QueenArrow

Sylvia Gathoni Wahome (born 5 July 1998), better known online as QueenArrow, is a Kenyan esports player and content creator. She began her competitive career in 2017 and specialises in fighting games, primarily in the Tekken series. In 2018, she became the first woman in East Africa to be signed by a professional esports team when she joined American organisation XiT Woundz (now known as XiT Gaming).

QueenArrow
QueenArrow in 2021
Current team
TeamUYU
GameTekken
Personal information
BornSylvia Gathoni Wahome[1]
(1998-07-05) 5 July 1998[2][3]
NationalityKenyan
Career information
Games
Playing career2017–present
Team history
2018–2019XiT Woundz
2020Brutal Democracy
2021–2023UYU
2023–NIBBLE

Early life

Gathoni began playing video games at the age of three, having been influenced by her older brother and cousin.[4] She enjoyed playing games such as Super Mario, Contra and Tapper, but later gravitated towards fighting games, in particular Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter. She was introduced to Tekken after her father bought her a PlayStation 2 console.[2][5]

Career

In 2017, Gathoni began her competitive career with the Mortal Kombat XL tournament at the inaugural edition of the East African Gaming Convention, finishing in fourth place.[6][5] In January 2018, Gathoni began competing in a local Tekken league known as the Tekken 254 Circuit (now known as the Savanna Circuit), ranking nineteenth and seventeenth overall in Seasons One and Two, respectively.[7]

In May 2018, Gathoni was signed by XiT Woundz (now known as XiT Gaming), an esports organisation based in New Jersey, becoming the first Kenyan and the first woman in East Africa to be signed by a professional esports team.[8][9]

In October 2019, Gathoni earned her first major tournament win at the Nyeri leg of the Safaricom Blaze Esports Tour.[10] In January 2020, Gathoni left XiT Woundz to join British team Brutal Democracy. She announced her departure from the team in August the same year.[11]

In February 2021, American esports team UYU announced the signing of Gathoni as part of their content team.[12] In October 2021, Gathoni graduated with a Bachelor of Laws degree from the Catholic University of Eastern Africa.[13][14]

In June 2022, Gathoni was named in the Forbes Africa 30 Under 30 class of 2022.[15] On 17 October 2022, Gathoni was unveiled as a sponsored Red Bull athlete, becoming the first Kenyan athlete of any discipline to do so.[16]

In March 2023, Gathoni joined South African esports team NIBBLE.[17]

Tournament record

Tekken 254 Circuit / Savanna Circuit
Appearances by year, season and tournament
Date Tournament Game Location Place Ref
Season One
27 January 2018 Round One Tekken 7 Kenya Nairobi, KenyaT-12th [18]
17 February 2018 Round TwoT-12th [19]
10 March 2018 Round ThreeT-12th [20]
31 March 2018 Final RoundT-12th [21]
Season Two (Premier Division)
7 July 2018 Qualifier One Tekken 7 Kenya Nairobi, Kenya18th [22]
21 July 2018 Qualifier Two18th [23]
4 August 2018 Qualifier Three15th [24]
Season Three (Premier Division)
26 January 2019 Qualifier One Tekken 7 Kenya Nairobi, Kenya20th [25]
23 February 2019 Qualifier Two17th [26]
23 March 2019 Qualifier Three16th [27]
4 May 2019 Qualifier Four13th [28]
8 June 2019 Qualifier Five17th [29]
6 July 2019 Qualifier Six17th [30]
Season Four
25 January 2020 Qualifier One Tekken 7 Kenya Nairobi, KenyaT-17th [31]
29 February 2020 Qualifier TwoT-7th [32]
Final rankings by year and season
YearSeasonGameRankRef
2018 Season One Tekken 7 19th [33]
Season Two (Premier Division) 17th [34]
2019 Season Three (Premier Division) 19th [35]

Other
YearTournamentGameLocationPlaceRef
2017East African Gaming ConventionMortal Kombat XLKenya Nairobi, Kenya 4th [6]
2019Safaricom Blaze Esports Tour (Nyeri)Tekken 7Kenya Nyeri, Kenya 1st [10]
2021Red Bull Hit the StreetsTekken 7South Africa Johannesburg, South Africa 5th [36]
2022 CANOC Esports Series Tekken 7 France Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe 5th (Mixed Event) [37]
1st (Women's Event)

References
  1. Mithika, Boniface (1 May 2021). "Rising wave: Gamers setting pace in a brave new world". The Standard. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  2. Zhang, Yinan (9 July 2021). "专访肯尼亚电竞女皇 ：打破女性偏见前，会用拳头一直战斗". Core Esports (in Chinese). Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  3. Gathoni, Sylvia [@MalikaSiheme98] (7 July 2021). "Birthday cake two days later...Going through my #CobraKai phase rn... Strike First, Strike Hard, No Mercy!🥳💯👌🏾" (Tweet). Retrieved 16 November 2021 – via Twitter.
  4. Kariuki, Collins (5 November 2020). "Kenya: The Feels and Thrills of Online Video Gaming". Daily Nation. AllAfrica.com. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  5. Makena, Winnie (14 March 2020). "Move it: The gaming lawyer". Eve Woman. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  6. Kasuku, Maureen (9 August 2019). "eSports: Pro-Gamers Hall of Fame". KenyaBuzz. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  7. Wright, Sam (23 November 2020). "Meet the Kenyan law student making a name for herself in gaming". Red Bull. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  8. "First recruited Female Esports Pro Gamer in Kenya and East Africa". Gaming for Kenya. 15 May 2018. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  9. Munnik, Jo (3 December 2020). "Esports is on the rise in Africa and these two Kenyans are leading the charge". Inside Africa. CNN. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  10. Waweru, Dennis (23 October 2019). "Ladies Battle it Out At Safaricom Blaze E-Sports Tournament in Nyeri". Gadgets Africa. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  11. "Tekken Pro Gamer Queen Arrow Leaves Brutal Democracy". The AfroGamer. 7 August 2020. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  12. "QueenArrow joins UYU". TEKKEN 254. 19 February 2021. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
  13. Thomas, Tess (6 August 2020). "Sylvia Gathoni, aka QueenArrow: Kenya's gamer-slash-lawyer". Assembly. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  14. Gathoni, Sylvia [@MalikaSiheme98] (27 October 2021). "Just picked up my graduation gown. Friday, I officially graduate with my L.L.B. Saturday, I celebrate ✌🏾😅🤩" (Tweet). Retrieved 16 November 2021 – via Twitter.
  15. Murimi, Brian (4 June 2022). "Kenyan esports athlete Sylvia Gathoni makes Forbes Africa 30 under 30 list". The Netick. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
  16. Hawkson, Leroy (18 October 2022). "QueenArrow is the first Kenyan Red Bull athlete". Esports Africa News. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  17. Hawkson, Leroy (17 March 2023). "QueenArrow joins the NIBBLE family". Esports Africa News. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
  18. "Season 1 - Round 1 Brackets" (PDF). TEKKEN 254. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  19. "Season 1 - Round 2 Brackets" (PDF). TEKKEN 254. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  20. "Season 1 - Round 3 Brackets" (PDF). TEKKEN 254. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  21. "Season 1 - EAGC Brackets" (PDF). TEKKEN 254. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  22. "Season 2 - Qualifier 1 Brackets (Premier)" (PDF). TEKKEN 254. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  23. "Season 2 - Qualifier 2 Brackets" (PDF). TEKKEN 254. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  24. "Season 2 - Qualifier 3 Brackets" (PDF). TEKKEN 254. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  25. "Season 3 - Qualifier 1 Brackets (Premier)" (PDF). TEKKEN 254. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  26. "Season 3 - Qualifier 2 Brackets" (PDF). TEKKEN 254. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  27. "Season 3 - Qualifier 3 Brackets" (PDF). TEKKEN 254. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  28. "Season 3 - Qualifier 4 Brackets" (PDF). TEKKEN 254. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  29. "Season 3 - Qualifier 5 Brackets" (PDF). TEKKEN 254. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  30. "Season 3 - Qualifier 6 Brackets" (PDF). TEKKEN 254. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  31. "Savanna FGC 2020: Qualifier 1 (TEKKEN 254 Circuit / Kenya Kombat Circuit) | Standings". Smash.gg. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  32. "Savanna FGC 2020: Qualifier 2 (TEKKEN 254 Circuit / Kenya Kombat Circuit) | Standings". Smash.gg. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  33. "Season 1 - Overall rankings" (PDF). TEKKEN 254. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  34. "Season 2 - Premier Division - Overall rankings" (PDF). TEKKEN 254. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  35. "Season 3 - Premier Division - Overall rankings" (PDF). TEKKEN 254. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  36. Wright, Sam (27 September 2021). "Read all about the hard-hitting action from Red Bull Hit The Streets". Red Bull. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  37. "Sylvia Gathoni on Instagram: "Welp. 5th place out of 15 players in the mixed Tekken event and winning best female player ain't too bad for my third international tourney. I get to bring home the gold and glory🥇 Praise be to the Most High. A huge thank you to the team over at @canocsport and @ggic_gigagames for making this event possible and inviting me over to Guadeloupe to participate. It was a memorable experience and one that I will remember 💯✨ #thequeenarrow #uyucrew #caribbean #canoc #canocesportsseries #gigagamesguadeloupe #kenya #kenyangamer #kenyangamers #kenyangaming #254 #254gamer #254gamers #254gaming #254gamingcommunity #thisisthenewafrica"". Instagram. Retrieved 2023-01-04.
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