The 18-year-old Brazilian Júlia “Mayumi” Nakamura was considered a sensation in League of Legends in 2019 when she managed to join the team INTZ. But now the support player is suing her LoL team. She believes she was no longer treated like a professional player, but rather like a promotional girl.
This is how Mayumi became a professional player: The young Brazilian gained prominence in the world of League of Legends at the end of 2019. After reaching challenger rank, she was offered a professional contract by the Brazilian team INTZ in the summer of 2019.
She was discovered by INTZ through a special program called Invocadoras Project, which aimed to find female players. In addition to Mayumi, the mid laner Tainá “Yatsu” Santos was signed in June 2019.
At the end of 2019, Mayumi made her debut for the Brazilian eSports team. She was the third woman to make it into the league at a particularly young age of 17.
Brazil is known for having a larger role for women in eSports than in the USA and Europe. The whole country is considered eSports-crazy, which sometimes takes on absurd forms.
Mayumi becomes a “positive example” for women in LoL at 17
The clip made her world-famous in LoL: Shortly after her debut, Mayumi became known through a clip with Nautilus, which particularly excited audiences in China. In her first game, she achieved a score of 1-0-15, which is really strong. You can watch the clip that made her famous in China here on weibo (via weibo).
It was expected that after her strong debut at the end of 2019, Mayumi would become a regular player for INTZ in 2020, but it turned out differently. Soon after, she was replaced by player Bruno “Hauz” Ferreira, who returned to the team after a hand injury.
Following this, her social media account exploded in China. She also gained attention in the English-speaking web: People remarked that she was a player showing that women can indeed compete in a “male-dominated scene,” as stated on reddit (via reddit).
In the comments, one user stated: We need more women like her in LoL and less “VaeVictis”: The all-female VaeVictis team was viewed as a publicity stunt, which had no chance of winning a single game in LoL.
However, Mayumi also experienced the difficulties that women face in LoL. An ex-professional player made a derogatory comment about Mayumi in January 2020, stating that he should “scratch his balls” before shaking hands with her.
From player to model
This is now her complaint: On May 25, Mayumi announced that she is no longer part of INTZ. She will now pursue personal projects and stream. However, the team has not announced her departure.
Additionally, the Brazilian site UOL (via UOL) reports that Mayumi filed a lawsuit against her team on May 26. The lawsuit states that Mayumi’s status changed in February 2020. From a serious player, she allegedly became a kind of figurehead and advertising model.
- It is said that she felt this way because she was no longer invited to training matches, the scrimmages.
- She did not receive any more advice from the coaches.
- Mayumi no longer had her own computer desk in the INTZ gaming house.
- She was no longer allowed to participate in team meetings.
- When she complained, she was not responded to.
Lawyer says: The team only cared about her image
According to her lawyer Ana Paula Smidt Lima, her contract was only meant for the team to maximize their benefit from Mayumi’s image and to turn her into a “poster girl”.
She felt humiliated being used solely for promotional purposes. She apparently felt discriminated against due to her age and gender.
The contract also contains a clause that financially penalizes her heavily if she unilaterally terminates her contract. She would then have to pay back all the money she earned under the contract (about $63,000).
Mayumi and her lawyer now aim to have the contract rescinded and seek financial compensation for the months she spent with the team.
In a statement from INTZ to UOL, it is stated that the lawsuit only presents a very one-sided version of the facts. The team claims to have fulfilled all its contractual obligations.
Mayumi herself has not commented on the case as she does not wish to speak on an ongoing lawsuit.
Women have a hard time not only in LoL in Brazil and as players, but also as team leaders in the USA. Recently, there was much drama surrounding Leena Xu, the eSports head of Team Solo Mid. She got into trouble three times in just a few weeks.
