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Xiaomeng VKLiooon Li shocked everyone last night and made history by becoming the first ever woman Hearthstone Global Champion. She stomped US player Brian bloodyface Eason of Lazarus Esports in a decisive 3-0 victory.
"This is the best way to strike back at those people who doubted me only because I am a girl. It proves that girls can be strong pro players, just as guys do.” - Xiaomeng “VKLiooon” Li pic.twitter.com/1PQczUHwim
— Hearthstone Esports (@HSesports) November 2, 2019
VKLiooon used her Malygos Druid deck and Highlander Hunter deck, which is popular in Asia Pacific but is seen with sceptic's eyes in the west, defeated bloodyface’s Quest Shaman and Quest Druid decks respectively. VKLiooon was the only woman who qualified for the Hearthstone Global Championships and also the first one to do so. She qualified by winning China’s Gold Open Tianjin Master Group Season 1 Playoffs.
After the win, she recalled how two years ago when she was waiting in line to sign up for a major tournament, a man told her that “it is not for you.” On being asked what it meant to be the first female to ever win the Hearthstone Global Championship, she said, “I want to say for all the girls out there who have a dream for esports competition, for glory, if you want to do it and you believe in yourself you should just forget your gender and go for it.”
At a press conference after the competition, VKLiooon said that she did not enjoy studying Law at the Southwest University of Political Science and Law in Chongqing, China. She was first introduced to Hearthstone in the college and gave herself a year to try and make it as a professional Hearthstone player. It does seem to have worked out int the end. Winning the Grand Finals gave her not only the title of Hearthstone World Champion but also USD 200,000.
In a space which is almost exclusively dominated by males, VKLiooon’s win is very significant, as it is only one of the very few times that women have won a professional esports championship.