Interview with Stratospanda — “It’s important for me to have fun while playing”
Natalie “Stratospanda” Kristiansen is one of the most prominent botlaners in the EU female scene. She has previously played for big orgs such as Resolve, Edelweiss, and Besiktas; she was even a sub for H2k in the EU LCS.
Now back in action, this time for Lionscreed, she shared a few words about the history of the EU female scene and how she’s gearing up for Rising Stars.
You’ve been competing in the female scene since 2015; would you say it’s been consistently moving forward since?
It has for sure improved since 2015. The female scene started out as tournaments for Riot Points through ESL, and the skill gap between players was huge. I think the major breakthrough was GIRLGAMER supporting the scene, resulting in organizations picking up teams for GIRLGAMER events. Now we have orgs like G2, SK, BIG and others in the scene.
Because of big orgs and more tournaments, we see a lot more female players now. However, I still think it’s really hard for women to have gaming as a job. There’s still a lot of sexism, and there’s not tons of options. It’s why I personally have to focus mainly on university
Despite being significantly lower ranked in solo queue than many of your competitors, you’ve consistently been one of the top bot laners in the EU female scene for years. What is the cause behind this disparity?
I’ve had a chronic disease since 2014, and solo queue and gaming in general became a way to cope and relax. It’s important for me to have fun while playing, and I guess I can get bored easily. I think I play just fine, but as ADC I guess you can always do more; even the smallest mistake can cost you the game.
You spent about a year and a half with Resolve; what were your plans after they disbanded their female team?
After Resolve disbanded I didn’t really have any plans. They disbanded their female team because there weren’t any tournaments coming up for a long time, sο Ι decided to focus on university until something came up. Thankfully, Rising Stars popped up.
How is it to play with a new team after being in your previous one for so long?
It feels weird to be in a new team, as I had gotten very comfortable in Resolve. Despite that, I was happy to get asked to play by such a good team. It’s a very different environment from before, but my teammates are super cute and friendly!
We hope to do well and will try our very best. We would be very happy if we beat one of the top teams, but we barely got any practice together so we go in without high expectations
What are some players you are looking forward to facing?
Kyanna from QLASH and Tifa from G2, as they are the two players I played with the longest in previous teams. In addition, both their teams are major contenders for the title.
Also, my most recent teammates Aly & Escapex3, who will play for Zerolag and SK Avarosa respectively.