In League of Legends, US player Vincent “Biofrost” Wang (25) has come out as gay. Biofrost was a 4-time champion in the LCS with Team SoloMid. He now plays for Dignitas. According to Biofrost, he has heard homophobic comments in almost every team he has been a part of. The gaming industry is full of sexism and homophobia. This needs to change urgently.
Who is Biofrost?
- Vincent “Biofrost” Wang was born in China but moved to Canada at an early age. He is considered one of the best and most successful support players in US League of Legends history. He is known for playing champions like Thresh or Karma.
- Biofrost had his most successful time in League of Legends alongside ADC Doublelift at “Team SoloMid”: He won three US championships in a row in 2016 and 2017. However, after a disappointing Worlds 2017, TSM completely revamped the team, aiming for international success. However, that went wrong, and the next championships were won by Team Liquid, to which Doublelift had transferred.
- In 2019, Biofrost returned to TSM, bringing back Doublelift, and TSM became champions again in summer 2020. However, Biofrost now plays for Dignitas in the middle of the LCS. TSM is in a deep crisis in 2022, without Biofrost and Doublelift, again facing issues.
Biofrost was afraid of losing his job if he came out
This is what Biofrost says now: In a Twitter post from May 7, Biofrost talks about his experience as someone who is gay but only comes out now at 25. He says:
“I am gay. I have struggled with my identity my whole life.”
Biofrost explains that as a child he was confronted with the idea of not behaving “like a girl” but rather presenting himself as male. He was bombarded with sexist comments.
He always had to be careful about how he acted and that he didn’t “sound gay”. Nevertheless, he was constantly bullied at school. Biofrost says: No child should ever feel like they don’t belong.
When he then worked in the gaming industry, that didn’t help:
“In almost every team I was in, I heard anti-gay comments, either from my teammates or the staff, and I felt uncomfortable. I was literally afraid of losing my job for telling the truth.”
But now he is at a point in his life where he has accepted who he is.
But he is not an isolated case. The gaming industry is full of prejudices, full of sexism and homophobia. People in eSports need to be educated on how to behave correctly in the workplace. Everyone must treat each other with respect.
He is making this announcement not because he wants to share details of his personal life or because he owes it to anyone, but because he wants to raise awareness of the issues the community must deal with.
The community supports Biofrost wholeheartedly
Here are the reactions: Many former associates of Biofrost from the LoL scene express their pride that their friend has the courage to speak out:
- Former team manager Leena Xu writes: “We love you – no matter what, Vincent.”
- His former bot lane partner Doublelift writes: “You will always be one of my best friends and I am so proud of you for posting this.”
- After almost 44 hours, the tweet has received over 12,000 retweets and nearly 170,000 likes. Biofrost says he didn’t expect this level of support.
Riot Games has recently made attempts to raise awareness for the LGBTQIA+ community in LoL and signal support. They have made statements in this regard. However, not in all countries:
