Kitzi wins sportsmanship award at The Milk Cup Finals: “I was tearing up backstage, not because of the award, but for the opportunity.”

The Milk Cup Finals event was the culmination of three qualifiers and the dedicated efforts of MilkPEP, Raidiant, Women of the eRena (WOTE), and more. The tournament was also made special by top Fortnite players, many of whom traveled to LA for their first-ever LAN competition. Among them was Kitzi, who won the sportsmanship award for her efforts in helping players adjust quickly. Esports.gg sat down with Kitzi for an interview about the overall tournament and what this award means to her!

For many players at The Milk Cup Finals, it was not only their first-ever LAN event, but also their first time visiting LA. While Kitzi was among those flying out for a tournament as a new experience, she quickly stepped up to help others and make them feel welcome.

"I've always just been like a helping person. I'm a person that feels other people's emotions. If anyone's stressed, I'll feel that they're stressed. I'll try to help them as best as I can," Kitzi told esports.gg, adding that she tried to make the experience as smooth as possible for everyone. "This was my first time traveling alone, too. But I tried to make sure everyone was helped as best as I could — even though I wasn't an admin."

The player also shared her experience of meeting her teammates at the LAN. For many players, it was a brand-new experience to put faces to gamer tags, and The Milk Cup Finals made that possible.

"Yeah, meeting up with everyone — it was slightly overwhelming when I first met my teammates," Kitzi told esports.gg. "Me and Hemmys [have] known each other probably for like, six years, seven years, but we've never met. So this is really an insane opportunity to meet each other, and it wasn't awkward at all. I don't know if anyone is scared to meet their friends online, but as long as it's in a safe place and they're not weirdos, it's definitely worth it."

As for what the sportsmanship award means to her, Kitzi revealed that it had brought her to tears backstage. As a full-time college student with three jobs, balancing helping everyone and competing in Fortnite wasn't easy. However, it was all worth it to receive the player-voted award for her efforts.

"I was tearing up backstage, not because of the award, but for the opportunity," Kitzi said. "And I won't tear up now, but I'm super blessed."

In terms of the future, Kitzi said that balancing school and work made it challenging to find time to scrim with her teammates. However, she is determined to continue playing Fortnite competitively and improve — whether with her current team or a new one.

That's all for now. Stick around on esports.gg for more news, interviews, and updates!