Interview with Gela

Hello Gela! I’m glad you’re giving us this interview. But first, could you give the people who maybe haven’t heard about you yet some information about you? Some general things like your name, age and where you come from?

Of course! My name is Alena, I’m 20 years old and currently living in Russia in Moscow. I kind of left university because I had some health problems. For now, I’m not planning to study again because I really enjoy gaming and want to spend more time with it.

And what are you doing if you are not at the PC?

Nothing, sleeping probably 🙂

When did you start gaming and what was your first game?

This is a hard question. I think I started pretty early like when I was 5? 4? First I started watching my father playing. Especially when we got the computer room in the apartment I was always watching at night. My parents thought I was sleeping but I watched my father gaming. It started from that point.

Which is your favorite genre?

That’s really hard to say. I’m just playing games which I’m enjoying. I think I was playing a lot MMO games. The first game I seriously played online was World of Warcraft. I spent I guess around 7 years and I was playing like every day. I think it was the best thing I ever had *laughing* kappa. No I really was enjoying the game and met a lot of good people there.
Later I moved to the moba games. League was my first moba game I started to play. I played there on a high level but I wanted to go into the professional gaming. In League this is hard right now. Maybe in Russian scene it is not that hard but I wanted to join the „world gaming“ and so I switched to Heroes of the Storm.

So you wanted to enter the „international stuff“?

*laughs* Yes

Did you play DotA or DotA 2 before?

I’ve played DotA2 some games, like 200. But I’m not enjoying DotA. The games are way too long and there are lot of things before you can even start to game. It’s too hard to go and play DotA right now.

Who’s your favorite hero in Heroes of the Storm?

I think Jaina.

Which games are you playing at the moment?

Playing some Hearthstone, also playing league sometimes. I think just to look how game is going on. But I’m not really interested in playing league right now. Also playing Metal Gear Solid sometimes. Not my genre I guess but sometimes when I’m really tired of Heroes of the Storm or Hearthstone, I’m playing some Metal Gear Solid just to relax.

So will you do some relaxing in Overwatch, too?

*laughs* Yes, I hope for a Beta invite but then I will be relaxing there too 🙂

About streaming, how did you get there?

I started streaming from league, I think. It was just a random moment when I decided to stream.

So you were playing league and thought „Hey, I’m playing so why should I not stream“?

Basically, yes. My friends said “Gela, you’re playing good so you should start streaming”. I thought “Why not”. But I was not that successful that I wanted to show my success, it was more a fun thing.

Which steps had you to do in order to become a streamer?

It’s really hard to start. There are just a lot of streamers and many people are doing the same thing like you are doing. You need something special! You need to have your own style like something which people can recognize you for. You also need to get some support (i.e. friends).Usually it’s very hard to find really good streams. Maybe you are a really good streamer but have no viewers yet and so it’s unlike that many people will join your channel. Besides this, just be nice and there are a lot of things you can entertain your viewers. Just be creative 🙂

So, you mentioned the special something. What’s your special something?

Erm, I don’t actually know, maybe nothing? *laughs*

I think I was just one of the first Russian streamers and also one of the first HotS streamers there so people knew me and I got the chance for a growing viewer base.

What are the donations for? Any specific goals, like shoes?

I’m not a shopping lover *laughs* It’s more for improving the stream or something I can get like a gaming chair or something. I’m not really into buying shoes 😉

When are you usually up for some streaming action?

I have my streaming hours, but sometimes I’m oversleeping or busy with something.

So these are rather flexible. Usually, I stream between 3pm and 8pm (Moscow Standard Time).

Any negative things you can tell about being a streaming girl?

Well, a lot of trolling or bad words, but I guess every streamer has got the same problems. That’s the internet.

How do you cope with such things?

I was raging a lot before when I was younger. Now it’s way easier for me because I think I’m not that emotional anymore. I’m just ignoring random trolls or my moderators ban them.

You are streaming for Alternate Attax at the moment. How did you get there?

I was in an organization called “Girls Gaming Network” and I had a pretty good manager who got me into Alternate. Somehow like that.

From the casual gaming to esports, what’s your opinion about sexism in esports? Does it exist?

It definitely exists, but there are also some adequate people who say the gender doesn’t matter. Personally I don’t understand people complaining about females and expecting only the worst from them. I heard it so many times so I don’t even react on this anymore. People shall make up their minds if they want to. It is wrong to compare male and female gamers like you would do in traditional sports, like athletics. There are differences but in esports there aren’t.

Final question: Which is your shoe size?

*laughs* I don’t know because they are different in countries. But in Russia I’ve got 38.

Thank you a lot for the interview! It was great fun and we wish you all the best and hope to see you in the nexus, some day 🙂

Thank you too for the offer and you’re welcome 🙂