Image credit: Straits Times, Weibo

Good news for esports in Singapore! Team Asterisk’s Counter-Strike: Global Offensive all-female team are qualified to face off against another all-female team named Etab in the WESG CS:GO World Finals that is slated for this March. They won US$4,000 for their troubles.

Here are a few choice quotes from the team’s captain and leads via Singapore’s Straits Times:

“Asterisk’s team captain Tasha Chew, 23, who has just graduated with a bachelor’s degree in accounting and finance, said: “We couldn’t believe it. It’s our first time playing on such a big scale and being able to come in second is amazing.

Miss Sabrina Ang, 20, an events planner at Ape Works and the team’s strategist, added: “The other teams were so well-equipped and looked like pro-gamers. We were like little villagers who knew nothing.”

The other players are Miss Meryl Oh, 22, who is in the biomed sector, Miss Dinah Marinah, 30, who works in the construction industry, and graphic designer Nurlelawati Hussain, 26. Property agent Hanzel Chua, 31, is the team manager.

Despite facing tough competition in the grand finals, Asterisk remains hopeful.

“We’ve had a taste of victory. Now everyone wants more,” said Miss Ang.

That’s pretty awesome, as a Southeast Asian myself championing more representation of an all-female team on the world stage. But this begs the question: in a prestigious esports tournament like WESG, why on earth are there still male and female segregated tournaments?

I’m with Kenn on the stance of female gamers in the Overwatch scene: skills & team dynamic matters. This doesn’t apply to just Overwatch but in all other competitive games. If you want to take this seriously, WESG should just axe the gender segregration and have male & female teams fight whoever they wish to prove their mettle.