Women in CS2 Community!
The 8th of March is International Women's Day.
We at GamerPay want to celebrate this day by introducing you to women from the Counter-Strike community!
Counter-Strike is not an all-boys game. A lot of women are present in the scene.
Be it pro-players, casters, map creators or even article writers.
We want to shed light on the Females of Counter-Strike.
Eastaahh
The first woman we want to introduce to you today is Ester (Eastahh). She is a young woman from Norway and has been active in the Counter-Strike streaming scene since 2020. She started streaming because she “always had a dream about being able to cheer people up, just by being [her]self doing someting [she] love[s], like playing video games”. Her interest in Counter-Strike was sparked by her viewers, who wanted to see her try out CS. Ester now has 4000h in CS and over 70,000 followers on Twitch.
Eastaahh about Streaming
Ester streams not only Counter-Strike but also League of Legends, horror games and the relatively new Brawlhalla.
What she really cares about when it comes to streaming is putting a smile on people's faces, having common interests with her viewers and building a community. We asked Ester what she doesn't like about streaming and the answer fits perfectly with the young, bright woman we had the pleasure of getting to know:
“There is not much I dislike about streaming. One thing I find difficult sometimes is having motivation to keep the grind up. Climbing ranks can both be fun and mentally hard, the biggest help I get is my viewers who cheers for me when its hard!”
As you can see, Ester is a very positive streamer who prioritises community and fun in the game. She emphasises the similarities between us rather than our differences and loves the things that connect us in the community.
We also asked her, how she feels about beeing a female in Counter-Strike. The answer was that she felt good, but also (like all of us, unfortunately) she has had experiences with toxic teammates.
It is important to her that we remember not to take these things personally.
“Stay positive and keep the grind up!!!”
Lillykyu
Lillykyu is a 19 years old Map-Creator from Scotland. She is known for making rather unconventional fun maps.
In 2018, she started making her first maps by teaching herself the necessary skills with the help of YouTube videos.
Her intention was to create fun maps that she could play together with her friends. The first map she made for Couter-Strike was de_roast, which was initially a normal 5v5 competitive map.
She then tried her hand at more unusual maps, bringing experiences to the game that we wouldn't have in Counter-Strike without her!
Her most famous map is "duck hunt aim training". This was the first map she completed for CS2. and there is good news. Lillykyu is working on another map, in Minecraft style, which will have breakable blocks and other fearures from Minecraft.
Lillykyu about Counter-Strike
Lillykyu started playing Counter-Strike at the beginning of 2017 and has already started trying out different maps from Workshop.
Her favourite map is de_lake (Wingman), which has not yet been released for CS2.
Her experiences with the Counter-Strike community are rather mixed. Solo queue is particularly difficult as a woman, as you sometimes get kicked simply because of your gender. An experience that some women could probably share.
However, there are also good communities that have a lot of nice people. Lillykyu particularly highlights the map-making community and the movement community.
Mette Buhlzhit Buhl
Mette has been playing Counter-Strike(1.6) since she was a child, back then with her brother. She started playing again in 2017.
She played in two teams, "The Wombats" and the second team from her work.
She likes CS because it requires strategic planning and teamwork and it can be really fun! Her favourite maps are Inferno and Vertigo.
Mette Buhlzhit Buhl about Counter-Strike
What Mette really likes about Counter-Strike is that she has met so many awesome people through it: “What Mette really likes about Counter-Strike is that she has met so many awesome people through it”.
Mette says of herself that she wouldn't want to miss the Counter-Strike community especially how it brings people together across cultures, difference, ages and countries.
But she hits the nailed it, when it comes to how women are treated in the game: “Mette says of herself that she wouldn't want to miss the Counter-Strike community.
But she hits the nail on the head when it comes to how women are treated in the game:”
Hi! That`s me
Finally, I would also like to say a few words to you. My name is Jessica Kochner-Geßner (Cylockine) and I have been working for GamerPay since November 2023.
How did I get here? Some of you may know my husband (Cylock). When we met, I told him that there was no way I wanted to have a "gamer" as a boyfriend. As a result, he hid his GamingPc in his closet every time I visited.
Until I found the gamer keyboard.... In the conversation afterwards, I learnt about Counter-Strike. Contrary to my expectations, I'm really quite happy.
Not only was I able to discover a really good game for myself, but the community also surprised me more than positively.
Of course, sometimes you have to listen to things like "back to the kitchen in you". But to be honest, most of them are more than helpful and nice people.
Conclusion
Thank you for reading our short stories about these three talented ladies in the CS community.
It is important to be respectful to people. We know that women in Counter-Strike experience a lot of harassment, let us all be mindful of that and create a safe gaming environment for everyone.
Eastaahs Social:
Eastaahs Instagram
Eastaahs Twitch
Eastaahs Twitter/X
Lillykyus Social:
