Esports are hotter than ever — and so are these accomplished industry women.
ESPORTS Gamer-Girls
Gaming and esports are booming with independent creators and competitors attracting an ever-growing audience. Some experts estimate monthly esports viewers will soon skyrocket to more than 26 million a month. But this digital domain has largely been dominated by men, and esports organization Fnatic estimates women comprise a scant 16 percent of the executive leaders at the world’s top companies. However, the times they are a-changing, and a growing number of smart, savvy ladies are putting their mark on the industry — both in the executive suite and on camera. Here Penthouse takes a look at a dozen of the industry’s major female players.
RACHELL “VALKYRAE” HOFSTETTER
With more than 3.6 million followers on Instagram and 3.5 million subscribers on YouTube, Rachell Hofstetter, 30, is a superstar gamer. In fact, Stream Hatchet named her the No. 1 female streamer with 12.2 million hours of content watched in the first quarter of last year. Dubbed the “Queen of YouTube,” Rachell — who uses the online alias Valkyrae — is known for streaming herself playing Fortnite with her girl squad. In 2018, she became the first female gamer and content creator for competitive esports team 100 Thieves. And in early 2021, she became a co-owner of the L.A.-based gaming and lifestyle brand, joining content creator CouRageJD, music mogul Scooter Braun, Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert, rapper Drake and 100 Thieves founder Matthew “Nadeshot” Haag.
AMANDA RUBIN
In 2019, Electronic Arts alum Amanda Rubin joined Enthusiast Gaming as their East Coast sales VP. The publicly traded company bills itself as “the world’s largest platform of communities for gamers and esports fans,” reaching more 300 million global gamers monthly through its portfolio of communities. With a combination of media, esports and live gaming events fueling its growth, Enthusiast has become an industry force, and Amanda’s talents have helped agencies and brands reach sought-after millennial audiences. She’s said to be working on expanding the business’s reach via partnerships with the U.S. Navy, L’Oreal’s Essie and State Farm Insurance, among others.
LINDSAY CAUDILL
Dallas-based esports franchise Team Envy was founded in 2007 as a professional Call of Duty team. It has since branched out into multiple field rosters, including Fortnite, Halo and Counter-Strike and counts Lindsay Caudill as their social media manager. In addition to running the company’s main social channels, Lindsay has also spearheaded Envy’s philanthropic and inclusivity initiatives. Most recently, the digital dynamo — who can be found on Twitch @handiicat — organized a charity stream to raise money for organizations supporting gals in gaming and entertainment and said in a recent interview, “Gaming is not something that is exclusive to males. It’s something that is celebrated by everyone.”
NICOLE LAPOINTE JAMESON
Since May 2019, Nicole LaPointe Jameson has been the CEO of esports organization Evil Geniuses, which is said to be valued at $255 million. Being tapped for the top spot made Nicole the first Black woman to lead a major esports organization. Now 27, she’s credited with helping Evil Geniuses reopen its Counter-Strike: Global Offensive division. Notably, in January 2021 Evil Geniuses became the first major esports team to sign a mixed-gender squad for Valorant. She once Tweeted: “I don’t care where you come from. Nor your creed, gender, religion, class, past industry or sexual orientation. If you are the best of the best, you have a home here at Evil Geniuses.”
SUE “SMIX” LEE
StarCraft player Sue Lee, known online as Smix, just wrapped a six-year stretch of working at Twitch — most recently as account director of strategic partnerships. Last year, she also kicked off a new personal chapter, tying the knot with Robin Johansson, also known as former Counter-Strike: Global Offensive pro player Fifflaren. Fluent in Korean and English, Sue, 31, got her start translating live gaming events before hosting tourneys at BlizzCon and DreamHack. Though she’s ended her career at Twitch, she has a new role as VP of talent management at the recently launched RTS, co-founded by streaming influencer Imane “Pokimane” Anys.
TRICIA SUGITA
Three years after League of Legends team FlyQuest was founded in 2017, the organization named Tricia Sugita as CEO. Since then, Trisha — who goes by @megumixbear on Twitter and Twitch — has vowed to ensure the company will “showcase greatness.” She cut her serious gaming teeth on StarCraft II, but her interest in esports really took off after attending 2011’s BlizzCon. She was a streamer, host, caster, interviewer and pro player before moving to the business side. “I’m happy to see a lot more women [in esports] than before, and I hope this trend continues upwards,” Tricia says. “One of our goals at FlyQuest, and the one that speaks most to me, is to empower women.”
KYOUNG-EY “AVALLA” KIM
Paris Eternal’s general manager Kyoung-ey Kim, also known by the online alias Avalla or simply as Molly, was the last person standing after the French pro Overwatch team cleaned house in 2020 as part of cost-cutting measures. It’s since rebuilt its roster — thanks to 27-year-old Molly scoping out the European Overwatch community and recruiting a new team of six, as well as coaches. In the 2021 offseason, Eternal competed in the SteelSeries Invitational and tied with the London Spitfire in third place, having lost against the Boston Uprising 2–3. Australian-born Molly, who can be found on Twitter and Twitch @avalla_ow, recently revealed she’ll remain with Paris Eternal through the 2022 season.
MARI TAKAHASHI
YouTube darling Mari Takahashi, 36, spent more than a decade working for the YT comedy channel Smosh and cofounded Smosh Games in 2011, appearing in multiple series on the channel — including her own shows, Super Mari Fun Time and MariCraft. Stepping out on her own in 2020, she now works as a host and YT content creator at AtomicMari, which has more than 300,000 subscribers. A former ballerina — who displayed her nimble moves on Smosh Games’ Just Dance Rematch — Mari climbed Mount Fuji in Japan, ice-climbed three peaks in the Cordillera Blanca in South America and has skydived and is scuba certified. She also competed on the 33rd season of Survivor, entitled Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen X, and placed 19th.
JANET SHIM
In July 2021, Janet Shim was named director of program operations for Vindex-owned esports production and tournament company Esports Engine. The exec, who can be found @janet_shim on Twitter and @janet.shim on Instagram, was part of the Riot Games team that received the 2020 Sports Emmy Award for Outstanding Esports Coverage for the League of Legends World Championship finals. Janet had worked on esports production for more than eight years for Riot. In her new position, she’s heading Esports Engine’s program design and execution strategy — and working with key stakeholders to develop market strategies for the biz and its top brass.
ANNE-MARGOT RODDE
L.A.-based Anne-Margot Rodde is the founder and CEO of WePlay, having launched the video game marketing agency in 2013. The longtime marketing guru — who holds an MA from London Metropolitan University — has produced major events and campaigns for companies including Xbox, PlayStation, Nexon, Riot Games and EA Games. She also didn’t let the COVID-19 pandemic slow her down. In March 2020, she kicked off WePlay Consulting, which assists video game companies with development strategies to grow their audiences and nail down partnerships. Among her consulting clients are Jack Morton, Spark Media, Prodigy, Station 12, Stryfe and One Team Partners.
MAGALI HUOT
Head of games publishers at YouTube, Magali Huot is a longtime entertainment industry veteran, having previously worked in marketing at Warner Bros. As part of her position at YT, she advises game publishers on ways to use the platform to grow their businesses. She also lends her talents to helping companies execute events, but her reach stretches beyond esports tournaments. She’s also had a hand in shepherding digital music experiences, including rapper Travis Scott’s Astronomical Event in 2020 and pop princess Ariana Grande’s 2021 Rift Tour — both in Fortnite. Check out the game’s YT channel to catch videos of the shows — and more.
MIA MALKOVA
California cutie Mia Malkova, 29, is not only a Penthouse Pet. Our October 2016 cover girl also has a “chill” channel on Twitch @miamalkova with more than 600,000 followers. The blonde beauty says she likes “to chat … eat good food and play a variety of games! My stream is fairly relaxing until it’s not.” The self-proclaimed “fantasy nerd” reveals she mainly plays RPGs because “I love to feel immersed!” When she’s not gaming, Mia enjoys hiking and cuddling her four pups. The curvy beauty posts updates about her streaming schedule on Twitter @miamalkova and shares “fun” and “creative” photos on Instagram @mia_malkova.
Although the magazine ran her first, because that’s how publishing people think, we ran Mia last so that you could finish with all the other NOT Penthouse Pets before popping off to visit Mia. You may have noticed that we also chose Mia for the header image because … yeah, so that’s obvious. We are also supposed to say “find Mia on PenthouseGold” so now we have done that too. Whew.
