive side of Counter-Strike when I was 14, I decided this was the only game that I would devote all of my time to, to try to be the best I could at it. I went to a local LAN tournament almost every month from 2005-2009. Fast-forward to 2014, I found out that there was an all-female event coming up (ESWC) that I knew I wanted to play in to prove myself as a top female gamer and, even though I was still in school continuing my nursing education and working as a nurse, I knew that I would be able to balance all of that by committing all my spare time to creating a team (Team Karma) and improving my skills to compete in this event. Now that I have proven myself at that event in 2014, I’ve decided I wanted to work my way up to prove myself against ANY team in ANY competition, whether its mixed or female, just to be a top gamer in general... so I decided to quit my nursing job and devote all my time to getting better.

How did you go about developing yourself as a gamer? Can you highlight the different aspects that are important?

EMUHLEET: I used to play GoldenEye all the time when I was younger, and I think I just love the first-person shooter type of games because of that. I didn’t have many friends that enjoyed video games like me when I was younger (most of them enjoyed traditional sports or playing with toys), but luckily I had an older brother who did and so did his friends. I think it’s really important to surround yourself with other people who love doing the same things you love to do to help kickstart something that could be amazing, such as turning a love for gaming into becoming a pro-gamer or even a game designer! For me, I can’t remember ever wanting to play games for fun... I always had to be the best. Even when I was little, I HAD to complete a GoldenEye level without dying in the fastest amount of time before anyone else, for example!

What are the differences of developing on your own, as a team and with the help of coaches?

EMUHLEET: I can strongly say that I wouldn’t be anywhere near where I am today if it wasn’t for our coach, Xp3, who stuck with us since day one of the team. His constant motivating speeches to us, teaching us, and making us push harder than we ever thought we could is one of the reasons why we are where we are today! Having a great coach like him who truly cares is so important for the development of our team. As a team, we've developed where we are because we all have been supporting everything we do with constant moral support. We study demos together, study ourselves, take criticism well, and overall want to see the best for the team, not for ourselves. As for myself, being the leader means I have got to keep the right mindset at all times (which can be difficult), keep energized, and be on top of everything... it’s not easy, but it’s a lot of fun. I’m deathmatching every day, practicing nades, reviewing our demos to see better ways to run a strat, and just really trying to improve myself as an in-game leader because I have so much to learn and that’s exciting to me!

Speaking of development; you recently visited the Sixers where you got to meet up with some traditional sports professionals. What was your general impression of these conversations?

EMUHLEET: My cheeks started to hurt towards the end of the day after our training at the Sixers Training Complex. I was so happy to speak with all this traditional sport specialists like the nutritionist, sports psychologist, physiotherapists, conditioning coach, and doctors! The entire team and I wrote down so many notes that we go over with each other every week to keep what we learned at the training complex consistent. I am extremely confident when I say that having these resources is what will help take us to the next level.

Were there any things that they taught you which you never even thought about before? Can you give some examples?

EMUHLEET: I can’t give away too many secrets. One thing that stood out to me was from Dr. David Martin, which was to always bring each other up if someone is having a rough game, and be genuine when wanting to help them. Your teammate will play better if you boost their confidence! We also learned a lot about nutrition and what foods give you energy or keep you focused. The nutritionist gave us some healthy snack ideas that won’t have us "crash" because it’s hard to find healthy snacks when we are traveling.

Amongst team therapists, assistant coaches, and other staff, you had some time with Jeanie Subach who is the Sixers’ dietician and sports nutritionist. Do you think a certain diet can impact performances in eSports as it doesn’t require the same physical ability as in traditional sports?

EMUHLEET: Definitely. Our brain can soak up the nutrients from our food and get energy from it or crash from it if it’s not good food. Our brain is a crucial part in eSports, it needs to be reactive in making quick decisions, focused, and calm in chaotic situations. Eating the right foods can help with all of this.

How would you compare basketball to Counter-Strike? What would you say each one has that the other doesn’t?

EMUHLEET: They both require good, quick communication, strategies, teamwork, adaption, and energy. A difference is on our big tournament days where we could be playing for 15 hours straight, while basketball would be only a few hours max.

After talking to Billy Lange, Director of Player Development at the Sixers, how similar/different is being the captain of an eSports team compared to a traditional sports team?

EMUHLEET: Oh, it’s almost the exact same. The point-guard and myself are the heart of the team, so it’s up to us to guide the team the right way and keep people motivated when feeling down. Coach Billy Lange taught me that it's important to point out issues about a particular game, but there’s a right time and right place for it. Most likely after the game after everyone has had a breather.

The team was also interviewed by the Wall Street Journal, what do you feel are the differences/similarities between traditional media and online media, if any?

EMUHLEET: I think it’s great that the traditional sports media is interested in eSports. All of this is really starting to validate our sport as a real sport! The Wall Street Journal staff was actually pretty educated about the world of gaming and eSports, so it was a very fun and easy interview! When traditional media understands eSports, the questions are very similar to the eSports media, which makes answering the questions very easy and natural. If the media doesn’t know too much, that’s okay too... it’s fun to teach them the basics about Counter-Strike (like how it works) and why eSports it’s so amazing and similar to traditional sports.

In the early eSports days, traditional media tended to misrepresent eSports and gaming, associating it with nerd stereotypes. Through your recent experience with the Sixers and outlets like WSJ and Nasdaq, do you think eSports has managed to break that stigma yet?

EMUHLEET: I think a lot of big companies like Nasdaq and WSJ are finally starting to see our competitive drive is just like traditional sports, and our fan base is just as big. Increasingly, people are becoming more comfortable with the fact that eSports is a real thing, and this is with all the help of these traditional sports sponsors such as Mountain Dew and Buffalo Wild Wings. Our fans are so smart and savvy and are always on social media interacting with teams and players. It’s great!

Do you believe that one day eSports will be as popular as football in Europe is, or as the NFL or NBA in America?

EMUHLEET: Do you mean soccer in Europe? Haha, kidding. Oh yes, definitely, I have been playing this game for so long, and seeing the rate it has grown over the past 3 years is amazing. eSports are filling up massive stadiums now, and the crowd is just as interactive as if you were to go to a NBA or NHL game. I see this getting even bigger very soon.

Do you have any shout-outs you would like to make?

EMUHLEET: Shout out to my parents for teaching me to keep working hard no matter what, to my husband and coach David "Xp3" for being there for me and the team always, to ODEE for your constant support and motivation, Mountain Dew for giving me the cutting edge energy I need before a game, HyperX for the great sound setup, Buffalo Wild Wings for the tastiest wings to celebrate a win, and Dell Alienware for providing me with a top quality system and monitor to compete.

Thanks to Emmuhleet for the interview!

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