Chinese professional Hearthstone player Xiaomeng “VKLiooon” Li made history Saturday night at BlizzCon 2019 by becoming the first woman to win the Hearthstone Grandmasters Global Finals esports tournament. She’s also the first woman to ever win a major BlizzCon championship. This is truly a landmark moment in esports.
Understandably Li was quite emotional while standing centerstage with her fellow competitors, trophy in hand, surrounded by a sea of BlizzCon fans shouting their support.
While being interviewed on her victory and dominant performance, Li asked if she could tell a story.
“Two years ago, I remember I was competing in a huge tournament,” Li said amidst tears. “I was waiting in line for signups. And there was this guy telling me, ‘You’re a girl. You should not be waiting in line here. It’s not for you.’ And now today, I am here, with all this support from the fans.”
Li faced off against American competitor Brian “bloodyface” Eason in the finals of the tournament. She pulled away early and swept bloodyface 3-0 in the final match of the tournament to claim her trophy and cement her place in esport history.
Watch the moment VKLiooon made history below:
A CLEAN SWEEP!! VKLIOOON HAS WON THE HEARTHSTONE GLOBAL FINALS!!! pic.twitter.com/3PwNX0qcBq
— Hearthstone Esports (@HSesports) November 2, 2019
The champion had some inspirational words to share with all the women aspiring to become esport pros.
“I want to say for all the girls out there who have a dream for esports competition, for glory,” VKLiooon said. “If you want to do it and you believe in yourself, you should just forget your gender and go for it.”
“This is the best way to strike back at those people who doubted me only because I am a girl,” continued VKLiooon. “It proves that girls can be strong pro players, just as guys do.”
Li hails from a small town in China’s Xinjiang region and first began playing Hearthstone three years ago while studying political science and law at college. She didn’t enjoy hers studies and decided to give herself a year to see if she could make it as a pro Hearthstone player, clearly she made the right decision.
Congratulations to VKLiooon for the impressive victory.
Join the AIPT Patreon
Want to take our relationship to the next level? Become a patron today to gain access to exclusive perks, such as:
- ❌ Remove all ads on the website
- 💬 Join our Discord community, where we chat about the latest news and releases from everything we cover on AIPT
- 📗 Access to our monthly book club
- 📦 Get a physical trade paperback shipped to you every month
- 💥 And more!
