Reaching the Apex of the Leaderboards with Acie

May 12 2022




Reaching the Apex of the Leaderboards with Acie







The fans that roar as loud as their passion, the waves of sound flowing across a stadium like a strong tide. The people who eagerly wait in line as they savor the moment of getting the chance to meet their favorite streamers in-person. Community is where experiences blossom into memories, and this is very true for Liquid’s own Acie.



Acie built more than a career around Apex’s competitive community, she’s also built a new part of her life. A lot of the people she holds close came from that community - whether it’s her partner ImperialHal or some of her closest friends - like her wingman and fellow streamer TiffaJessi. She’s got a lot of love for the game but also for the whole world that’s built up around it. Because it’s her world!





Brieanne, more commonly known as Acie, is a 24 year old streamer who’s been gaming for as long as she can remember. And building community around that. Even when she was picking up a controller for the first time, she always had a team or a group of people to game with.



“My brother and I are really close in age,” says Acie. “When I was younger, I would always be hanging out with him and his friends, so I would join them whenever they were playing video games.”



Her favorite consoles include Gamecube & Xbox, and while she’s tried out different genres of games, the FPS is her home. Before jumping into streaming, she started off playing hours of COD and fell in love with Black Ops 2. Ever since then, she’s almost exclusively gravitated towards shooters.



A few years ago, she took the leap of faith and started streaming her favorite FPS games ranging from CS:GO to Deceit. Eventually, she started cultivating her own community who would consistently come back to watch her epic plays and enjoy the fun vibes emanating through the chat. In the midst of her streaming career, her burgeoning Twitch community kept requesting that she try out Apex Legends back in March 2021, around the time when the game first launched. Continuing her FPS love streak, she booted up the game, played out a few rounds with her friends, and the rest is history.



Of all the colorful characters in the game, she’s particularly fallen in love with Valkyrie. “Her ability to fly makes getting to height a lot easier than having to climb buildings,” says Acie. “I also like Wraith because her Kunai looks amazing.”



But what exactly drives Acie to continue playing the game throughout the years? For some, it’s the love for battle royales. For others, it’s the ability to play an action-packed FPS game with their friends on a casual or competitive level. For Acie, it’s what got her started in the first place: Acie’s love for the game comes from the Apex community. In her eyes, it’s one of the best communities on Twitch.






(an old stream highlight compilation from when Acie streamed Valorant.)



Since she has such a deep bond with the Apex community, going full-time was an easier decision. Nowadays, she does her best to wake up early (because she enjoys starting her streams in the morning) and get in a full workday of streaming. “I stream for 8 hours usually, because I feel like my streams are the best when I'm streaming for 6 hours or more.”



After her streams are finished, she then gives herself time to grab food, check her emails, and any other things she needs to get done for that day. “If I have nothing else to do, then I'll hang out with family or friends.”



When Acie says she enjoys spending time with her loved ones, she means it. As a family-oriented person, Acie makes an effort to spend as much time with them as possible, which only emphasizes the strength of her relationships and the community she builds. When asked, she says that one of those relationships inspire her within the game, too.



“I’d have to say ImperialHal [inspires me],” says Acie. “His mindset when it comes to streaming and just life in general is admirable. He’s also very hardworking and amazing at apex and that honestly inspires me to get better at the game.”



That inspiration matters because building a community from scratch isn’t easy. One of the many important things about finding an audience is understanding who you’d like to see your content. Sure, having a rush of numbers flock to your stream or your socials brings a huge jolt of dopamine, but what’s more important is having the right people find you. In Acie’s case, she never anticipated reaching so many people around the world, but she’s at the capacity she’s at today because she found the right audience, the right community, and the right people. It’s all led to her hobby turning into a fun and risky career - something even she didn’t see coming.



“It's definitely risky, something I didn't even expect for myself. It was a hobby that turned into something I never thought could happen.”



Something else that she wasn’t expecting were the downsides of it all: the pressure of having eyes on you and your personal growth. While communities can be filled with words of positivity and encouragement, it can also be full of criticism and toxicity, an experience Acie is more than familiar with.



“Streaming can be extremely hard on your mental,” says Acie. “Constantly wanting to do well and grow and comparing yourself to others can take a toll on your mental health. It is definitely the hardest part for me, being online for everyone to see and critique is also a challenge that I face–it’s hard to not let the negative comments affect your mood sometimes.”



But just like how rainbows come after rainstorms, there’s always the light at the tunnel for creators to reach for. Somewhere within all of the ups and downs of playing games as a career while also battling online trolls and arbitrary ping levels, is the thrill of getting to create new memories with your community. The sensation of being able to work your way towards playing video games and making a living doing so is a feeling that is truly unmatched.



“If you love it that much and you have the time for it, it's definitely worth giving it a shot–especially if you’re really good at the game you play! Start streaming after work or school and see where it goes!”



Some more fun facts about Acie:



  • She claims that Cola tastes better in a glass

  • She REALLY loves crepes

  • prefers small gatherings over big parties

  • Scary movies are her vibe, but she doesn’t like watching them when she’s alone

  • If she had a choice, she’d choose summer over winter (RIP her living in Canada)

  • She had a crush on Jack Sparrow when she was younger.

  • Her favorite food as a child was chicken nuggets

  • “My superhero power? Mind reading.”

  • She loves cats AND dogs (and animals in general).

  • If she weren’t streaming she’d probably be a veterinarian

  • Her most used emoji? 🥺




Writer // Vivian "Vivi Contrast" Nguyen
Graphics // Tiffany Peng