Jeannail “Cuddle Core” Carter is a two-time Tekken 7 ICFC North America champion, a consistent top 8 finisher, and one of the most recognizable women in the FGC. When Cuddle isn’t overcoming some of the world’s best players, she actively streams on Twitch or coaches Tekken for XO Academy.

We caught up with the EQNX pro as part of our Women of the FGC series. Let’s explore her motivation, favorite advice, and what it means to play as a woman.

How were you introduced to fighting games?

My dad was a big gamer, oh my God! So I grew up seeing him playing all these games, and I was curious. You see your parent involved with gaming and you want to get involved. With fighting games the characters are fun, the music is great, everything kind of brings you in, and Tekken was the first I saw him play.

That’s how parents and kids bond. If he hadn’t let me play then I probably wouldn’t be doing it now. My mom thought it was a little violent but my dad still let me play. It made me competitive even though I was just playing casuals with him and my sisters.

What led you to focus on Tekken?

I think it was the aesthetics of the game and that I could express myself with my playstyle the best in that game. For each decision made there are like 80,000 options in Tekken. It allowed me to really explore the depth of the game.

In Tekken when you put in a lot of work and see results it makes you hungry. It makes you want to play more and get better and better. That can be said about any fighting game, but Tekken did that for me and still does.

What was your experience like as a woman coming up in the FGC?

When it was just locals and it was just me showing up to those as a woman, I felt very accepted. It was very low-key, the guys there were great, a lot of my friends were there, and we all bonded over the love of the game. It wasn’t really until I got more exposure and started to go to more national tournaments that I realized that being a woman in fighting games is somewhat rare.

The treatment is definitely different. Before you even sit down, somebody's judging you because you’re a woman and they don’t think you’ll be good. Or that you have to look hot or sexy or conventionally attractive to be taken seriously.

When I started to get more exposed to the hostile and judgemental side of competing, I learned I had to stay within my circle and not trust many people. I stuck with the people who respected me as a person and only wanted to get better like I did so we could grow together.

Social media is also very involved with their criticisms, even when the ones talking haven’t put in any of the work themselves. The community can eat you up and break you down.

Tell me about your favorite tournament memory.

In 2018 it was my final semester and I got invited to compete on television at ELeague Tekken Team Takedown. They asked if I wanted to be one of the four captains. I was the only woman [leading a team].

I had competed a few times but had never been to anything like that. So when I had to play for my team, I ended up taking out like four top players at the time. I was still an up-and-coming player and school was my focus, but what I did there was seen by everybody.

It can be a little scary when you’re the only woman, but when I didn’t think about that stuff I knew I had what it took. We ended up winning overall, and it was a combined team effort. When Harada put the medal around my neck and asked if there was anything I’d like to say, I said something like, “If people don’t think women can play fighting games, well she sure can, shoot.” Because people will swear up and down women can’t do this stuff, so I was proud of myself.

I did a lot of work to win and beat some of the country’s top players even though I had never experienced that caliber of an event. I think this was the event that made me understand that I had the potential to take on fighting games as a full-time thing.

Let’s talk about women in the Tekken community. What is the most appealing thing about Tekken for female players?

When female players look at the selection screen, there are tons of options. There are women who use Nina, women who use Zafina, women who use Xiaoyu, Alisa, Lili, etc. Female bodies in Tekken are smaller and slender so they can move past a lot of things. They’re all unique, have different fighting styles, and properties that make them stand out.

You can play Xiaoyu very aggressively or turtle with her. It’s great that we can express ourselves our own way in fighting games and find the way we want to flow as women in the FGC and as people in general. When we see these characters we connect with them and see something in ourselves through them.

How does the Tekken community embrace female members compared to other fighting games?

I don’t know if it's a huge difference. In Tekken, there’s a lot of female-only events that help women get more acquainted with competing. They get to play with other women trying to do the same thing, learn from each other, and it's a safer space.

I know a lot of other communities do the same thing. A lot of men watch the events too and they’re supportive, donating money to the prize pots. They could still treat women better as a whole.

When men ask questions about why women aren’t competing at a certain level, include them in these conversations way more than you are. If you actually want to do good, then we need people to speak up about this stuff instead of asking pointless questions that you should already know the answer to.

It’s twice as hard for women in gaming because it's still seen as a boy’s club. I got lucky because when I started out I had male friends who took me with them to locals and other tournaments. They took care of me and not everyone gets that.

Some women’s first experiences are bad because they’re discriminated against, harassed, assaulted, or raped. I know that’s all very serious but I want to be honest about it. Because if more women were able to have better experiences coming in and the community had a better mindset about it, then I think the way these communities treat women wouldn't even be a question.

Do you feel like you're representing all women in the FGC?

I think other people kind of portray me that way, but I don’t represent every woman in the FGC. Everyone’s experiences are very different and that’s a lot of pressure to put on one person. I don’t think it's fair for me to do that because every woman’s voice is so different and I don’t know what everyone goes through.

I think I can be a good representation of women doing the dang thing here because I am! I feel really good about that, but at the same time, everyone represents themselves in their own way.

For one woman to be all that is not fair to the others in this community and do a lot of good work as well. There’s Romanova and Infinitii, and I think we represent women who kick ass as a whole. It’s not just me.

What’s the least obvious piece of advice you can give other women who want to reach your levels of success in the FGC?

Be kind to yourself when you don’t meet the goal that you had. I think the community can be very hard on women when they lose because a lot of people already have the perception of them being mid-skilled.

It makes the criticism twice as hard on us, and sometimes it makes it hard to be gracious to ourselves. Recognize that it’s a process, be patient, and go at your own pace. Don’t compare yourself to somebody else and how they’re growing. Everybody learns at a different place.

Be kind to yourself as you're diving into being a player, commentator, tournament organizer, anything. Allow yourself to not be perfect and to be criticized by the people that have done this or are in your field. Just because you’re not great when starting doesn’t mean you don’t have the aptitude or the potential to be good at that skill. Trust yourself and the process.

What is the toughest obstacle that newcomers continuously face in the FGC?

Between the frame data and dealing with legacy skills, it’s really hard. With Tekken, for example, there’s a lot of layers to the game and when people come in they don’t always know where to start.

Having that guidance can be hard because there are things in the community like elitism and people complaining about the character you pick. It can be very discouraging, so I think finding a healthy, positive community is one of the toughest things to overcome.

How about some words of wisdom that made the most difference in your life?

One of my friends once told me that when you sign up for a tournament, you pretty much change the entire history of who beat who and the trajectory of who was supposed to win. You create a rift in what was projected.

I used to be shy about joining things if I thought they were too much. But when I did sign up, he was right. When I signed up for anything I changed the trajectory of who was supposed to play who. I got that placement because I knocked that person out. If i didn’t show up they could've easily moved forward. Or maybe you wouldn’t see any players using Alisa or no Midwest representation.

Your presence and know-how change the whole outcome of a tournament, and sometimes it's your day to win.