Mortal Kombat player nabs a tournament victory just 5 days after giving birth, all while her newborn chills in her lap

As someone who's been to a whole bunch of fighting game tournaments over the years, I thought I'd seen it all—Beyblade battles, best-dressed contests, real-life tier lists taking place on giant velcro-laden whiteboards, pro players taking their shirts off for money—but a woman absolutely bossing a Mortal Kombat 1 tournament mere days after giving birth, all while holding her newborn? That might just be the coolest thing out of all of 'em.

As reported by Dexerto, Florida-based player Legi0n attended her local monthly tournament in Orlando, Juicy Game Night. With DreamHack Atlanta tickets up for grab, both her and her husband Argenrost had entered the bracket for Mortal Kombat XL—just five days after Legi0n had given birth to her daughter Cereza.

She was able to best her own husband, who came in third place, before taking on KingKai and coming away with two DreamHack tickets and a $28 cash prize to boot.

Pictures of her holding her newborn mid-set posted by her husband went viral on X with over 27,000 likes, and the Juicy Game Night X account posted a top three picture with the caption "Babality," referencing a specific Mortal Kombat Fatality style.

Following the event, Legi0n wrote on X: "So glad that we honestly left the house and did this," and that despite "hormones and trauma related to our older daughter's death/the surgery," she was "so grateful to make it out."

Legi0n added: "Never want to stop doing things that I love, just need to adjust my life accordingly for our younger daughter." In another post, she wrote "I only won because she coached me mid set. Sending our daughter to DreamHack."

It's stuff like this that reminds me why I have such a soft spot for the FGC, and what keeps me showing up to my own locals and tournaments across the country even when I'm not actively competing. Despite the Saudi government's sportswashing attempts via the Esports World Cup and its takeover of EVO, it'll forever be grassroots events like these that keep the community as bright and welcoming as it is.