Vivi “Vivian” Indrawaty has made a name not just for herself, but for the entire MLBB community as one of two MLBB athletes being featured in the Esports World Cup’s campaign at The Sphere.

Vivi is the first women’s esports athlete to be showcased at The Sphere in Las Vegas, an iconic LED megastructure covering over 45,000 square meters that has played host to many world-class acts. 

Alongside her is a legend in his own right as well – M5 World Champion EXP laner, David “FlapTzy” Canon. 

“I was quite shocked because I looked back, I had a flashback, I was previously shown without a body, now my face is in the United States,” Vivian told Fragster in an exclusive interview after the reveal of the MLBB tournaments of the Esports World Cup at the Sphere.

Competing professionally since 2020, Vivian has performed outstandingly at officially-sanctioned Mobile Legends: Bang Bang events. She represented Indonesia at the 32nd SEA Games, clinching the gold medal back home, and continuously set the bar higher and higher for local women athletes at the Women’s Star League and Unipin Series. 

She has been with Bigetron ERA since the beginning of her career – the team that had believed her from the beginning.

“Actually, there were many obstacles at the beginning of my career. I was originally just an ordinary person who played MLBB, just like anyone else,” Vivian tells Fragster.

“But once I was confident in my skills, I looked for trials at professional MLBB teams like Evos and RRQ. I was even rejected for a trial by the esports team because I didn’t meet the qualifications for social media followers. Well, at Bigetron Era I was accepted for the reason that there was one person who left and didn’t want to take a player slot. So I’m like the last option,” she says.

 

It is this last option that helped lead Bigetron ERA to win tournaments in Indonesia, such as the Women’s Star League Season 8, earning the team not only a ticket to the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Women’s Invitational (MWI) 2024, but also a direct invite to the upcoming season of MDL Indonesia, which is the prestigious 2nd-tier professional league right below MPL ID. 

This unprecedented move in Indonesia’s MLBB esports ecosystem will see women’s teams competing on the same stage against men for the very first time. 

“I am very excited because this is the first time my team and I have been at a world championship and MWI has now become a global tournament unlike the previous ones. This is also a platform that I hope can be seen by all women, not just in Indonesia. Women can compete and can also be number one,” Vivian said, remarking about how the inclusion of a women’s team in Indonesia’s pro MLBB academy league is already a step in the right direction.

WHAT KEEPS VIVIAN GOING?

 

One can look at Vivian’s page on Liquipedia and find out most, if not all, are first-place finishes, regardless of the tier of tournaments she and her team participate in.

The veteran roamer says, their success lies in several key things. 

“Communication is not only carried out in the game, but also outside the game,” says Vivian at first, showing the solid chemistry between her and her other teammates: Venny “Fumi” Lim, Viorelle “Vival” Valencia Chen, Cindy Laurent “Cinny” Siswanto, Melinda “Meyhen” Rohita, and Michelle Denise “Chell” Siswanto. 

She adds, they carry out intense reviews every after practice or scrims, and check out how the opponent’s weaknesses while finding a way to overcome theirs.

Aside from that, Vivian also looks at how important a team owner with characteristics such as a leader that can also work with the skillset that the team has.

One of Vivian’s pieces of advice also is to constantly practice increasing one’s hero pool – one that will prove important in their team as MDL Indonesia enforces a global ban/pick system.

“Take part in small or large tournaments to train your mentality and flying hours,” she adds. “Also, don’t listen to any negative talk that makes us feel down and doesn’t make you grow.”

Despite her background, Vivian remembers that there is a life even outside of MLBB.

“I come from a simple family and have to be the backbone of the family. So it has become my habit to take care of household needs. Outside of MLBB, I usually prefer culinary tourism and reading because it trains my focus too. Apart from that, I am also diligent in live streaming,” she shares.

Despite this, she intends to compete for as long as she can, and for as long as time will allow her to.

“I have no plans to leave the professional scene, what is certain is that as long as I can still compete and prove myself, I will not stop,” she says. 

 

All that Vivian does, she says, is always for the future.

“My plan for the future is to become a wife and boarding house owner,” she says, narrating to me her dreams and aspirations for the future.

And it is this future, that at least through a moment in The Sphere, that she hopes can be replicated across the world: a future where competition can be recognized equally, regardless of one’s gender.

“Maybe it’s more about inclusivity and equality. Proof that women can also be among men and can also compete. I want there to be many leagues like MDL Indonesia which provide opportunities for us women to be able to compete and prove ourselves,” Vivian ends. – PAOLO BARCELON, FRAGSTER.COM

 

(Photos from MOONTON Games, Screenshot of Esports World Cup video from ESWC YouTube)