24-year-old Mareike “Sayna” Burg wrote e-sports history on February 9 and became the first woman to play in the First Division of the Prime League, the highest German league in LoL. Previously there had only been a female coach.
Who is Sayna? The 24-year-old’s real name is Mareike Burg and she is studying computer science for her master’s degree. She gained her first competitive experience in the university team at the University of Göttingen and has been active in e-sports for 4 years. The botlaner’s favorite champ is battlemage Swain (via Twitter).
In a video, Sayna also revealed her goal of working full-time as an e-sportswoman. She feels a special bond with her idol Judit Polgár: The Hungarian chess grandmaster was in a similar situation to herself and asserted herself in a male-dominated discipline.
Sayna has now taken a big step towards her goal: on February 9, she was the first woman to make her debut in the 1st division of the Prime League, the top German league. We have included your self-introduction here:
Unicorns of Love make esports history
Why is the debut only now? The current Spring Split of the Prime League started in January, but Sayna has only been there as a substitute for her team, the Unicorns of Love. On February 8th, the premiere was then announced via Twitter:
Sayna was supposed to play as ADC in the match against Eintracht Frankfurt and is playing in place of Johannes “Fun K3y” Werner. However, the team emphasized that both Fun K3y and Sayna are both still part of the team, and will train and play as such (via Twitter).
In the Prime League, Sayna will sooner or later also meet Eintracht Spandau under President Knabe.
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Even the competition cheers
How did that go down? The Unicorns of Love received a lot of positive feedback for their move. Daniel “Broeki” Broekmann, whose team NNO has also been playing in the 1st Division of the Prime League since this season, quickly declared himself a fan of the opponents:
Even the competition from NNO becomes a fan
There was also praise from the YouTuber HandOfBlood, aka President Knabe of Eintracht Spandau, and the e-sports organization Angry Titans (via Twitter).
There were also other positive comments, some of which we have collected for you here:
How did the debut go? The first game ended 2-1 for Eintracht Frankfurt, but with 5 wins and 2 losses so far, the Unicorns can still do anything in the spring split. They are currently in 2nd place overall, behind Eintracht Spandau (via primeleague).
Mixed teams, like the current Unicorns of Love lineup, are rare in esports. Instead, some games have their own leagues in which all-women teams compete. So did the European team G2 Gozen, which cleared the first women’s major in Valorant.
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