In Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (Steam), a topic has been heating up for days: “Should women have their own eSports leagues, or not?” Well-known and established CS:GO commentators are currently hotly debating this issue. The discussion peaked on December 28, when CS:GO commentator Thorin proclaimed: He is eSports! He built the industry, and it still rests on his shoulders. He cannot be banned from the industry.
This is the situation with CS:GO:
- CS:GO is a male-dominated eSports title. The casters and commentators are also men – unlike LoL, where many women are on camera.
- Two of the most important commentators are Auguste “Semmler” Massonnat (33) and Duncan “Thorin” Shields (38). They are well-known casters and hosts for CS:GO. They also like to give “hot takes,” casually commenting on current topics from their sleeves.
- Before Christmas, the question arose whether one should open a separate women’s competition for CS:GO. In games like Valorant, there are more and more all-women teams.
Commentator outraged over “dishonesty” in demand for women’s tournament
This is the discussion: Semmler triggered a firestorm before Christmas by saying: A CS:GO league just for women conveys the message “men are toxic,” but in reality, the message is: “If we play against men, we will only lose.”
Every competition in CS:GO is “open to everyone” – of course, women can participate. However, they wouldn’t be successful there.
Semmler criticized the idea of a women’s league. It would not lead to the desired outcome of women and men playing against each other. If that is what one wants, women must fight through the normal competitions and train hard for it – every day.
Furthermore, the idea discriminates against men. Semmler asked: “When will the league just for men come?” This sparked much protest.
If one wants a “pure women’s league” without pursuing the idea of equality, then such a league is okay and he completely supports the idea. But why should women compete against men when they have the option to enjoy a guaranteed payday in a much weaker environment?
His colleague Thorin defended Semmler after Christmas, for which he was also criticized and it culminated in an outburst with the phrase: “I am eSports.”
What exactly did Thorin say? Thorin expressed his displeasure about women in eSports and feminism extensively.
He said, whenever someone comments on “women in eSports,” it is said that one shouldn’t say anything if one is not a woman. Anyone who says something like he does must hate women and wants them out of eSports.
He then asked: “Have you ever wondered why you can only get cynical advertisers and later sex offenders, male feminists, to help you, and you cannot attract any well-known and talented people in the industry to your side?
I’ll tell you what, do this cute little thing where you tell me I should disappear from the business I built, which still rests on my shoulders. I AM E-SPORTS! Just rise above me, you servant.”
Wikipedia entry mocks Thorin
What was the reaction? You can imagine that.
As with Semmler, many users wondered if Thorin still has all his pearls on the string. He has the mental maturity of a 16-year-old. People were wondering what exactly Thorin does for a living.:
- One said: “We are watching a man slowly destroy his career, and it’s hilarious.”
- A user compared Thorin’s statement to a school bus crashing into a preschool.
- A joker changed the Wikipedia entry for eSports to: “Esports (also known as Thorin, Duncan Shields, or Thooooorin).”
Thorin, however, was undeterred and doubled down:
Some people in Rocket League were wondering who Thorin even is. He cannot be “eSports” if he has no relevance to them.
Thorin replied: Rocket League is not an eSport. It is football for idiotic zoomers.
What is behind this: It is an extremely emotionally charged debate.
Semmler and Thorin are the “established guard at CS:GO” and both seem extremely irritated that one cannot discuss “women in eSports” openly, but is immediately personally attacked for statements that deviate from “total agreement for every idea”.
They feel like victims, see themselves intentionally misunderstood, portrayed as “white, old men” and “women haters”.
Indeed, the tenor of the comments against them is very toxic.
Thorin, in particular, has then ramped up his response to the criticism against him and really lashed out. This means that a topic that is already sensitive becomes truly heated. Thorin is not someone who lets a firestorm passively take place and isolates himself, but rather he rampages even more.
A joy for everyone involved for Christmas.
Indeed, women are underrepresented in eSports. The discussion about it repeatedly stirs up emotions:
DOTA 2 has distributed $235 million in prize money – only 0.002% of that went to women
