300 SECONDS with Ritalucia Henry-Andoh
Lady Legasus, Ghanian-Nigerian full-time gamer.
The gaming industry in Africa is worth around $590 million with over 186 million gamers and counting. We spoke to Ritalucia Henry-Andoh, a Ghanian-Nigerian who is a full-time gamer. She currently livestreams as Lady_Legasus99 on Twitch. Outside of gaming, she is a pattern artist and a co-founder of Artemartis, an art agency representing a collective of diverse artists.
PLEASE INTRODUCE YOURSELF.
My name is Lady Legasus, also known as Ritalucia; that's my real name. I’m a gamer, streamer, pansexual hottie from Ghana and Nigeria. Having fun with life, streaming and entertaining people.
WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE LEGEND?
My favourite legend is Caustic. I have 8,000 kills on him - number one in Ghana, flex, flex, flex!
I love his character so much that I named my cat Alexander Knox after him, which is his Caustic’s name. Lately I've been playing Octane who's kinda like a psycho maniac who just runs around killing people and I feel like that’s really me you know (bursts into laughter).
HOW DID YOU GET INTO GAMING?
It's been a long and winding journey. It all started with my mum who got my brothers and I a Nintendo Wii when I was 10. It was a way for us to have fun without leaving the house. She then upgraded us to an Xbox 360 and then a PS4. If not for her I don’t think I would be into gaming. It was her way to keep my three brothers and I together.
SO HOW DID YOU GET INTO STREAMING?
During the pandemic, I took a gap year and got into games like Uncharted. My brother was playing Apex, which I was hating on at first, then I played it and thought ”wait, this is kinda fun.”
I was dating someone at the time who suggested that I stream for him so we could talk without disrupting my game. It really helped me because I got used to streaming for 1 person. I’m now averaging 10 people per stream which is amazing. Big ups to my mum.
YOU CURRENTLY EARN $100 FROM GAMING, WHAT ARE YOUR INCOME STREAMS?
Firstly, I know a lot of you saw the interview that said I make $100 dollars every month, that's not true. I made $100 last month which was my best month so far. This is from my subscribers.
On Twitch, there are different subscription tiers, with the lowest in Ghana being $2 per month. When you subscribe to my channel you get priority access to the things I do and an ad free experience. You can watch my 6 hour stream and not see anyone trying to sell you something, it's so much fun.
YOU ARE STREAMING FOR 6 HOURS, WHICH SOUNDS LIKE A COSTLY HOBBY. HOW DOES IT WORK?
Currently my home internet bill is about $70 a month for the business plan. The basic fiber plan wasn’t enough for my streaming. So I managed to stress my father out to help me with the bill, I’m working as well and I also have money saved from selling my artwork.
It's definitely not the cheapest hobby or job to start so it's great that in Accra we have gaming centers like Arena233 or Otium Gaming hub where you can pay 20 Cedis ($1.80) for an hour to use their PCs and consoles. There’s food outside and you get to hang out with your friends. I actually stream from Arena233. I’m glad places like this exist, they take the cost away from gaming.
TELL US ABOUT LEGASUS BUSSDOWN?
That was my first ever tournament that I hosted. I came up with the name, the idea, everything about it was me. It was an Apex Legend tournament with 20 people in a lobby. The prize money was 8,000 coins per duo. I hosted it with my friend who I met through gaming a year ago and now we are so close I will definitely be inviting him to my wedding.
HOW DID YOU MANAGE TO GET SPONSORS TO BACK THE TOURNAMENT?
I had help from Arena233. The prize money was from EsportsAfrica who approached me as part of their strategy to build a community in Ghana and across all Africa.
WHEN IS THE NEXT TOURNAMENT?
It was really fun and exhilarating but the anticipation was too much! My anxiety was through the roof thinking about all things that had to be right. It was such a success though and people were texting me that they can’t wait for the next one!
I will definitely host another tournament but not any time soon!