Meet the US Esports star who enjoys trips to Ashton Market and eating Pukka Pies

Emmalee Garrido, also known by her gaming name ‘Emuhleet’, made her name in the rapidly expanding Esports industry, which sees talented gamers compete for cash prizes in tournaments all around the world. 

The industry is said to be worth over $2BN, and there is even talk of it being involved in the Olympics. 

The 33-year-old has had her fair share of success throughout her Esports career, representing some of the best teams and picking up some of the most prestigious trophies around. 

Emmalee began gaming when her brother introduced her to the computer game Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CSGO), ever since then she has been hooked on the game: 

“My brother left CSGO open on his computer when we were younger and I used to sneak on it whenever he was out with his friends. 

“It started as just a hobby but once I found out about gaming tournaments, this sparked a whole new interest for me and I wanted to make it a career. 

After taking a while to find her feet in the industry, Emmalee’s proudest achievement came back in 2017, when she won one of the biggest tournaments in the world at the time, the Intel Extreme Masters in Katowice, Poland, which had a prize pool of $50k. 

“This was such a euphoric moment for me, I remember I just burst into tears when we won it. 

“Lifting the trophy was such a good feeling and it made all the hard work worth it.” 

At the time, Emmalee had to balance her busy training schedule with a full-time nursing job, which she found extremely tough: 

“It was so difficult at times, I had to practice with my team for five hours a day six days a week, on top of making content and working a full-time job.” 

“There’s so much more that goes into it than people think, we have to train hand eye coordination, muscle memory, and study your opponents before tournaments. 

“It’s similar to sport, you might have a natural talent for it, but you still have to put a lot of work in to be the best. 

“I’ve always been a very competitive person too which helps, I played soccer (football) a lot growing up and I think this has really helped me in my gaming career. 

“I think gaming combines all of my skills perfectly, especially with games like CSGO because they require teamwork, communication and leadership which I need to have for my day job. 

“I have to make life or death decisions as a nurse and when I’m competing for thousands of dollars at tournaments, I have to make on the spot calls that could either win or cost me the competition, so they’re quite similar in that sense.” 

Another one of Emmalee’s proudest achievements was founding her very own women only Esports team, Team Karma, which she founded back in 2014 after she noticed a lack of all-female teams: 

“It was hard to find other women gamers because it used to be such a male dominated industry, so I thought why not make my own team. 

“It makes me so proud to have young girls potentially look up to me, and I hope I have been able to break down some barriers for them so that they don’t have to go through what I did. 

“There’s a proper pathway for young female gamers now and I’m proud to have been a part of that.” 

Emalee has been provided with some fantastic opportunities throughout her Esports career, and a great example of this was when she spent time with the Esports team, Dignitas. 

The team was acquired by the Philadelphia 76ers, a professional basketball team in the US, which gave her Esports team access to the same facilities as the players: 

“When we did bootcamps ahead of tournaments, we were using the same facilities as these NBA players which gave us access to resources I would never have even dreamed of-there were sports psychologists, physiotherapists, nutritionists, it was amazing.” 

Despite being born and raised in Los Angeles, Emmalee very much identifies as British- both her parents are from Oldham, and she is very aware of English traditions. 

Her parents moved to the US just before she was born and have lived there ever since, but Emalee and her family regularly come and visit the UK, which she says is the highlight of her year: 

“We go back to Oldham every summer to see our family, I love it there. 

“My family always make fun of me because I go to the chippy two or three times a day when I’m back here, I can’t get it in the US so I have to make the most of it while I can! 

“I love my connections to England, I always tell people about it and identify as British not American. 

Emmalee has so many great memories of her visits to England, including her frequent trips to Ashton market: 

“I remember my family used to always take me to Ashton market which I loved, and my grandma would buy me small packs of Cadbury’s buttons. 

“There are so many things I can’t get in the US, my uncle used to take me to watch Oldham Athletic and we would always get a Pukka Pie. 

“I love my connections to England, I always tell people about it and identify as British not American.” 

Emmalee says her parents’ support has been so important throughout her career, but admits they were not too thrilled at the idea of her being a full-time gamer at first: 

“My parents weren’t always supportive of the idea at the beginning, they used to say I needed to go outside more and that I was spending too much time on my computer. 

“When they learnt about the prize money I could earn at the tournaments they changed their outlook, they even suggested I give up my day job as a nurse to focus on gaming.” 

Emmalee says this is the case for many other parents, who do not understand the industry: 

“A lot of parents are unfamiliar with Esports and the gaming industry, which is why I love talking at schools and colleges- I meet with parents and explain to them that gaming can be a potential career, and not just a hobby. 

“There’s a stigma around gaming, people picture their kids staying inside in a dark room playing games and eating bad food, but there’s so much more to it than that- that's why I love to educate people about it. 

“Esports is a growing industry, we’re now filling stadiums full of fans and there are prize pools of over a million dollars. 

“It’s amazing to see just how much it’s grown, and I don’t see it slowing down any time soon.” 

As well as competing in tournaments, Emmalee also creates content on her various social media channels including Twitch, where viewers can find gaming videos as well as behind the scenes action. 

She doesn’t only document her gaming though, she also makes content around her day job, where she gives viewers an insight into the life of a full-time nurse. 

If you would like to keep up with Emmalee’s journey, you can drop her a follow on Twitch, Instagram or X: @Emuhleet.