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Meet the blind gamer who is also an esports star in the latest episode of Totally Game.
Zoe Espinoza, 29, who also goes by the name of the 'Sightless Sensi', has a condition called Leber congenital amaurosis. This condition affects their sight, leaving them "profoundly blind" according to the World Health Organization, but this hasn't stopped them from becoming a skilled fighter on Mortal Kombat X.
Espinoza, who is from Austin, Texas, tells Totally Game: "One of the most morbidly satisfying things to do in a fighting game is to demolish someone completely and utterly - to then inform them that they were defeated by a blind opponent, it drives home the obliteration of their sense of pride in their technique.
"Being able to do that to someone who intrinsically should be better than me is a cruel but satisfying pleasure."
These skills take a lot of time and practice to hone, something which they're more than happy to do the hard yards for. Espinoza explains: "Being a blind gamer means I have to practice four times as hard to be a quarter as good. A sighted person can pick up a game and go straight into it."
This practice has paid off though, leading Zoe to sign for an all-disabled esports team PermaStunned, who provide a platform for disabled gamers to compete against non-disabled gamers and aims to normalise the need for accessibility within games.
Zoe also has a YouTube and Twitch channel, SightlessSensei, where they stream with their wife Kesley. Zoe tells Totally Game: “The comments we get are very positive, a lot of people are very surprised. Occasionally I do get people who question if I'm blind, but it’s usually not from a place of hostility.
“I look at that as an opportunity to educate people. That's why I make videos in the first place, to show people all the things blind people can do.”
Catch up with every episode of Totally Game so far.
