Meet Grills Gaming, the all-women Dota 2 team breaking the glass ceiling in esports

This development is recent, as the amendment to include esports in the Sports Development Act 1997 came in March 2023, under the leadership of Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh. “Almost every country has an incentive structure for nationality-based tournaments to encourage athletes to improve themselves and aim for gold,” Team manager Tiffani mentions, pleased to see the Malaysian government’s efforts to nurture the modern sport.

“I was always obsessed with video games, chess, and sports. Dota combines all three elements,” Tiffany “Hishiko” says, enjoying testing her physical reflexes and mental acuity. Each player occupies a specific position from one to five, comprising the hard carry, midlaner, offlaner, soft support, and hard support, each with their respective task in the race to farm the gold and experience points necessary for victory while disrupting the enemy team’s progress (ganking).

Grills Gaming embraced meme culture and a sense of irony in naming the team, adopting the common typologism for girls. “Whenever male gamers see girls on esports-related streams, they act like they’ve seen a rare species, spamming the chat with repeated mentions of grills,” explains Team manager Tiffani. She further notes, “As female players, we’ve all experienced some degree of sexual harassment and verbal abuse, but that’s because the gaming field is toxic, regardless of gender.”

Women often endure more scrutiny than their male counterparts, facing judgement for their gameplay, appearance, and anything else that can be used as ammunition. In co-ed tournaments, the team acknowledges participating under alternate names to conceal their female identities. “I have stopped using in-game voice chat functions because there’s bound to be those who say hurtful things after hearing me speak. I wish there were more safe spaces for girls to play in, regardless of the game,” expresses Melissa. She is pleased to witness increasing competitive opportunities for women while hoping for the emergence of more mixed teams in Dota’s official yearly tournament, The International.

According to Niko Partners’ game market intelligence in 2023, approximately 53 per cent of gamers in Southeast Asia were women, surpassing the broader Asia-wide average of 37 per cent. Nevertheless, the imbalance in representation persists in professional esports, where women’s tournaments frequently feature smaller prize pools compared to their male counterparts.

Even without prize money, the experience of beating teams from Thailand, Argentina, and Peru at the Global Esports Games 2023 in Saudi Arabia was a priceless one for Grills Gaming. “It was my first LAN tournament. When we won [gold], we were numb with shock. Even as ‘Negaraku’ played on stage, I couldn’t feel anything at the time,” Melissa recalls.

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An experienced veteran, Stephanie entered GEG 2023 with expectations of success, albeit accompanied by moments of uncertainty. “We hadn’t really talked to each other as friends before we formed this team. Naturally, we had disagreements along the way, but when we got to Riyadh, we were all on the same page, and it felt so good going through that experience together.”

The team came together through word of mouth and recommendations from friends, a common recruitment practice in the small Malaysian female esports scene even today. Despite their diverse personalities, the team boasts great synergy. “It’s like an anime cliché, where each of us are like different colours that unite as a rainbow of skills,” claims Bette.

Admitting to not being particularly fond of being in the public eye following significant victories, Stephanie concedes that media attention has helped the team cement parental support and raise the profile of the Malaysian female esports scene. Her teammate Tiffany concurs, emphasising that exposure is important as Dota 2 is not as popular in Asia as Riot Games’ tactical shooter game, Valorant. “Valorant has a dedicated female scene, with players picked up professionally and finding paid careers. The scene is rapidly growing compared to Dota 2, which has been stagnant for years, even if it was one of the first games to pioneer the esports scene,” Tiffany laments.

Irrespective of future prospects, Grills Gaming diligently apply themselves to grow as skilled players. “Having a positive mindset and learning effective communication is crucial,” says Melissa. Experience is the most important teacher, Stephanie insists. “You need to have the ability to know when you need to communicate or make decisions and allow the team to react. You can’t always expect your teammates to discuss every decision.”

The distinction between esports and physical team sports boils down to mental fortitude over muscle memory. “There’s a big difference in how we trained. When I was competing for MSSD, my coach was fierce. With Dota 2, we’ve given our coach plenty of backtalk,” Tiffany says, formerly representing her school in track and field, badminton, tennis, and swimming. Stephanie agrees, adding that having a voice and sharing ideas with their coach, Chan Litt Binn “WinteR”, helped the team to strategise optimally.

“We don’t see other players’ perspectives and have to make real-time choices; there are so many variables, so we have to be mentally stable, and that’s why it’s preferable for esports coaches to be encouraging. You don’t want to suffer mental stress before you play the game because it will affect your decision-making skills, confidence, and create doubt about what you’ve been practising,” Stephanie elaborates.

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Asked about their advice for the next generation, Stephanie points to a quote from Bridgerton: “It takes courage to live outside the traditional expectations of society.” Pursue your passion while acknowledging the challenges ahead, the team agrees. “You need another game plan in case you fail as a gamer because not everyone makes it. Even in all-male tier one teams, few make it to the top while the rest struggle,” Bette says honestly. Even so, the team believes those with maturity, skill and dedication should press forward. Tiffany advises, “Don’t give up on your dreams, keep grinding and look for exposure. Show people you’re good and you’ll get there eventually.”

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