IeSF Reverses Stance on Hearthstone Qualifier

by JR Cook - 10 years ago     show comments

Earlier today, the International eSports Federation (IeSF) reversed a controversial decision to exclude females from their upcoming Hearthstone qualifier tournament. The initial stance was met with harsh criticism from basically everyone, including Blizzard Entertainment. Blizzard’s eSports team reached out to the IeSF over the course of the day, and when we asked their opinion on the issue, they replied with the following statement:

One of our goals with eSports is to ensure that there’s a vibrant and also inclusive community around our games. We do not allow the use of our games in tournaments that do not support this, and are working with our partners to ensure they share the same goal.

To that end, we’ve separately been in contact with IeSF and understand that they’ve updated their rules to make it clear that their Hearthstone tournament will be open to all players.

Unsurprisingly, the stance was changed, and now all are welcome to participate in the Hearthstone tournament, regardless of gender. Hats off to both Blizzard and the IeSF for decisive action on this issue.