She's a professional tennis player, and also a League of Legends streamer - Interview with Maryna "Sweet Tilts" Kolb
How does a professional tennis player end up becoming a LoL streamer?
Maryna “Sweet Tilts” Kolb is a tennis player with 10 professional tournament titles under her belt, and also a League of Legends streamer! How does she balance the difficult schedule of a professional athlete with streaming LoL consistently? How big of a role does LoL have in her life? We had a few words to find out.
How did you start playing League of Legends and what made you decide to become a streamer?
Back in Season 5, my boyfriend was playing League. I wanted to spend more time & to play together with him, so I asked him to teach me. Before this I was not a gamer at all, I didn’t even have my own PC! In 2018 I decided to retire from professional tennis for a variety of reasons: financial difficulties, lack of motivation, and difficulty travelling to tournaments from Crimea, since it is occupied. I bought a computer and started streaming League, building a career as a streamer while also working as a tennis coach.
What does a typical day go like for you?
In the morning I have 2 hours of tennis practice or physical training, in the afternoon I stream League for about 4-5 hours, and in the evening I spend time with my family.
What are your personal goals in tennis and in League of Legends?
The main reason I returned to tennis in 2022 was to represent Ukraine on the world stage during the war and to remind people that it’s really important to stand with Ukraine for world peace. Unexpectedly, I reached my highest-ever rank despite this gap of 4 years. Now my goal is to play in as many tennis tournaments as possible, and it would be really cool If I could participate in a Grand Slam tournament at least once. League is 2nd in my priorities right now; unfortunately I don’t have much time to improve on it. I hope that I won’t lose my skills, because when I retire from tennis I want to focus on streaming League!
Which factors have contributed the most to you making it where you are now as a tennis player?
After the war forced me to start playing tennis again, I have more motivation and my fighting spirit is better. Also, my sister; without her I wouldn’t play for sure. We always play doubles as a pair and it’s easier to travel together rather than alone. It’s a big support to have someone by your side all the time.
Which skills are transferable between tennis and League of Legends?
I’ve been noticing more and more similarities between competitive League and tennis. For me, the most important aspect in both is patience. Others include: focusing, not giving up, decision-making, team spirit (for doubles in tennis), fast reactions, and adaptation to different conditions.
What can we expect to see from you in the future?
For now, I’m focusing on tennis. I started my 2024 season with tournaments in Portugal and France, reaching a new career-high ranking of 226! Eventually, when I go back to Ukraine, I want to focus on League and streaming. I want to take part in different League events or maybe even to host League events by myself, like I did on my stream before the war.
Check out Maryna’s social media!
Maryna’s Twitch
Maryna’s Instagram
Maryna’s Discord server
Maryna’s League of Legends TikTok
Maryna’s Tennis TikTok
Nicee :)