After placing in the top two in the first North American open qualifier, female Dota 2 player Marielle “Layla” Louise and her team Wheel Whreck While Whistling secured a spot in the closed qualifier for the Kiev Major. This makes her the first woman to compete in a closed qualifier for a major Dota 2 event.
With Esports constantly expanding and growing, we live in a world of firsts, and today saw another one with the news that 2017 would see the first female player to compete in the Main Qualifier for a Valve event. This is obviously not the end of the journey for women in Esports, with many barriers remaining and stars yet to be found, but it is another sign that slow change is coming.
Wheel Whreck While Whistling has achieved some success in the North American scene in years past. However the current roster has not played in many events, and was not favored going into the open qualifier, where any team of five can try and earn a spot in the closed qualifiers.
Out of all the major eSports, Dota 2 is arguably the most male dominated, with the female CS:GO scene featuring many teams and even League of Legends having some notable female players. Hopefully Layla’s achievement will inspire a few more women to try and compete at the top level of Dota 2.
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