Yoon Chang, better known as “Harusol” represented Cornell University at AfreecaTV International College Championship in Korea, and walked away the first ever female champion of a major Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft competition. Chang took the $5000 first place prize in a battle against fellow American competitor Matt “Dart” Orgel, a member of Alchemisxt’s Team Illuminati. It marked Chang’s second recent tournament win, but the first in a major unisex tournament; her previous win came at a women’s invitational that was held in China. Sadly, that competition was criticized for being a sexist presentation instead of an actual competition.

Chang’s win is a major victory for competitive gaming as it signifies that the old belief of professional gaming being a boys club does not hold up. The fact that Chang, unlike Haiyun “Eloise” Tang, is not a member of any major teams in the competitive Hearthstone scene, unlike makes it even more impressive. Needless to say, after this win, teams will most likely be actively courting Chang in order to get her signed into their ranks. The question, though, will now become one of whether or not she would have any interest. If you can make it this far without a coach or a bunch of other players with whom she has to sit around and play with constantly, would it be worth your while? At least now, she’ll be one to watch more during competitions that don’t have to treat female Hearthstone players like a gimmick instead of legitimate competitors.

Have you been following the Hearthstone competitions or any other eSports competitions lately? Let us know and let’s chat about it!

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HT: The Daily Dot

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