Leicester-based teacher and guinea pig lover Emily Perkins became the star of the American LCS scene, although a week ago she hadn’t even heard of League of Legends or esports tournaments. This happened due to the carelessness of journalists and the similarity of her Twitter nickname with the player’s account Cloud9 Luke Perkz Perkovich…
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On January 31, esports journalist Travis Gafford tweeted Perkovich’s rivalry with Nicholas Jensen Jensen in the final of LCS 2023 Lock In, and one of his interlocutors accidentally entered the wrong Croatian player tag. Instead of @ C9Perkz in the dialogue, they mentioned @Perkz, an account owned by Emily Perkins. This is how a teacher from Leicester learned about the existence of eSports.
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Please stop tagging me in this dialog. I have no idea who you are or what you are talking about | Source: @Perkz
At first, Emily did not understand what was happening and why strangers were discussing her so vigorously on Twitter. She honestly said that she was confused with someone, and asked not to bother with messages. Of course, this request had the opposite effect. According to the woman, immediately after this post, 14 people subscribed to her account, which seemed “very strange” to her.
“In the past, I was offered a couple of times to buy my Twitter account, but then it seemed strange to me. I didn’t understand at all who and why might need it at all. “
Users quickly explained to Emily that they had mistaken her for the popular eSports player and Cloud9 player. They also advised the woman to change her Twitter nickname to avoid accidental spam in the future. Perkins decided not to do this and jokingly promised that now, in revenge, she would troll Perkovich’s fans with photographs of her guinea pigs.
@ Cloud9 pic.twitter.com/3gH2kOZLIg
– Emily Perkins (@Perkz) February 1, 2023
The situation with the “other Perkz” very quickly became the object of attention and jokes on social networks. Users started making memes, asking about Perkins’ favorite champions and wondering if she could play for Cloud9 in the next match.
C9 Fudge @Perkz @ Cloud9 pic.twitter.com/m1QBF1BLjD
– Christian Rivera (@IWDominateLoL) January 31, 2023
The timeline right now #LCS pic.twitter.com/wddHe1xbIY
– LCS (@LCSOfficial) January 31, 2023
Recent events
what a matchup @Perkz pic.twitter.com/rA1c4AyKAk
– Team Liquid LoL (@TeamLiquidLoL) January 31, 2023
This is a battle!
It all makes sense now @IWDominateLoL @Caedrel @ Cloud9 pic.twitter.com/7PM47Iwael
– Keram (@KeramDesign) February 1, 2023
Now everything fell into place
The teacher from Leicester had a good sense of humor, and she began to play along with the commentators in her answers, although she absolutely did not understand anything about League of Legends or esports. She later recalled that she received thousands of Twitter notifications that night as Perkz fans heatedly discussed the ongoing finale. LCS Lock In 2023 between Cloud9 and Team Liquid…
“Before this incident, I had never heard of League of Legends. Perhaps, only Call of Duty 4 can be distinguished from my “gaming past” – I really played well. Then I started teaching, a family appeared, so there was no time left for games. Unless I tried playing LittleBigPlanet with my daughter, and I also like Just Dance 2023. In general, I had no idea what League of Legends was and that this game had such a large community. Now I know that. “
In the days that followed, the American League of Legends community grew to love Perkins even more. Cybersportsmen, commentators and even some club owners made reposts of funny publications about League of Legends and guinea pigs, and journalists actively discussed this phenomenon on social networks. Additional attention to the British teacher attracted her charity work.
4) please note I am not @ C9Perkz im just a woman in Leicester!
– Emily Perkins (@Perkz) January 31, 2023
Please note that I am not Perkz from Cloud9. I’m just a woman from Leicester!
It turned out that in December, Perkins began fundraising for The Laura Center, a non-profit organization that helps parents deal with the death of their child. So she wanted to honor the memory of her former student who was hit by a car in 2015. During the Christmas season, Perkins decided to travel 3,500 kilometers (the distance of the Tour de France) in a year on a home stationary bike and had originally planned to raise £ 350. When Cloud9 fans found out about this goal, they almost instantly raised the required amount and invited Perkins to increase it tenfold. At the time of publication of the material, £ 3.35 thousand was already transferred to the collection account.
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Translations in support of the Perkins Marathon | Source: justgiving.com
According to the teacher, she was overwhelmed by the attention from the League of Legends community. Perkins decided to “go deeper”, started supporting Cloud9, wishing the team good luck before matches and taking pictures of her guinea pigs watching league streams. The teacher and her pets literally became the league’s mascots. In just a week, nearly 6,000 people followed Perkins’ Twitter account, including Cloud9 owner Jack Etienne and others in the industry.
“So, almost a week ago I was accidentally confused with @ C9Perkz, and since then I have added 5.5 thousand subscribers, and I also found a wonderful family in the person of Cloud9 and the League of Legends community. Just a few days ago, I felt pretty bad … I just want to show you how life can suddenly change. “
According to Perkins, she learns more about League of Legends and esports every day. The teacher is in constant contact with Cloud9 fans and even promised to stream for them as soon as she can set up her laptop for this. Fans of the club immediately asked Etienne to send Perkins broadcast equipment and a branded Cloud9 gaming chair.
“I was surprised by such a large and kind community. I was also struck by the language in which everyone speaks. I certainly have never seen such words and expressions in the dictionary. As an outsider, it was difficult for me to stay on top of what was happening. I just asked people what these incomprehensible terms mean, and they probably thought it was very nice, so they explained everything to me clearly.
Today I finally downloaded the game itself to get to know it better. But the first question confused me: I was offered to choose between Summoner’s Rift and Teamfight Tactics … What does this even mean? “
Perkins has already given several interviews to esports portals, spoke with journalist Travis Gafford and even became a guest on BBC’s Leicester morning show.
Meet Fudge, a guinea pig owned by @Perkz – a woman from LeicesterI spoke with her owner about breakout fame this past weekend and discovering league esports. pic.twitter.com/0XPHSnQaJP
– Travis Gafford (@TravisGafford) February 4, 2023
Meet Fudge, an adorable guinea pig owned by @Perkz, a simple Leicester woman. Last weekend, I spoke to her owner about her popularity and her introduction to the esports league.
Despite the time zone difference, Perkins now watches every Cloud9 game and talks to fans about the team’s success deep into the night.
