Lauren Hope didn't play video games and wasn't a hunter when she started playing the game Big Buck Hunter. Instead, it was a date night idea.

Hope and her partner Drew Baldock picked up the guns at a Boston Pizza in Regina, and discovered true love.

"It's something social to do while you're out and about," Hope said. "I enjoy how accurate the game is — it takes a lot of skill and every time you get better. You just get more addicted."

Big Buck Hunter is an arcade style game that's usually found in bars, Hope said. A player shoots at different animals like moose or deer, but doesn't fire at does or cows.

Lauren Hope lives and trains for Big Buck Hunter in Regina, Sask. She moved to the city in 2004 from her home town of Kyle, Sask. (Submitted by Big Buck Hunter)

About five years ago, Hope and Baldock noticed a little scrolling piece of information on the game screen. It said in small text that a person could qualify to play in the world championship, something Hope didn't know existed.

Baldock qualified at the time, and after seeing the world stage, Hope wanted to qualify. In 2018, the couple helped create the Sask Buck Players league in Regina for more people to join and practice and help each other improve.

"We always welcome new players," Hope said. "It helped a lot of the players this year get to the level they were at."

This year, Hope was one of six Canadians who qualified for the World Championships and Ladies Championships in Las Vegas at the Hyperx eSports Arena from October 11 to 12. Out of the six Canadians, Hope said five of them were from Regina.

Lauren Hope competing in the Ladies' Championship for Big Buck Hunter in Las Vegas in October. (Submitted by Big Buck Hunter)

"Playing in ladies is so intense," Hope said. "The whole day you're just getting these huge adrenaline jumps and then your energy goes down and you get a huge adrenaline jump."

"My very first game, my whole body was shaking — I could barely even shoot anything," she said.

After three rounds, she was in the Ladies final. Partway through the 20 minute competition, Hope could tell from her score she had already won and there was no chance her competitor could catch up.

"My fellow Canadians started singing O Canada. So, I actually started crying," Hope said. "I think that I won this year because I had such a strong turnout — all my friends were there supporting me."

"It was very intense to win. We all just started crying on stage," she said. "Not usually a crier but it just meant a lot."

Lauren Hope won the Ladies' Championship in Big Buck Hunter in Las Vegas in October. (Submitted by Big Buck Hunter)

Hope is travelling back from the competition in Las Vegas and taking a day off before beginning to practice for the November local league.

Hope said she wants the local league to expand because they get better by training together, she said.

"I love it," Hope said. "It's so much fun — plus everyone is awesome — the community is so close. Everyone's like family."