VCT Game Changers Player Feature: EMEA’s G2 Gozen Mary
Lofty Aspirations
Maryam “Mary” Maher is a crusader for women’s Valorant, attempting to break age stereotypes as the youngest Valorant player ever to win a championship. At only 16-years-old, she joined G2 Gozen in May of 2022. Already she has distinguished herself as one of the most prodigious talents in the scene, racking up accolades and awe for her gameplay.
Her beginnings in esports center around European team ChatBanned, an all-female Valorant roster. Under ChatBanned, “Mary” and her squad would rack up multiple 3rd-4th place placements at smaller tournaments. Their most notable victory comes in VCT 2021: Game Changers EMEA Series 1, where they placed 5th-8th, falling to Oxygen Esports.
Hailing from Bahrain, the young prodigy has dedicated herself so far to earning the title of one of the best in the game, despite her young age. Another goal she has carried with her through her competitive experiences as well, is a desire to break the age stereotypes for competing in tournaments.
Plenty of larger tournaments placed restrictions on competing for young teenagers, with the lowest age bar usually 16. “Mary” herself had to wait until April before being able to join any large organizations due to having just turned 16 herself.
Young Lioness
Despite being an obviously talented individual, her young age, similar to NA counterpart Ava “florescent” Eugune, restricted them from larger organizations and tournaments, thus limiting their bloom to later. In May, “Mary’s” chance would arrive, with the departure of long time competitor and G2 Gozen’s In-Game Leader, Zainab “zAAz” Turkie.
Chosen as her replacement, “Mary” would finally receive the chance to shine on the biggest stages. And shine she did, turning heads almost immediately with her mechanical prowess. During the Game Changers Championships especially, her piloting of Chamber impressed many with sheer aim dominance over the older players. It was clear she had something to prove, and she was determined to do so.
Joining G2 Gozen
G2 Gozen is a storied roster, one of the dominant forces in the EMEA scene. Since their formation, despite minor roster changes, the squad had won 3 of the five Game Changers EMEA series they participated in and placed third at the first one.
Upon “Mary’s” arrival, G2 Gozen’s firepower looked absurd. Longtime LAN and competitive veterans, Julia “juliano” Kiran, Petra “Petra” Stoker, and Michaela “mimi” Lintrup were already mainstays of the organization. Former CSGO professionals, they added much needed stability and firepower to the roster. “Mary,” was the icing on top, the young lioness they had brought into bare sharper fangs at rising teams.
And bare them she did, averaging an ACS of 235.7 and 1.2 KD whilst playing supportive agents such as Sage, KAYO, and Skye. It seemed no matter the role, “Mary” was capable of shining.
Game Changers Championship
The peak of Game Changers arrived in Nov, Game Changers Championships. The top eight women’s teams from around the world met in Berlin to compete for a prize pool of 500,000 USD. G2 Gozen, would enter the tournament as one of the hot favourites to win the event. Similar to their NA counterpart, Cloud 9 White, they had dominated their domestic scene and it came down to which region was capable of producing stronger champions.
In the end, G2 Gozen emerged the champions, and “Mary” received the award for MVP for the tournament. She posted an average ACS of 235.6 and KD of 1.17 (top four) across the tournament, and in the finals, an ACS of 261.4 and KD of 1.36 (2nd that series).
Image credit: Wojciech Wandzel/Riot Games