Got Game

Craig Zaidel is one of very few males who have been to the inner sanctum of PMS Clan practice. The 29-year-old met Bonfiglio online and was so intrigued by her group that he decided to write his senior sociology thesis for the University at Buffalo about its members. Zaidel persuaded Bonfiglio to waive the strict girls-only rule so he could attend a session. "It was freaking insane; there were 12, 14 people in our little room there, and everyone was talking, and you couldn't hear anything," he remembers. "I was like, 'Oh my God, how can you guys even hear each other?' And Bonfiglio said, 'We're just excited. We haven't seen each other all day.' All day, she said!

"It's such a weird world to be in," Zaidel continues, "but I can totally see why you would want to be in it. Kinship. Friendship. It's a safe place; it's a home."

Bonfiglio would like to create a local cadre of PMS members. Places like Scorpico are a start, she says. But they don't foster local talent the way a major tournament — like MLG in Orlando, which drew thousands — does. Also, PMS can't afford to sponsor many teams. "When it comes into gaming season, those girls are run ragged because they're running from one tournament to another."

She wants local companies — Miami-based software company Alienware, for example — to step up and sponsor local competitions. "The market's there; the people are there," she insists. "I'd love it if every Friday night was competition night. I'd love it if we had a local team and our team could compete."