Remilia
Maria "Remilia" Creveling playing on-stage in January 2016.
Personal information
NameMaria Creveling
Nickname(s)Madwife, Thresh Queen
Born(1995-02-02)February 2, 1995
Portland, Maine, U.S.
DiedDecember 27, 2019(2019-12-27) (aged 24)
Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Career information
GamesLeague of Legends
RoleSupport
Team history
2013Curse Academy
2013–2014No Big Deal
2014Necrofantasian
2014–2015Team Dragon Knights
2014–2015Roar
2015–2016Renegades
2016–2017Kaos Latin Gamers
2016–2017FlyQuest
2018Team Quetzal
2019Sector 7

Maria Creveling (February 2, 1995 – December 27, 2019), better known as Remilia,[lower-alpha 1] was an American professional League of Legends player. She was the first woman and transgender person to compete in the NA LCS, debuting in the 2016 Spring Split as the support for Renegades. However, she took a sudden hiatus from professional play a few weeks into her debut season due to on-stage pressure and online harassment. During her career she was particularly known for her mastery of the champion Thresh, which earned her the nicknames "Madwife"[lower-alpha 2] and "Thresh Queen".

Early life

Creveling was born and raised in Portland, Maine.[1] Prior to the release of League of Legends, she was an avid player of Age of Mythology and GunZ: The Duel.[2]

Career

Before debuting in the NA LCS, Creveling played for several semi-professional League of Legends teams in the North American Challenger Series (NA CS), the NA LCS' secondary league. She joined her first team, Curse Academy, on July 22, 2013. Adopting the in-game name "Yuno", Creveling briefly played for the team as their support player in national ESL tournaments.[2][3] She was noted for her prowess on the champion Thresh, which led to her being nicknamed "Madwife" and "Thresh Queen", the former a reference to Hong "MadLife" Min-gi, another well-known Thresh player.[4] After leaving Curse Academy on August 12, 2013, Creveling played for a number of other teams attempting to qualify for the NA CS.[5] On March 9, 2015, she joined Misfits NA's inaugural roster and changed her in-game name to "Remilia", a reference to the Touhou Project character Remilia Scarlet.[3] Creveling finally qualified for the NA CS on June 16, 2015, after she and her teammates defeated Magnetic at the 2015 NA CS Summer Qualifier. Misfits NA rebranded to Renegades shortly afterwards, and the team went on to defeat Team Coast in the 2015 NA CS Summer Finals, qualifying for the 2016 NA LCS Spring Split.[6]

On January 16, 2016, Creveling debuted as the NA LCS' first woman player, as well as its first transgender player.[7][8] She also changed her in-game name once again, adopting the shortened alias of "Remi". After playing a third of the season's games, Creveling abruptly stepped down from the starting roster, citing on-stage pressure and online harassment.[9][10] Two years later, she clarified her reasons for leaving in a series of tweets, revealing that a botched sex reassignment surgery had left her with severe and permanent nerve damage to her pelvic area, which caused her to suffer excruciating pain while playing onstage.[11]

After an eight-month hiatus from professional play, Creveling joined Latin American team Kaos Latin Gamers under the in-game name "Sakuya",[12] and played for the team from October 2016 to January 2017.[13] She shifted her focus to streaming following her departure from Kaos Latin Gamers, although she played for a few semi-professional teams in the United States before her sudden passing in late 2019.[13][14]

Death

Creveling died in her sleep on December 27, 2019, at the age of 24. Her death was publicly announced a day later by esports journalist Richard Lewis, a close friend of Creveling's.[10][15][16] Hundreds paid tribute to her online by leaving supportive comments on her Twitch and Twitter pages, praising her achievements and legacy as the first woman and transgender person to compete in the NA LCS. Riot Games, the developer of League of Legends, also released a statement mourning her death.[16]

Notes

  1. ↑ Other in-game names adopted by Creveling during her career include Remi, Sakuya and Yuno.
  2. ↑ A reference to Hong "MadLife" Min-gi, another well-known Thresh player.

References

  1. ↑ "Muere Maria "Remilia" Creveling, jugadora profesional de League of Legends". El Imparcial (in European Spanish). December 29, 2019. Retrieved December 30, 2019.
  2. 1 2 Carolina, Maria (September 18, 2015). "Renegades: 19 preguntas con Remilia (Entrevista)" (in Spanish). League Of Girls LA. Archived from the original on October 8, 2015. Retrieved December 30, 2019.
  3. 1 2 Ibarra, Valeria (March 4, 2020). "Remilia, la campeona transgénero que derribó barreras en los Esports". PlayerOne (in Spanish). Retrieved February 5, 2023.
  4. ↑ "Maria "Remilia" Creveling: una historia de la que los esports deberían aprender". GalleGutsito via Millenium ES (in Spanish). January 6, 2020. Retrieved March 23, 2020.
  5. ↑ Samples, Rachel (December 28, 2019). "Former League of Legends pro and streamer Remilia dies". Dot Esports. Retrieved December 28, 2019.
  6. ↑ Djuricic, Igor (August 18, 2015). "Renegades Case for the LCS". Dot Esports. Retrieved September 7, 2019.
  7. ↑ LeJacq, Yannick (August 14, 2015). "The League Of Legends Championship Series Has Its First Woman Player". Kotaku. Retrieved August 31, 2019.
  8. ↑ Seiner, Jake (January 3, 2019). "'The second they realize I'm a woman, I no longer have power': Navigating toxicity, harassment in esports". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
  9. ↑ Leslie, Callum (February 5, 2016). "The first female LCS player has stepped down". Dot Esports. Retrieved August 31, 2019.
  10. 1 2 Wolf, Jacob (December 28, 2019). "Remilia, first woman to compete in LCS, dies at 24". ESPN. Retrieved December 28, 2019.
  11. ↑ Asarch, Steven (March 26, 2018). "'League of Legends' Remilia blames Chris Badawi on Twitter for her ongoing medical issues". Newsweek. Retrieved September 7, 2019.
  12. ↑ Rosen, Daniel (October 5, 2019). "Remi joins Kaos Latin Gamers". theScore esports. Archived from the original on December 30, 2019. Retrieved February 22, 2020.
  13. 1 2 Rutledge, Caroline (December 29, 2019). "Remilia, First Woman To Compete Professionally In The League Of Legends Championship Series, Has Passed Away At 24". TheGamer. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
  14. ↑ Hitt, Kevin (December 31, 2019). "Reflecting on the Passing of League of Legends Esports Pioneer Maria 'Remilia' Creveling". The Esports Observer. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
  15. ↑ Zwiezen, Zack (December 29, 2019). "Remilia, The First Woman To Compete In The League Of Legends Championship Series, Dies At 24". Kotaku. Retrieved December 30, 2019.
  16. 1 2 Young, Rory (December 29, 2019). "Former League of Legends Pro Remilia Dies at Age 24". Game Rant. Retrieved November 2, 2021.

Further reading

  • Janish, Elyse (October 19, 2018). "The Abject Scapegoat: Boundary Erosion and Maintenance in League of Legends". In Harper, Todd; Adams, Meghan Blythe; Taylor, Nicholas (eds.). Queerness in Play. New York City, NY: Springer Publishing. ISBN 978-3-319-90542-6.
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