On Wednesday night, the pro League of Legends team Renegades secured a victory against Team Coast, securing themselves a spot in the next League of Legends Championship Series (LCS). Making it into the big leagues is normally routine news, but RNG’s win was special. It was the first time a woman made it into the LCS.
Maria “Remilia” Creveling has long been known as one of the few visible women playing League of Legends at Challenger, the highest possible rank one can achieve in the fiercely competitive game’s online multiplayer, and the one from which professional League players are plucked. She’s best known for her formidable skill as a support player, a specific position in League that starts out in bottom lane and works with another teammate to help them secure enemy kills and level up as fast as possible so they’re powerful enough to (ideally) dominate in late-game team fights.
In the deciding game, Remilia played with Thresh, an undead skeleton monster who’s notoriously difficult to play with, and even harder to play with well. If someone is good enough to truly master Thresh, though, they can be a devastating asset.
How good was Remilia’s Thresh? Well, to give you an idea, there’s a famous Korean League of Legends player who goes by the handle “Madlife” who fans like to refer to as “the god of Thresh” because of his undisputed mastery of the difficult champ. After the game last night, League fans and onlookers on Reddit started referring to Remilia as “Madwife,” AKA “the Thresh god.”
What’s curious about Remilia’s achievement is that, following her impressive showing this week, she might quit while she’s ahead. In a statement posted on the Renegades subreddit yesterday, Remilia said that her only goal was to help carry a team to the LCS — not actually participate in it. She wanted to do this in part to prove that a woman could make it this far in League’s pro scene:
In the end though the competition doesn’t mean much to me. I don’t care to be the best in the world. I love playing with a team and accomplishing stuff and being recognised for it. when I set out initially, I wanted to be the first girl in LCS. that was what motivated me. That dream I had I accomplished and yet it is being challenged in such a heartless way. I really honestly truly hate so many people. If you want my honesty, everyone that tries to take away from what I accomplished, well I will always spite them. I’m always extremely salty when dealing with fans on mediums like twitter and reddit, I met some really cool fans in person at the studio for sure.
I just want it to be known that I accomplished my goal for real, and I accomplished it for me, my teammates, and girls in eSports. That’s it. No one else. Don’t fucking put me on some lgbt agenda or some bullshit and bring that up. That’s not me, I don’t believe in that. I don’t want messages acknowledging that part of my life, sorry. That’s not for any of you guys.
She added in the comments below her post that she will “weigh playing in the LCS along with my other options but some things are just looking so much better.” Her many fans are practically begging her to keep on fighting in the LCS come next Spring.
Regardless of what Remilia chooses to do next, she’s already accomplished something historic for herself, her teammates, and “girls in eSports.” So for that all I can say is: GG, Creveling. GGWP.
Comments
6 responses to “The League Of Legends Championship Series Has Its First Woman Player”
I dont think its special, its not like a group of her peers voted for her to be president. She is a human being that participated in a team that has gotten some key wins.
The PC over hype is real.
It’s bigger on a different front. You’ll never see a female football player on the same pitch as Messi or Rooney (but who knows, that may change one day), so to consider her at the top of the current crop in e-sports (and let’s face it, e-sports is growing at a rapid pace) and playing (nay dominating) against male counterparts is a big deal.
There have been attempts before at cross gender play, look at tennis. Karsten Braasch vs the Williams sisters ended soooo well; men’s ranked 203rd vs women’s 1st and 2nd… Braasch destroyed them. That is not to say I think women are inferior, it just the most direct comparison I have.
More on track with this subject though, Esports while physical in terms of not becoming fatigued during play are more mental, so there is no reason a female should not be able to play on the same level if not better.
Totally agree. If anything I was using the sports mentality of having them separated, which makes e-sports such a great thing that it’s all equal.
Good on them
I disagree that this isn’t a big deal. I mentioned on a thread here last week that the vast majority of high-profile females in esports only compete in female-only tournaments. Having a female make it to the top-tier based on her ability, and not her gender, is a huge accomplishment in of itself, and I just hope that more girls follow suit.
Great to see that also girls can and want to play professionally, especially considering how hateful, childish and perverted a part of LoL’s community can be. Excited to see Renegades play and hopefully rock!
Thresh, an undead skeleton monster who’s notoriously difficult to play with, and even harder to play with well.
Top kek