From Beauty Queen to Gaming Champion: The Streaming Career That Started with One Bold Choice
When most people think about career pivots, they might imagine someone switching from accounting to teaching, or maybe from marketing to nonprofit work. But leaving a Miss America pageant to become a professional gamer? That's exactly the bold move that launched one of Twitch's most interesting success stories.
**The Weekend That Changed Everything**
Picture this: you've been competing in pageants for four years, you're finally at Miss America, and then you get invited to represent Team USA in a major gaming tournament in Mexico City. The catch? They're the same weekend. Most people would probably stick with the pageant - it's the "safer" choice, right? But Avori Henderson saw something different in that gaming invitation. She'd fallen hard for PUBG after watching *The Hunger Games* (talk about life imitating art), and when that tournament invite came through in 2019, she knew which path felt right.
**Building Something Bigger Than Just Streaming**
What happened next wasn't just about racking up wins or followers. Avori became the only woman competing in that Mexico City tournament, and Team USA went undefeated. But she didn't stop there. She turned her platform into something meaningful, creating the Girl Gamer Royale - the first all-female PUBG tournament that raised nearly $10,000 for charity. It wasn't just about giving women a space to compete; it was about proving they belonged at the highest levels of competitive gaming.
Her approach to content creation reflects this same thoughtfulness. With over 118,000 Twitch followers and more than 1.5 million across all her social platforms, she's built her audience by keeping things family-friendly while still delivering top-tier gameplay. She spent hours studying streamers like Pokimane and shroud early on, but quickly realized she needed to carve out her own niche rather than copy what others were doing.
**Beyond the Stream**
The gaming world opened doors that might have seemed impossible during her pageant days. Netflix came calling twice - first for the 2021 revival of "The Mole," where she competed in Australia, and then for "Battle Camp" in 2025. It's wild to think that a viral Twitch clip in 2017 eventually led to acting opportunities, but that's the kind of unpredictable journey that makes her story so compelling.
**What Sets Her Apart**
As an XSET Gaming Creator, Avori represents something important in the streaming landscape. She's not just another gamer who happened to find success; she's someone who actively works to change the industry. Her advocacy for women in esports goes beyond just talking about representation - she creates tournaments, builds communities, and uses her platform to lift others up. Born on May 15, 1996, she's still young enough that her career trajectory could take her anywhere, but she's already proven that sometimes the biggest risks lead to the most rewarding outcomes.