Image: ESL
In celebration of International Women's Day, here are five women who have left indelible marks on esports.
While esports continues to be a male-dominated industry, women have also been here since day one, be it as hosts, commentators, support staff, fans, and even players. Even if things have gotten better for women in esports over the years, there's still a lot of work to be done to make the industry truly welcoming for them. With that said, a handful of trailblazers have been paving the way for women in esports as the industry continues to grow.
In celebration of this year's International Women's Day, here are five of the most iconic women in esports:
Sasha “Scarlett” Hostyn (StarCraft II)
Image: Turtle Entertainment
By Kurt Lozano
Sasha “Scarlett” Hostyn is arguably the greatest female esports player of all time, gaining worldwide renown for her decorated StarCraft II (SC2) career as a primarily Zerg player.
From 2011 to 2024, Scarlett won 18 S and A-Tier tournaments, including 2018’s Intel Extreme Masters Season XII - PyeongChang, which made her the first-ever female player to win a major SC2 tournament. With over US$472,000 in tournament winnings from her time in competitive play, Scarlett was also recognised by the Guinness Book of World Records for the “highest career earnings for a female competitive video game player” in 2016. She was even given the nickname “The Queen of Blades”, taking after iconic StarCraft character Sarah Kerrigan, for her skill as a Zerg player.
As a trans woman, Scarlett’s rise to prominence in SC2 made her a pioneer of diversity and inclusion in esports at a time when the industry was much less open to female players. With that said, Scarlett has made it a point that her gender identity was never a factor in her play and attributed her success to constant practice and an unrelenting competitive drive.
While Scarlett is no longer active in competitive play, with her last tournament appearance being in August 2024, she remains a shining example of what women can achieve in esports when given ample opportunity and support to reach their full potential.
Ava “florescent” Eugene (VALORANT)
Image: Riot Games
By Tommy Makmur
Ava “florescent” Eugene is arguably the best VALORANT Game Changers player of all time. She became the trailblazer for Game Changers players to cross into the main VALORANT league, the Valorant Champions Tour (VCT), when she joined Apeks at the tail end of 2024. At just 18 years of age, the trans player has become a champion for diversity in VALORANT and a shining example of her bravery to take a leap outside her comfort zone. While still finding her way in Apeks, she has already paved the way for future Game Changers to step into the VCT.
Before joining Apeks, she was already dominating the Game Changers scene. Florescent, alongside Sarah “sarah” Simpson, became the only Canadians to win back-to-back Game Changers Championships in 2023 and 2024. Furthermore, she won the MVP prize on both occasions, all of those before her 19th birthday, cementing her legacy as the best and an inspiration for the future generation who wants to prove themselves. Florescent is simply the best.
Se-yeon "Geguri" Kim (Overwatch)
Image: Blizzard Entertainment
By Kurt Lozano
Se-yeon "Geguri" Kim is the first female player ever to compete in the Overwatch League, making her debut in 2018 with the Shanghai Dragons and playing until 2020 before shifting to becoming a streamer.
Geguri is most known for overcoming the barrier faced by almost every female player in esports: that they can never be as good as the male players. In 2016, she gained renown for her play as Zarya, achieving a win rate of 80% in competitive games. However, her high mouse sensitivity invited accusations that she used an aimbot to cheat, with her accusers even saying they would retire if she proved she was playing legitimately. Geguri ended up proving her naysayers wrong and forcing them to make good on their promises to retire, with this incident catapulting her career to new heights and seen by many as a win for aspiring female players everywhere.
In Geguri’s three seasons competing in the Overwatch League with the Shanghai Dragons, she was part of the roster that infamously finished the season with a 0-40 record in Season 1. The team would improve in the next two seasons, with Geguri becoming known for her strong D.Va play despite not being a starter for the majority of her time with the team.
Jorien "Sheever" van der Heijden
Image: ESL
By Kurt Lozano
Jorien "Sheever" van der Heijden is arguably the most prolific host in Dota 2, having graced the broadcasts of many of the game's biggest tournaments since she began her career in 2012. Sheever has been the host or an analyst in every iteration of The International (TI), Dota 2's annual world championship tournament, since 2014 and appeared on the broadcast desk of countless other events, including multiple Dota 2 Majors, the now-defunct Dota Pro Circuit's Western European regional league, the Riyadh Masters, ESL's DreamLeague series, and many more.
Aside from her decorated career as a host, Sheever is also known as an icon of strength and resilience after surviving a bout with breast cancer. She announced her diagnosis in May 2017, but continued to attend and work in tournaments while undergoing radiation and chemotherapy, which earned her even more respect within the Dota 2 community and renown from the rest of the esports industry. Dota 2 developer Valve Software even highlighted her incredible story in a short documentary released during TI 2018.
Thankfully, Sheever has been cancer-free since December 2019 and continues to be a fixture in Dota 2 esports and a beacon of perseverance and passion. She is also known for the iconic ‘Sheever Ravage’ play during her early days as a streamer, which has since been lovingly integrated into the Dota 2 lexicon.
Eefje “Sjokz” Depoortere (League of Legends)
Image: Sjokz - official X (Twitter) account
By Anna Bernardo
Sjokz has been a key figure in League of Legends (LoL) esports, having been one of the earliest esports casters. She started as a freelance journalist before the competitive scene was fully structured. She eventually became the host of Europe’s LCS LoL Championship Series – now known as the LoL European Championship – and has remained one of the most recognisable faces in the LoL esports world.
Since then, she’s been present at almost every LoL World Championship, won multiple Esports Awards for Best Host from 2018-2020, and Esports Personality of the Year in 2017. In 2022, she also became the first woman to host a Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Major.
Beyond her work on stage, Sjokz has been a strong advocate for diversity in esports. She has spoken openly about online harassment and pay gaps in interviews in events like Esports BAR Cannes where the challenges of women in esports are discussed. Sjoks is also known to mentor up-and-coming casters, especially women. Sjokz has supported initiatives like AnyKey, which promotes inclusion. On top of that, she consistently uses her social media platforms to push for better industry conditions. By speaking up and actively supporting others, she continues to drive positive change in esports.
