Geguri: from plague victim to Overwatch All Star

Despite the fact that a large percentage of gamers are women, the best esports teams are mostly made up of men. It is often difficult for women to break through into the professional circuit, but sometimes they succeed. Se-yeon „Geguri“ Kim is the perfect example. She was scolded, but kept going and with hard work reached the Overwatch League.

Nasty game

When Overwatch was released in 2016, Geguri immediately fell in love with the game. She practiced and practiced and at one point was among the best Zarya players in the world. Her game caught the attention of others as well. She became part of the UW Artisan amateur team and began playing tournaments with them, showing off her Zarya to the world.

In June 2016, seventeen-year-old Geguri was accused by two professional Overwatch players of cheating during the Korean Nexus Cup. The two pros, ELTA and Strobe from team Dizziness, could not believe that Geguri was playing honestly and concluded based on her gameplay that she was using aimbot, a cheat that allows you to automatically aim at your opponent.

The accusations went far; both pros were so convinced that they promised to quit Overwatch if it turned out that Geguri was innocent. Meanwhile, the Korean also had her hands full with a group of Dizziness fans who constantly harassed, insulted and called her names. Geguri decided to prove her innocence and livestreamed her gameplay in a special studio. After Blizzard also indicated that Geguri was not cheating, ELTA and Strobe kept their promise and both surrendered their contracts.

Dragons

Meanwhile, Geguri had gained worldwide fame. The way she dealt with the situation could count on a huge amount of support from the Overwatch community and beyond. In the meantime, she continued to bang away and signed a contract with the Korean EHOME and later ROX Orcas, a team that competed in APEX, a competition organized by television channel OGN.

2020 Shanghai Dragons

Her biggest success story began in 2018. After an 0-10 start to the Overwatch League, China's Shanghai Dragons decided it needed better players. One of those players was Geguri who signed a contract in February. Her debut was delayed, the Shanghai Dragons play from the United States and it took until April for her to get her visa.

The first year of the Shanghai Dragons went disastrously, despite Geguri playing nicely, the team didn't manage to win a single game and the finished 0-40 disconsolate at the bottom, nevertheless she was chosen to participate in the 2018 All Star match because of her play. In 2019, the Dragons fared a lot better. In stage 2, it managed to reach the playoffs for the first time where it finished eighth.

In the same year, Geguri lost her starting spot and despite continuing to train with her team, her contribution in the Overwatch League was not great. In 2020, after the Shanghai Dragons won the Overwatch League, she decided to quit with the Dragons, as her contribution was also minimal in that season.

Inspiration

Despite the fact that Geguri never managed to make her mark in the Overwatch League, she did achieve a huge amount for women in esports. Time Magazine named her in their 2019 Next Generation Leaders list because of the impact she has and the way she overcame her problems and even made it to the Overwatch League.

Blizzard also had very nice words for the Korean. Then Overwatch League commissioner Nate Nanzer called her an inspiration who had reached millions of girls worldwide, and hoped it would bring about a change within the league. She herself did not want this legacy. All she wanted was to play her matches and be treated like any other Overwatch League player.

The incident caused a lot of discussion. It once again confirmed what a macho culture there is within esports and gaming in general. Despite Geguri overcoming her bullies, it was seen as the latest sign that there was no place for women within esports at that time.

A similar incident followed in 2019. Out of nowhere, ‚Ellie‘ emerged, a player who signed with esports team Second Wind. Within no time, people demand verification that Ellie is actually a woman. After the evidence fails, accusations, harassment and even threats follow. Not much later, it turns out that a streamer is running the account. He calls it a social experiment „that proves once again how toxic gaming is.

And Geguri? She has not been involved in the Overwatch League for a year and a half. With her departure, the league's player base once again consists entirely of men. But Geguri seems to think it's all fine. These days she can mostly be found on Twitch where she streams in Korean and is affectionately called the Frog Queen by her fans. Her input into the Overwatch League may have disappeared, but her love for the game is undiminished.