Meet Lana Anderson, High Priestess of Team USA in the 2008 Ragnarok World Championships that was held at the World Trade Center in the Philippines during Level Up! LIVE.

In addition to attracting attention as a female player who was part of an elite squad that won the Ragnarok US national championships, the 18-year-old is also a comely lass who has captured the hearts of many local gamers.

After a ferocious Sunday morning battle with Team Korea that ended with Team USA going down in defeat, the cheers for Lana were particularly louder thanks to persistent close-up shots made by the cameraman and an onstage interview by the event host. As a result, my boss asked me to take some pictures and ask the overnight heartthrob some questions.

Never to turn down an opportunity to meet an attractive young woman, er, I mean, write for the Level Up! portal, I naturally obliged.

Here’s a photo of me and Lana.

As it turns out, Lana is half-Filipina! Her mother is a nurse from Manila. The American High Priestess admitted that her Filipino lineage isn’t that evident, and said this is only her second trip to the Philippines. According to Lana, she first visited our shores when she was around five.

Lana was introduced to the world of gaming via Final Fantasy when she was two years old, and it appears that the video game bug has stuck with her ever since. Proof: Pokémon kept her busy when she was 10. Today, Lana owns an Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Wii.

Despite having all the consoles that would turn many local gamers green with envy, Ragnarok Online remains Lana’s favorite game (Isn’t it obvious? She’s a national champion). She also dabbled in Perfect World, but she said her heart belongs to Ragnarok. And her boyfriend, of course. Sorry guys.

The role-playing game genre may be Lana’s favorite, but she also likes playing Halo and Silent Hill. When the latest installment of the Konami-published survival horror game was brought up (Silent Hill Homecoming), Lana’s eyes lit up and she giddily started talking about the series’ trademark scares. While this Ragnarok fan also takes some time to play the adventures of Master Chief, she clearly isn’t that big a fan of first-person shooters. Perhaps it’s the whole concept of using gamepads and analog sticks.

When the High Priestess isn’t kicking butt and taking names, she spends her time drawing and playing cards with her teammates. Like many teens living in the States, Lana is a working student. She is employed at a clothing store, does some modeling, and is studying at the University of California, Los Angeles. By some strange sorcery, this High Priestess still finds the time to do all that and play Ragnarok for at least 30 hours a week.

Lana also made her instant fans all over the world happy when she took the time to field questions from readers of the Level Up! LIVE 2008 Live Blog during a chat session set up by the Level Up! Multimedia team. Scroll down when you click on the Live Blog Replay as the chat was held during the evening of Day 2 of Level Up! LIVE.

Team USA may not have won it all in the Ragnarok World Championships, where Thailand emerged as back-to-back champion, but Lana promises to return for another shot at the title next year.

I’m sure Lana’s Filipino fans are going to be thrilled to hear this news, but it’s hard to say if the tournament would again be held in our shores, or if her squad would again win on the national level since the competition is fierce. Whatever happens, 2008’s Team USA will be remembered fondly.

Lana and her team may not have won the Ragnarok crown, but she has indeed won our hearts.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 21st, 2008 at 7:12 pm and is filed under News. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.