With the spreading recognition of esports as an actual career option, it is no secret that the present scene is dominated by men. With more than 47% of the global games industry being women, it is normal for someone to assume that the same distribution goes for esports. But unfortunately, it’s not the case. Most of them represent a wide range of players just under the typical stereotype of mobile and casual games or streamers. However, the number of female players is gradually increasing. Some famous players pave the way for more like them to join the scene and compete. With that being said, let’s take a look at the top 10 female esports players.
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10. Janet “xchocobars” Rose
Nationality: Canadian
Overall earnings: $55,250.00
Highest Paying Game: Fortnite
Current Team: Luminosity Gaming
With a follower count of 892K, Janet “xchocobars” Rose is a Canadian internet personality and Twitch streamer. She is also a content creator for Luminosity Gaming. With more than half of her earnings in esports coming from the battle royale Fortnite, she also won first place at Twitch Rivals: League of Legends tournament. She also participated in ESPN’s Apex Legends EXP Pro-Am tournament. She was also nominated for the category of Twitch Streamer of the Year award at the 11th Shorty Awards 2019.
09. Maureen “Alice” Gabriella
Nationality: Indonesian
Overall earnings: $57,400.00
Highest Paying Game: PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUND Mobile
Current Team: Bigetron Esports
Born on September 22, 2001, Maureen “Alice” Gabriella is a PUBG Mobile player. At the age of 19 years, she is now the Brand Ambassador of her team, Bigetron Esports. Though she played PC titles including Counter-Strike and Dota 2, her career officially started when she joined Belletron Ace in 2019. Belletron Ace was an all-female PUBG Mobile squad of Bigetron Esports. Recently, she joined the main roster Bigetron Red Aliens as a 5th member and became the first female player to do so.
08. Tina “TINARAES” Perez
Nationality: American
Overall earnings: $66,215.20
Highest Paying Game: Fortnite
Current Team: Gen.G Esports
The first player to sign to Gen.G’s Fortnite team and the first female to win a Fortnite LAN tournament, Tina “TINARAES” Perez is currently a member of the Gen.G Bumble female Fortnite team. She joined the team in October 2018 and used the tools provided to her by the organization to further sharpen her skills. As a result, she went on to win the first-place finish at TwitchCon 2019 with her assigned teammates.
07. Se-yeon “Geguri” Kim
Nationality: Korean
Overall earnings: $70,298.68
Highest Paying Game: Overwatch
Current Team: Nil
As the first female player of the Overwatch League, Se-Yeon “Geguri” Kim is titled as one of Time’s 2019 ‘Next Generation Leaders’. One of the few players whose computer mouse movements and aim is considered as “not humanly possible” by opponents, she had to prove her ability in a monitored studio and soon after, she was signed by EHOME Spear. The team ultimately disbanded and she had to move to ROX Orcas. After a short time with Orcas, she ultimately moved to Shanghai Dragons where she participated in the Overwatch League and became the first female player to do so.
06. Nina “Nina” Qual
Nationality: American
Overall earnings: $80,527.21
Highest Paying Game: StarCraft II
Current Team: PSISTORM Gaming
Formerly known as “puCK”, Nina “Nina” Qual is an American Protoss player for PSISTORM Gaming. At the start of her career, she had to face Connor “Fitzyhere” Fitzpatric in a BO21 show match to join the ROOT Gaming roster. She managed to win with an 11-8 score and join the team. On October 16, 2012, she left the team due to personal issues but she re-joined soon. Currently, she holds the number 4 position in EPT NA rank with 90 points.
05. Ricki Ortiz
Nationality: American
Overall earnings: $81,366.18
Highest Paying Game: Street Fighter V
Current Team: Evil Geniuses
Since joining the fighting game community in the early 2000s, Ricki Ortiz has consistently ranked highly in high-profile tournaments including games like the Street Fighter series and Marvel vs. Capcom 2. Though her most earnings come from the Street Fighter series, or more precisely the fifth installment of the game series, she prefers the Marvel vs. Capcom franchise.
04. Rumay “Hafu” Wang
Nationality: American
Overall earnings: $84,466.67
Highest Paying Game: Multigaming
Current Team: Cloud 9
A former professional Teamfight Tactics, World of Warcraft, Bloodline Champions, and Hearthstone player, Rumay “Hafu” Wang is currently a full-time Twitch streamer. She has a follower count of 1.3M on her channel. She started playing competitive World of Warcraft after PvP mode was introduced in 2007. From there, her career just kept going. She won second place in Twitch Rivals: Teamfight Tactics TwitchCon 2019 winning an amount of $11,175.
03. Katherine “Mystik” Gunn
Nationality: American
Overall earnings: $122,550.00
Highest Paying Game: Multigaming
Current Team: Nil
Katherine “Mystik” Gunn is an American esports player and a cosplayer. She competed in the Championship Gaming Series and won the second season of WCG Ultimate Gamer in 2010. She was featured in 2016’s Guinness World Records Gamer’s Edition as one of the highest-paid female gamers. The book shows her total income from gaming about $120,000 from 2007.
02. Xiao Meng “Liooon” Li
Nationality: Chinese
Overall earnings: $240,510.00
Highest Paying Game: Hearthstone
Current Team: Victor Key
Xiao Meng “Liooon” Li is the first female player to win the Hearthstone Grandmasters Global Finals and to win a BlizzCon Esports tournament. She is the inspiration of every female who dreams of becoming an esports player. In the Grandmasters final, she thrashed her opponent Brian ‘bloodyface’ Eason with a score of three-nil, earning her the grand prize of $200,000 and the reputation of being the first female player to do so.
01. Sasha “Scarlett” Hostyn
Nationality: Canadian
Overall earnings: $400,378.19
Highest Paying Game: StarCraft II
Current Team: Shopify Rebellion
The first woman to win a major StarCraft II tournament, Sasha “Scarlett” Hostyn grew up in Kingston, Ontario, and played games as a hobby during her teen years. She started her career in 2012 by defeating a handful of prominent pro players in the community. In 2013, she was already 21 in the global rankings and managed to get second place at NorthCon. By 2014, she was the second-highest-paid female player at that time.
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This was our take on the top 10 female esports players. The future of female esports is looking bright and it’s only a matter of time, organizations start building all-female rosters. Let us know if we missed someone and whom you are looking up to as an inspiration. Keep following redjacket.gg for such gaming content. Keep gaming.
