We had the opportunity to talk to Celina (@tkn0801), a CATHERINE player and streamer, at EVO2019, the biggest eSports tournament in the fighting game industry, which was held for 3 days from August 2, 2019!
Interview with Celina!
Tell us about your gaming career.
I think I have been playing games for more than 20 years. I think it all started because my father loves games and I watched him playing Street Fighter and Tekken.
T.H.: How did you come to participate in this year's EVO as Katherine?
Actually, the first tournament I participated in my life was Catherine's tournament held at Red Bull Gaming Sphere in Nakano.
But there were no other women, I was nervous, and the result was....
But I hate to lose, and I was confident, so I continued to compete. I continued to compete.
The turning point for me was my second competition, where I placed in the top 8.
From there, I worked hard for a year and took advantage of the fact that I grew up in the U.S. and am bilingual, and I started to get to know people in the Catherine community in the U.S.
Then, the American community decided to invite myself and one other person to participate in EVO, with support for travel and lodging expenses from Japan.
This time, as well as participating as a player, I also did a play-by-play in Japanese!
実は後ろでこっそり見ていました！ pic.twitter.com/juSHlDUpIy
— Saiga NAK (@saiganak) August 12, 2019
The editorial team watches from behind to spy on Serena on the day of EVO2019.
What are your goals as a player?
I want to spread the gaming community, and I want to be called a "leader in spreading the gaming community". In order to achieve this, I want to convey the joy of games to as many people as possible.
Celina's love for the game
I felt very much love for the game when we talked. It is a particularly good example of the strength of community ties and the connections people make through games, and I think it is wonderful that bilingual people can successfully serve as a bridge to other countries and create opportunities for exchange that transcend national borders.
As Saiga NAK, we would like to contribute to lowering the barriers to e-sports and making this kind of experience available to as many people as possible.
Profile of Celina
Celina is a bilingual streamer in English and Japanese, a Catherine player, and a multi-talented MC for game stages and other events.
Twitter: https: //twitter.com/tkn0801
Twitch : https://www.twitch.tv/celina_0801