ESL One New York: The Gaming Event Through a Woman's Eyes

The crowd at ESL One New York this year reflected the diversity that permeates Brooklyn. There were gamers from all backgrounds—Black, white, Asian, Latino and more—whose excitement illuminated Barclays Center the entire weekend. Yet the tournament was predominately male with a sprinkling of women throughout the arena. 

Fuse spoke to a few of them during the first half of the Street Fighter V event to get their thoughts on how to include more female faces in ESL One's future. We first ran into Michaela and Kirsten Conti, sisters who were the only cosplayers at the tournament. Hailing from Yonkers, N.Y., Michaela cosplayed as SFV character Juri and Kirsten as Decapre. The pair, who also dabble in gaming, explained the time-consuming process.