VikkiKitty | |
|---|---|
 Vikkikitty at 2GGaming Championship Saga in 2017 | |
| Born | Victoria Perez (1996-04-06)April 6, 1996 (age 28) |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Match commentator |
| Esports career information | |
| Game | Super Smash Bros. for Wii U |
| Playing career | 2015 |
| Sports commentary career | |
| Sport | Esports |
| Employer |
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Victoria Perez (born April 6, 1996),[1] known professionally asVikkiKitty, is an Americanesportsmatch commentator who has worked inSuper Smash Bros. for Wii U,Super Smash Bros. Ultimate,Overwatch,Arms,Pokkén Tournament, andApex Legends. She was the first woman to commentate a majorSuper Smash Bros. event.
Perez playedSuper Smash Bros. throughout her childhood, but discovered competitiveSmash by accident when, in mid-2015, she visited aLAN gaming center that was hosting a tournament.[2][3]4:00 She began traveling to localFort Lauderdale, Florida tournaments, where she competed inSuper Smash Bros. for Wii U. In October of that year, the local tournament organizer recruited Perez to be amatch commentator (also referred to as a caster) at his events. Weeks later, she was asked to commentate a larger, regional event, Frame Perfect.[2]
Perez was the first prominent woman caster inSuper Smash Bros.[3]9:00[4][5][6] In January 2017, Perez castSmash for Wii U atGenesis 4, amajor tournament.[2] In June she was hired byNintendo to commentateArms andPokkén Tournament tournaments atE3. Prior to that event, she had only commentatedSmash events. In preparation for E3, she prepared over 40 pages of notes.[2] She also traveled toGamesCon in Germany to commentate for the subsequently cancelled gameBreakaway.[5] Later that year commentatedSmash for Wii U atEVO 2017 for a broadcast onDisney XD.[2] At the end of the year, she traveled to inTaipei to cast the Overwatch Heroes Rumble, one of the lastOverwatch tournaments held before the launch of theOverwatch League.[7] In 2018, Nintendo brought her back to E3, this time to cast the first everSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate tournament, which was held at that event.[6] She also returned toEvo 2018,[8] and to Genesis 5.
She cast severalmajorSmash Ultimate tournaments in 2019, including Genesis 6, Smash Ultimate Summit,[4] andEvo 2019,[9] the largest offline tournament inSuper Smash Bros. franchise history.[10] In April she joined esports organization World Best Gaming as a commentator and brand ambassador.[4] The organization folded in August.[11] That same month, she joined Thunder Gaming.[12] She departed Thunder in January of the following year.[13] In January 2020, Perez traveled to Japan to commentateEvo Japan 2020.[3] A month later, she was announced as a caster forOverwatch Contenders,[14] the academy-tier tournament series forOverwatch. In April 2021 it was announced that she would be casting the 2021 season of theOverwatch League.[15]
Perez grew up in the greaterMiami area in aCuban American family.[2] She spent much of her childhood as an only child; her younger sister was born when Perez was 8.[3]3:30 Growing up, she participated in theater and was a member of a thespian honor society.[2] She grew up playingSmash Bros. titles and described herself as a "Nintendo kid". She spent several years playingCall of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. Her handle, "VikkiKitty", came from a bet she made in that game; another player named "MisterFuzzyKitty" challenged her to an in-game duel, and because she lost, she joined hisgaming clan. She has continued to use the handle for over a decade.[3]13:00
She graduated fromFlorida International University in 2019 with a degree in Mass Communications and Media Broadcast.[2]