The Untold Story of Brigida, Part 2
Read the Untold Story of Brigida, Part 1, here.
“The bashers?” we asked Brigida.
We told Brigida our opinion on esports bashers: They’re vicious, especially when you’re a woman. All the casters make mistakes on air, but if a woman makes a mistake, she’d be burning on the stakes.
“Do you agree?”
Brigida considers for a moment before answering.
“It’s sad,” Brigida said.
“Even though you want to avoid it, sometimes you feel the need to overcompensate just because you’re a woman,” she added.
The interview took a serious turn, and Brigida was ready for it.
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“That doesn’t mean you should think that way. That’s not healthy and that’s not true. Bashing is difficult for people who are soft-hearted. And I think you’ve also noticed that about me. I’m low-key.”
When Brigida was starting out in MPL Philippines, she had a slip-up in Season 12 following ECHO’s victory over RSG Philippines in the lower bracket semifinals. In the heat of the moment, she mistakenly announced that the Orcas had secured their spot in the M5 World Championship, overlooking their upcoming rematch against Blacklist International.
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The backlash was vicious and uncalled for: she was branded boba (stupid) and biased. And those are the milder comments.
She suffered intense mental breakdowns because of the bashers, but her co-casters were there to defend her. One of those was Rockhart.
“I hope none of you ever make a mistake in your lives and that none of you encounter what Brigida has had to go through today,” wrote Rockhart. “I’m honestly very hurt for her.”
It’s one of the struggles of being a female talent in any industry.
But on top of struggling at work because of being a woman, there’s also the fact that there’s a stigma surrounding esports: Some people still think this is not a viable career, and that it will ruin kids’ futures, especially those who are still studying.
Brigida fired up.
“It’s really not true. It’s not true at all!” she said, reacting to the stigma.
“Even those who are in esports will not tell you to leave everything and keep playing all your life! At the end of the day, we are all aware of what we’re getting ourselves into, and that esports is not forever.”
It hit close to home for Brigida, who, in Part 1 of this interview, confessed she didn’t know any other passion or career path so she tried esports.
“And what about people who consider this their passion? What about me!” said Brigida, laughing.
“This is my only passion, I just tried it out and it happened to lead me here! I couldn’t think of anything else, so I took a risk. And I’m here now.”
She pauses.
“I hope people also see the positive sides of esports. There are so many success stories here! So many people have proven there is good here, it is not just a game. It may not be the same case for everyone though.
So what’s Brigida’s success story in esports?
“It’s UAAP Esports!” she said.
She’s repeatedly mentioned how collegiate esports is very close to her heart. She’s been in it for four years before she became a professional caster for the MPL.
“All my life in college, that was my greatest dream, to have esports included in the UAAP,” said Brigida.
She thought she would never experience it since she already graduated and was no longer part of Ateneo’s gaming club.
But they called her back to be the UAAP’s shoutcaster for the inaugural UAAP Esports.
“I had an opportunity to go back to where I started: college esports. And it all happened in my alma mater, Ateneo.”
The University Athletics Association of the Philippines or UAAP is the most prestigious collegiate sports body in the Philippines, participated in by the most prestigious universities in the country.
“And now that it has happened, I’m just overjoyed that I was part of it!” Brigida told ALL-STAR.
“I may not be a college esports player anymore, or a team manager, or club member, but I was able to witness it from a different perspective as a caster. My two loves, college and esports, diverged into one in UAAP Esports.”
She sounded so passionate when she was saying these.
What else is Brigida fired up about? What issues make her tick, what makes her indignant?
She took another deep breath.
“Maybe because of the things happening now, I get the feeling, is it that rare to have a woman in the broadcast? Is it really that unusual?”
“It’s not about standing out because we’re women.”
For five minutes, we allowed her to speak her mind about being a woman in the industry.
“I want to go back to what Chantelle and I always talk about. In the past, it’s not like this, it’s not a big deal to have women on the broadcast. People didn’t care if half of the desk are women. It wasn’t a big deal!”
There’s been a noticeable shift in MPL-PH Season 14, particularly with the increased visibility of women on the caster panel. This change has sparked conversations, especially with the absence of veteran casters like Wolf and Manjean, leading some to point out the growing presence of female voices in the league.
It’s not that Brigida doesn’t want the attention, it’s that it shouldn’t be a big deal when a woman mans the desk.
“It can go both ways. On one hand, some people see us as just ‘pretty faces,’ which might be good for attracting viewers, but that’s not why we’re there. We’re here to contribute meaningfully to the broadcast, and I hope people recognize that—just as they recognize the talents of our male counterparts,” she explained.
Brigida dislikes clout, after all, and nothing upsets her like the tendency of people to excessively glorify them simply because they’re one of the few women in the scene.
“While we appreciate the recognition, that’s not the same way how we feel toward it. We want more women up there, and that’s something we’ve been advocating for a long time. It’s not about standing out because we’re women—it’s about being part of a diverse, talented panel.”
For Brigida, things have evolved, but the goal is to reach a point where seeing women on the broadcast feels completely normal—not a rarity, just a standard part of the scene.
“What do you want to be known for?” we asked.
“I just want people to see me as a part of the broadcast, someone who watches the game with them. It’s simple, but that’s all I want.”
“We’re here to highlight the players and explain to everyone what they’re doing, and make the audience happy.”
With a reassuring smile and a bow of her head, Brigida radiated with poise.
“It’s not about me.”
And that’s what makes her shine.
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