“Mixed-gender rosters can shake up esports”: FlyQuest RED on women’s esports

Women’s esports have steadily increased in popularity for years. Now, the Red Bull Instalock is set to be one of the biggest women’s tournaments in esports history, so we sat down with three members of FlyQuest RED to gain their exclusive insight into the upcoming competition.

Melisa ‘theia’ Mundorff, Evv, and Aluvily shared stories about their experience competing in women’s esports and why they’re excited to participate in Red Bull’s latest tournament.

The Red Bull Instalock is the next biggest tournament in women’s esports, focusing on the duelist agent role in VALORANT. Theia, Evv, and Aluvily shared why it’s such an important tournament for women’s esports, especially for American competitors.

Aluvily told Esports Insider: 

“American women in esports don’t get a lot of tournaments in general. With NA not getting as much, the Red Bull Instalock is a really important tournament for us to get more exposure.”

Theia chimed in to announce her enjoyment of the duelist format for the Red Bull Instalock, as it fits FlyQuest RED’s play style perfectly.

“I feel like the triple duelist format fits our team dynamic, so I’m super excited to see how well we will perform. I’m just excited to compete on a stage, I feel like it’s good practice for the world championship,” said Theia.

There have been many mixed-gender competitions, but they’re still rare compared to separate tournaments. Theia shared that she found past esports tournaments that included both genders to be a lot of fun, so she hopes to see more. She said:

“I definitely think it’s a really cool idea. The Spotlight Series was really fun to watch, and it was cool to see my teammates up there competing with other Tier 1 VALORANT players. It was really cool.”

Mixed-gender rosters can be a great way to shake up the esports world, plus they present a unique opportunity for talented athletes to face off when they otherwise wouldn’t encounter each other. 

Popular competitions like VALORANT’s Spotlight Series may even help bridge the gap between women’s and men’s esports throughout the next decade.

Esports is full of tough competition, and women’s tournaments are no different. Aluvily told Esports Insider that she finds esports to be a challenging industry to break into if you’re a woman, though it’s not any more difficult than for male competitors.

“I don’t think it’s necessarily more difficult if you’re a woman, but I still think you need a great amount of skill to become a pro,” Aluvily explained.

Aluvily conveyed that the top level of esports is very hard to break into if you don’t encounter any luck, though continuing to hone your skills can make all the difference for aspiring athletes. She said:

“Pro esports is not easy, and it does take a string of good luck to get in there, but it’s definitely possible if you just keep grinding, and hopefully, you can make it.”

FlyQuest’s Aluvily also explained how UK esports are different from competitions in the United States, particularly due to increased public exposure to competitive video games in Europe, which is much more notable in her opinion.

“Esports get more exposure in a way, especially in the women’s scene. UK esports is way bigger than in North America. And there are a lot more supporters,” she said.

Despite her challenges along the way, Aluvily is clearly happy to be where she is, and she even told us that her greatest esports accomplishment is “getting signed to FlyQuest.”

VALORANT is one of the best FPS games for aspiring esports athletes due to its large competitive scene and the constant shift in meta. Evv shared why the ever-changing gameplay is good for the esports community since it forces athletes to adapt to shifting strategies.

Evv explained:

“I think it’s a good thing that the meta changes so often. The current meta that we’re in is not the greatest, but I do like how it changes pretty consistently to a point where you need to adapt and be ready to change your agent comps and get used to different scenarios.” 

We also asked Theia about how she initially entered the esports world. She explained that while she began competing with Counter-Strike, her team evolved following VALORANT’s release.

Theia told Esports Insider:

“I used to compete in CSGO, and then when Valorant came out, my whole team actually swapped over and started competing in both games. We realized we couldn’t be the best in both, so we decided to commit fully to Valorant.”

Though VALORANT is a good game to strive for an esports career in, it’s difficult to adapt to its shifting meta if you’re an in-game leader.

“As IGL, I have to adapt to the meta and change up how I call every single meta shift. It’s difficult and it’s a learning process, so if people aren’t willing to be adaptive in calling and mindset, then they wouldn’t last very long,” Theia explained.

There are many ways that athletes can begin an esports career, and sometimes, you have to try a few games before you find your shining star. Generally, it helps to transition between games in the same genre, like Counter-Strike and VALORANT.

Theia and the other members of FlyQuest RED each expressed their dream of winning the world championship, so the VALORANT athletes will continue to compete until they reach their end goal.

“I would love to win a world championship. It looks like the challenge is starting with Redbull Instalock,” said Theia, and her teammates agreed.

Theia, Evv, and Aluvily are on a quest to win a world championship in VALORANT, and nothing will stand in their way. Soon enough, FlyQuest will reach their dream of competing on stage in one of the biggest moments in women’s esports history.