Version 2 In response to reports, Melanie “meL” Hoi-San Man, the IGL of Game Changers, has confirmed that she was indeed denied trials with co-ed VALORANT teams. She expressed her disappointment that these reports have become public.
On September 19, a video clip went viral in which esports reporter Rod “Slasher” Breslau discussed meL’s situation with Sean Gares. According to Breslau, meL, who is 23 years old, had been refused trials with tier one VALORANT teams because some male players were uncomfortable competing alongside a woman.
In a detailed Twitter post on the same day, meL acknowledged that she had faced rejection from co-ed teams due to her gender. She revealed, “There was a situation where I was being considered, but a T1 team conveyed to me that a player wasn’t comfortable playing with a woman.” She chose to keep quiet about it to avoid being seen as a liability to other teams.
Additionally, meL disclosed that some co-ed teams, despite having skilled co-ed rosters, declined to pay a buyout for her, providing peculiar justifications such as her being “too valuable of an asset to release this close to partnership selection when I’m so pivotal to my org’s application.”
meL admitted her dissatisfaction with the public disclosure of this information without her consent. However, she didn’t want to be unjust to others who have also faced similar challenges in the industry. Addressing those who doubted such situations could occur, she stated, “I have no choice other than to share this because I see people saying this could never happen, and it’s impossible.”
She continued, “I also don’t want to be unfair to a lot of individuals who have experienced something similar and deserve validation, rather than me taking this opportunity to pretend it didn’t happen now that it’s been shared publicly, albeit without my consent.”
meL also discussed the negative consequences of having this information in the public domain, emphasizing her desire to focus on playing the game and improving with her teammates. She found it distracting, especially with the third series of VCT Game Changers approaching.
Despite the setbacks, she expressed gratitude for the opportunities she has received and vowed to continue working on personal improvement and helping her teammates succeed.
meL’s experience underscores the challenges women face in esports, highlighting the gender bias that persists in the industry. While Riot’s efforts to encourage co-ed rosters in VCT are a step in the right direction, there is still a long way to go in bridging this gender gap, just like in many other fields.