“Preserve preventing on your dream”: Staff Vitality MLBB professional Vivian on overcoming challenges and judgement to develop into a high esports professional

Staff Vitality Cell Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) participant Vivi “Vivian” Indrawaty modified her life and her household’s by banking on her esports profession. The Indonesian athlete comes from a rural family, the place she struggled with insecurity and concern of judgment about her residing scenario all through her childhood.

Vivian’s unbelievable MLBB success, nonetheless, allowed the participant to purchase a house for her mom.

Right this moment, Vivian is likely one of the most adorned ladies in esports historical past, referred to as the “Mom of Tanks” amongst MLBB esports followers. Alongside her teammates at Staff Vitality, she most not too long ago defended the MLBB Ladies’s Worldwide (MWI) crown on the 2026 Esports World Cup.  

This marks the 27-year-old’s second back-to-back MWI trophy (2022-2023 and 2025-2026). In the meantime, the 2026 version grew to become the most-watched MWI occasion so far with 565,483 peak viewers, in accordance with esports viewership platform Esports Charts.

Vivian not too long ago spoke to Esports Insider about her esports journey, her transition from Jungler to Roamer, and girls’s esports.

ESI: Might you inform me a bit about your position and your journey to get there?

Vivian: I didn’t begin off as a Roamer. I began enjoying as a Jungler, really, like a harm seller. However, ultimately, as time [went by], I spotted that I couldn’t totally execute that position correctly. Then, after that, I transitioned to Roamer. And I spotted that, [as] a Roamer, I do know what the harm sellers need. 

From beforehand being a harm seller and now specializing in the Roamer aspect, the very first thing I did was develop my hero pool as a Roamer. Then, I executed my job by protecting for the teammates or initiating for the group, and offering the group with as a lot data as I might as a Roamer.

ESI: What does a traditional coaching day seem like for you now, versus 5 years in the past?

Vivian: 5 years in the past, coaching was primarily about gaining expertise. We didn’t have the identical sources, and I generally needed to borrow a tool simply to observe. A lot of the studying got here from enjoying as a lot as doable and figuring issues out alone. 

We’ve got a gaming home, good services, and dependable units, so I can totally give attention to coaching. Having a coach has additionally made an enormous distinction as a result of I now obtain clear steering on what to work on and the place I want to enhance.

ESI: Given all of your mixed expertise and accomplishments, do you continue to really feel the nerves or the stress of competing in a championship grand ultimate?

Vivian: No, I didn’t really feel nervous when stepping on the stage. However as an alternative, I [had] a number of ideas on my thoughts about what I’ve achieved to this point. Have I fulfilled my duties as a Roamer? Is there something to be aware of [when] moving into the grand finals? That’s all.

ESI: You’ve got received 34 regional and worldwide titles all through your aggressive profession to this point. That’s greater than most male gamers within the scene. Do you suppose the trade nonetheless wants the label “ladies’s esports,” or are we previous that?

Vivian: In case you have a look at conventional sports activities, males’s and girls’s classes every have an essential place, and I imagine the identical is true in esports. The groups can have totally different communication kinds, dynamics, and experiences. 

As the one all-women’s match on the Esports World Cup, MWI provides feminine athletes an important world stage to compete, acquire recognition, and encourage others. That visibility is crucial to creating extra alternatives and strengthening the ladies’s aggressive scene.

ESI: You walked away from a steady graphics engineering profession to go all-in on esports when ladies barely acquired a glance in. If a younger lady got here to you at the moment with that very same selection, what would you inform her?

Vivian: I might inform her that if that is really her dream, she mustn’t let adverse voices or discouragement cease her — however going all-in additionally means being totally dedicated. 

Begin by competing in smaller neighborhood tournaments. They will provide you with worthwhile publicity, allow you to perceive the place it is advisable enhance, and construct the psychological energy required to compete at the next stage. The journey won’t all the time be straightforward, particularly when individuals doubt you, however don’t surrender when issues get troublesome.

Preserve believing in your self, continue learning, and maintain preventing on your dream.

ESI: Two years in the past, you grew to become the primary MLBB ladies’s athlete to be showcased at The Sphere in Las Vegas, alongside former AP.Bren participant David “FlapTzy” Canon. How did that really feel?

Vivian: I used to be extremely completely satisfied and stunned as a result of I by no means anticipated to see myself on the Sphere. It was an actual “wow” second and actually mind-blowing. 

Personally, it proved to me that each one the exhausting work and struggles all through my journey have been price it. I began as an extraordinary one who merely beloved enjoying MLBB, and I by no means imagined that at some point my face would seem on such a world stage.

ESI: You’ve beforehand talked about the disgrace your mom had. What would she say if she noticed you compete at the moment?

Vivian: She would most likely say, “That’s my daughter — she’s wonderful!”

ESI: What do you suppose it would take for the following Indonesian esports icon to emerge?

Vivian: It’s going to take somebody who can beat me. That’s once we’ll know the following world esports icon has arrived!