Iulia Boldor, better known as Yushia, is a women’s trailblazer in the traditionally male esports world. The rising industry has found room for female representation in recent years, and the 22-year-old Romanian is at the forefront of its most popular gaming competitions, the League of Legends professional tournaments, as part of the French esports organization Team Vitality.

A Cluj-Napoca native, Iulia, graduated from an art high school specializing in architecture and completed a Bachelor's degree in Economy of Trade, Tourism, and Services last year. She doubles her career in professional gaming with art, drawing commissions for various clients and occasionally taking runway modeling jobs. 

Like many others, Iulia started playing League of Legends for fun, but soon found it to be much more. Released by gaming studio Riot Games in 2009, LoL remains at the forefront of esports competitions, requiring teams of 5 players to work together, each with specific roles, to defeat an opposing team. Estimates place players at over 100 million worldwide, with around 87% of them male.

However, the gaming phenomenon is not limited to LoL. Data shows that Iulia’s generation of young women is as passionate about video games as their male counterparts. Out of the total online population, 72% of women play video games (that figure is 81% for men). Out of those who say that they play video games, 45% are women, and 55% are men, according to Newzoo’s Global Gamer Study. 

Nevertheless, women tend to prefer mobile games to PC or consoles, and they also tend not to identify themselves as gamers, as opposed to the men. Here is where professional gamers like Iulia come in, providing sought-after representation. Romania Insider sat down with her to find out more about the gaming scene.

League of Legends has long been one of the most popular games, defying newer high-budget productions and retaining generations of players. How did you start playing it, and when was the shift towards the professional stage?

I started playing League of Legends in 2016 thanks to my brother. He introduced me to the game, looking for someone to play with. I’ve always been passionate about gaming, playing computer games since the age of 5, so I thought I’d give it a try! After a while, I found myself climbing the ranks much faster than my friends and really enjoying the game, but at that time, I didn’t see it as a potential career. I was then focused on pursuing basketball professionally.

That all changed when I injured my arm and realized that a basketball career wasn’t going to happen. That’s when I started dedicating more time to League of Legends. It gave me a similar competitive thrill as basketball. Honestly, I don’t think I could ever see myself working in any field other than sports. The competitive energy, the drive, the highs and lows—it’s something I truly love.

A little over two years later, I entered my first League of Legends tournament with some male friends at a school event, just for fun, but it turned out to be such an amazing experience that I knew I wanted to keep pursuing this for as long as I could. 

New League players often struggle to find their place on different lanes. How would you define your playstyle, and what role do you fill on Team Vitality?

I’ve never really been tied down to just one role. I’ve always enjoyed experimenting—trying new lanes, champions, combos and items. I love exploring every aspect of the game. That said, the role I’ve played the most is ADC (attack damage carry), mostly because it felt like the easiest way for me to climb the ranks. My playstyle has always been aggressive and explosive, which worked to my advantage.  It’s part of the reason I was given the chance to join my first female team - it stood out as a bit different from what you typically see at my level back then. Things have shifted a bit since then, and now I play jungle for Team Vitality.

What sort of challenges did you face as a woman in professional esports? 

I consider myself pretty lucky. I can't think of any negative experiences I've had because I’m a woman—if I did encounter anything, it never bothered me enough to dwell on it. Unfortunately, I’ve heard stories from other women who have had much more difficult experiences, like facing discrimination or having fewer opportunities to join teams simply because of their gender. 

How does Romania measure up against other countries when it comes to professional esports? How about the women’s stage?

From my experience, Romania isn’t the best place for esports if you’re aiming to make it a full-time career. While there are a few tournaments now and then, most of them are organized by the same group every year or are specifically for students. They are doing an incredible job with student tournaments, something I haven’t seen much of in other countries, at least not that I’ve heard of. 

However, esports in Romania is not as popular as it is in France or other countries. As for the women’s scene, it’s almost non-existent here. The only female-focused tournament I’m aware of in Romania is a League of Legends event called Girl Gamer, and beyond that, there’s really nothing.

Is there any difference between competing against men and women?

In short, no. However, there is a noticeable difference when it comes to playing on a team with women compared to playing with men. When it comes to competing against female or male rosters, I don’t really notice a difference—the skill level is determined by ranks, not gender. The real difference I’ve noticed lies in the team dynamic and how things feel within the team, where the gender factor becomes much more apparent.

Can you tell us more about women-focused esports tournaments and the reaction you have seen from fans?

Since I joined the female esports scene three years ago, I’ve experienced both positive and negative aspects. On the positive side, I can definitely say that the industry is growing, and women in esports are receiving more recognition than ever before. Take the female scene in VALORANT, for example—it’s been gaining a lot of popularity lately, and fans seem to enjoy it. One female player, Ava “Florescent” Eugene, even had the opportunity to leave the female scene to join a top VALORANT team, even though it’s a mixed team. 

I believe every woman’s ultimate goal is to reach the top and be seen as equal to male players. The female scenes give us the chance to be recognized for our skills, talent, and what we bring to the table without being seen only for our gender. I’m grateful for all the support we get, whether it’s from fans or organizations. I’ve received so many positive comments from fans, and it makes me happy to see other women and female teams getting support for their performance and abilities.

On the other hand, there are always some negative aspects as well. For example, when Team Vitality posted our female roster on Instagram, the comments were full of the same old jokes. Many men started calling us "dishwashers" and making similar “funny” remarks. What’s frustrating is that these comments often come from people outside the esports community who don’t understand what we do or how we compete. They've probably never even watched a single game from a female team—they just see our gender in a male-dominated industry. Some of them just can't accept that women can also play games. But I’m hopeful that, with time, things will improve. Next time, I might just challenge them to a 1v1 and see who really should be doing the dishes!

radu@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Team Vitality photos)