Looking back at the time I kicked ass: Cynthia Santa Maria

RGN on 2011-10-12

Gaming as a pastime transcends gender, but even then the gender balance in the realm of competitive gaming is surprisingly lopsided. Such has been the case since the conception of e-gaming so much so that the ‘only-guys-make-serious-gamers’ stereotype has become the norm of society. This notion irked a few and it wasn’t before long before some brazen maidens decided that it was time to snap the trend. These revolutionaries soon became known as PMSAsterisk*, a professional DotA team, and their antics turned the preconceived norms of eSports upside-down.

Among the movers and shakers stood Cynthia Santa Maria, a member of the famed female-power alliance founded in 2005, who would become better known to the watchers of the e-gaming world as w4ndeRz*. Having only joined in 2009, she’s considered a ‘mid-game hero’ to the ensemble but her contributions proved to be crucial as any other with her team clawing their way to the pinnacle of competitive gaming in 2010.

“The most memorable triumph would be us clinching the title of Iron Ladies at Shanghai in 2010,” recalls Cynthia, “the excitement and sense of achievement was fantastic— especially when doing it with a bunch of good buddies!” The camaraderie served the team well as they stood united throughout their glitzy 6 year reign as queens of the regional gaming scene.

Fast forward a year however and the famous females of PMSAsterisk* have decided to their gaming mouse and keyboard some much needed rest. Now a relationship manager at DBS, Cynthia “w4ndeRz*” Santa Maria finds nostalgia in recalling the events of her gaming past. “I miss the get-togethers with my fellow mates online. Just one simple game with 4 friends is all you need to have a fulfilling day!”

Citing the lack of time to train and practice as the primary reason as to why she has had to reluctantly call time on her e-gaming escapades, Cynthia has reservations at drawing the curtains completely on her play days. “The awesome taste of being a competitive gamer still lingers on my senses, competitive gaming is so addictive!”

“Unfortunately my schedule doesn’t give me much time and energy to play even casually. Over the last 6 months I probably only played 5 games in total which sucks doesn’t it!” Laughs Cynthia, but this gamer girl has other plans for her return to the competitive stage, “it would be nice to give back to the gaming community— especially in the sense of building awareness that not everyone who games is violent. There are plenty of people out there who game but have a balance in life and are not obsessed till the stage of hitting or killing someone.”

However, even with the headway PMS Asterisk* has made over the last half a decade, very few serious female gaming clans exist to this date. And while the stereotype of competitive gaming still persists but to a less prominent degree, Cynthia has only words of encouragement for those ambitious ladies who wish to challenge the norm. “Life is too short to be contemplating every move. Just play the game and enjoy it while you can!”

As Cynthia points out, “cooking is for ladies what gaming is for guys. For me, the biggest attraction was the sexism involved. Proving a point that ladies could do just as well as the guys in a male dominated scene was definitely a huge draw.”

Perhaps the question on everybody’s mind would be if our fearless female w4ndeRz* ever make a return to e-gaming as a competitor? “Maybe in the future,” she teases, “the whole awesomeness of competitive gaming is tough to get away from.” Although Cynthia also plays Left4Dead, Quake and Counter Strike, the fans would definitely like to see her take up her favourite character, Admiral Proudmore, and dispense more pain in familiar PMS Asterik* territory, Defense of the Ancients.

Team Asterisk* was founded in 2005 by Tammy “furryfish” Tang and Dawn “pinksheep” Yang. Upon merger with clan PMS in 2008, the team then became known as PMS Asterisk*. For more information regarding PMS Asterisk*, you may visit their blog.