Olympian fencer Maxine Esteban is also an avid gamer

MANILA, Philippines -- Just one month since she started playing Mobile Legends Bang Bang, Filipino-Ivorian Maxine Esteban has reached the second highest rank of the game: Mythic Glory.

"I saw my younger sister playing and I was jealous kasi wala na siyang time to spend with me. I was like, 'I’ll play na nga.' So, I started playing. She taught me how to play and she spent more time with me, we started playing together," Esteban told the media during her visit on the opening day of the Mobile Legends Professional League (MPL) Philippines.

A gamer at heart, Esteban also plays Dota2 with her dad and has gotten an Immortal rank, having desired to immediately be a better player than her father.

She adds, "I’m a pretty competitive player. Before I used to play Dota with my dad. He taught me how to play during the pandemic. Everyday kami naglalaro hanggang five am. Siya lagi maginvite sa akin maglaro. When I started playing, I wanted to be better than my dad. When I started playing ML, I wanted to be better than my sister."

As she trained for the recently concluded Paris Olympics in Germany, it was hard for Esteban to continue playing Dota as she couldn't bring her computer with her. This prompted her to download Mobile Legends Bang Bang, also as a means to spend more time with her family.

"We play it during breaks from training and it has been a good stress relief for me," shared Esteban.

Though Esteban is handy with a foil, she prefers to wield mages in the Land of Dawn, opting to be a support player rather than sword wielding characters like Lancelot.

"I like playing mages, Vexana and Nana. For support, Franco or Estes. There’s so much pressure [using Lancelot], I’d rather be a support [hero]. I’d rather stay in the back lagi," shared Esteban.

With esports set to have its own Olympic event in the near future, Esteban is happy to see a wider acceptance of the competitive scene.

"Esports is just like any other sport. In Fencing, we always have to strategize, using our mental strategy. Esports deserves to be in the Olympics and I’m excited for it," said Esteban.