Gaming
Gaming
The best ever female pro gamers
These are the most successful women who have competed on the eSports scene.
Best female pro gamers
© female-gamers.nl
While a good proportion of gamers across the globe are female, this isn’t reflected in the pro gaming ranks yet as the percentage of women actively competing in professional eSports tournaments is still quite low. However, there have been a number of female players who have made their mark on the eSports scene and in this article we take a look at three of the most successful women to have graced the competitive gaming industry. These are some of the best ever female pro gamers.
TossGirl (Starcraft Brood War)
Tossgirl
© Team Liquid
TossGirl is possibly Korea’s biggest ever female eSports star. She competed on Starcraft: Brood War, a title that only really achieved a significant following in Asia, especially in South Korea where Starcraft became an institution. At a young age, Tossgirl was introduced to the world of Starcraft on a casual level but it wasn’t until after watching Starcraft on TV that she decided to up her practice levels in the hope of going pro.
Tossgirl would supposedly sneak out each night and compete in local tournaments, unbeknownst to her father. A couple of years later, Tossgirl had improved enough that she was able to pick up her Pro gaming licence and was subsequently selected to compete as part of the STX Soul team. Tossgirl’s biggest achievement was competing as the only female gamer on the Korean professional scene. She also maintained a 100% tournament win record in all-female competitions. A true eSports pioneer.
Xena (Halo)
Xena (Left)
© PC news.ro
Before MLG had turned to PC, or even become a major date in the Call of Duty calendar, their flagship title was Halo. Halo dominated the MLG headlines for many years, but there was only one female player that ever achieved acclaim on the circuit and that was Bonnie ‘Xena’ Burton.
Despite entering the pro scene at an extremely young age, Xena quickly established herself and was signed to an MLG Pro Contract, pushing her into the spotlight of the rising franchise. Xena continued to improve as a player and, at the height of her playing career, she managed to break into the coveted MLG Pro Bracket, a huge achievement in itself that’s limited to the elite competition. Though Xena competed with other women, it was with an otherwise all-male team that she became the first female gamer to achieve this feat at a major Halo event on the MLG circuit.
Since then, Bonnie has held down a range of roles in the video game industry, most recently joining Bungie. Bonnie set the bar for women competing in team games at MLG and subsequent competitors have struggled to live up to the standards that she set.
Scarlett (Starcraft II)
A picture of Scarlett in action
© Team Liquid
Oustide of Asia, Scarlett is possibly the most successful female gamer to date. She boasts the title of the first woman to win a significant open gender tournament in Starcraft II. Her biggest accolades are victories in WCS Canada and North America, beating a host of household names on her road to victory. In doing so, Scarlett became arguably the most decorated female gamer to ever compete in a major eSports title.
Since then, Scarlett has gone on to take a number of podium places and currently represents Team Acer, sharing team colours with highly decorated stars like MMA. Unlike Tossgirl and Xena, Scarlett’s story is by no means told and at the age of 20, there’s almost certainly more chapters left to write.
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