Title: rAge Expo 2016: Girls in Gaming – Julia ‘Bish’ Robson
Author: Harlequinn
Recovered Author: Harlequinn
Published Date: 2016-03-01
Original URL: https://geeknode.co.za/2016/03/rage-expo-2016-girls-in-gaming-julia-bish-robson
Wayback URL: https://web.archive.org/web/20171110053701id_/http://www.geeknode.co.za:80/2016/03/rage-expo-2016-girls-in-gaming-julia-bish-robson/
Recovery Confidence: high

- Harlequinn

- 2 years ago

- 6 1

In between running around the booths at rAge , playing boardgames and watching the DGL series, BiPolarBear and I ventured into the LAN area to speak to Julia “Bish” Robson. A 20-year-old dental student from Cape Town who is making her mark on the South African and international gamer scene.

Last year, she went to Dreamhack with Steel Series where she created a series of vlogs of her experience to give South Africans back home a taste of the massive international LAN. Since then she has been focusing on building a streaming career and joining a pro international girls league.

GN: Have you played for any of the local DGL teams?

JR: I want to join a DGL team in South Africa, but I haven’t been in a full on 5 player DGL team that is up my standards. I either wasn’t gelling with the teams or they weren’t on the level that I wanted them to be. I have played for official LANs with mixed teams and two out of those four LANs were against Bravado.

GN: Oh wow! That is awesome. Do you think the pro teams like Bravado would be open to a girl joining their ranks?

JR: I don’t think they are closed off to it, I think it’s more that people don’t trust a girl in their team. So if Flipside took me on as even a sixth player and I competed and performed at the LAN and beat people like Bravado, they would have no choice but to let me play. This hasn’t happened yet with a girl.

If the lower teams haven’t seen a girl play against Bravado and win, why would any of the lower teams pull in a girl if they want to beat teams like Bravado?

GN: Do you think girls are been given the opportunity for this to happen?

JR: Yes. I’m not being told I can’t sit here and LAN. I’m not being told I can’t create a team and LAN. At the same time, South African girl gamers are doing big things internationally.

I don’t see myself as a girl playing games. When I play all I can think about is shooting someone’s head off. There is no gender in gaming. Only skill.

Sharon ‘ShazZ’ Waison has been in the scene for 12 years and competed internationally last year in a girls team called Karma and won Copenhagen Games in Denmark. That is something I don’t think any South African can say, regardless of gender. No one had won a major in an international team fully sponsored. That is crazy.

GN: Stories like that are always great to hear because it shows that you don’t always need to make it big in South Africa to get noticed overseas. With your experience at Dreamhack under the belt, what is next for you locally and internationally?

JR: Currently, I’ve been speaking to an organisation that might sign me internationally. It will involve my streaming but it will mainly be to recruit me to their all girls league which is a dream come true. I’ve kind of skipped the Pro South African scene and have been thrown immediately into the international scene.

Hopefully, with me practicing at this level, it will make a big difference in getting me a spot on a mixed league team.

Locally, I have been focusing on building a brand for myself, streaming and looking to get into a DGL league.I am also sponsored by CSGO2X.com which give me CSGO skins for giveaways.

GN: Well you definitely are putting in the work to make a name for yourself. What games are currently blowing your mind right now?

JR: CS:GO but also The Division. It’s like COD with Battlefield graphics. I like how you are in a world not a map. The Culling is another game that is just so funny. I have literally had stomach cramps from lying on the floor crying from laughter.

GN: You will be very popular with some of the Geek Node writers for mentioning The Culling. What are your thoughts on Cape Town’s first rAge?

JR: It is very small, I think they could have done a lot more. Cape Town gamers deserve something bigger. We are known for our monthly LAN parties. It’s extremely disappointing that there were only 500 seats available for the LAN. I also feel the booths were downgraded. I was expecting to see MSI, Acer and Hearthstone. EDG was so popular last year, it’s a pity we weren’t given the same scale as Johannesburg.

GN: Yes, it definitely is smaller. It did feel like they were testing the waters. So hopefully, next year’s rAge will rival it’s Johannesburg component in terms of size and beta games.

Thanks for taking the time to chat to us Jules! It was great hearing about what you have been up to locally and internationally. Definitely looking forward to following your career and hopefully we will see you on a DGL team soon!

You can follow Julia on Facebook , Twitter , and catch all her streaming goodness on Twitch .

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Harlequinn

Elite Zombie Hunter. Mother of Dragons. Wanderlust Seeker. Fire Dancer. Pole Sport Enthusiast. Bibliophile. Certified Owner of Crazy Eyes.

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Article Tags:
Bish · Counter-Strike · cs:go · eSports · Interview · rAge Expo 2016

Article Categories:
eSports · eSports Feature · Events
