{{short description|Canadian professional esports player}} {{pp-extended|small=yes}} {{Use British English|date=February 2018}} {{Infobox Pro Gaming player | ID = Scarlett | name = Sasha Hostyn | image = Scarlett at BlizzCon 2014.jpg | caption = Hostyn at BlizzCon 2014 | upright = 0.9 | nickname = {{ubl|The Queen of Blades|Korean Kryptonite}} | name_trans = | birth_date = {{birth year and age|1993|12}} | birth_place = Kingston, Ontario, Canada | team = | leagues = | coach = | games = {{ubl|''StarCraft''|''StarCraft II''|''Dota 2''}} | career_start = 2011 | years1 = | team1 = | years2 = | team2 = Sasha "Scarlett" Hostyn.jpg | years3 = | team3 = | years4 = | team4 = }}
'''Sasha Hostyn''' (born December 1993),<ref name="Guardian" /> also known by her username '''Scarlett''', is a Canadian professional video game player. She is most well known for playing ''StarCraft II'', and is the first woman to win a major ''StarCraft II'' tournament. She has also played ''Dota 2''.
==Personal life== Hostyn grew up in Kingston, Ontario,<ref name="ny">{{cite magazine |url= http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/11/24/good-game |title= Good Game: The Rise of the Professional Cyber Athlete |magazine= The New Yorker |date= 24 November 2014 |accessdate= 27 January 2015 |first= Ben |last= McGrath |archive-date= 18 November 2014 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141118013712/http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/11/24/good-game |url-status= live }}</ref> and played games as a hobby during school and began to enter tournaments in 2011, leading to her career as a professional player. Hostyn is a transgender woman, and has said that her gender identity has "absolutely no relevance" to how she plays and that she has "always tried to make it a complete non-issue".<ref name="av">{{cite web |last=Smith |first=Ryan |date=5 February 2014 |title=How a transgender "foreign hope" is challenging the pro ''StarCraft'' world |url=http://www.avclub.com/article/how-a-transgender-foreign-hope-is-challenging-the-107511 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220712014915/https://www.avclub.com/how-a-transgender-foreign-hope-is-challenging-the-pro-1798265974 |archive-date=12 July 2022 |accessdate=27 January 2015 |work=The AV Club}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=McGrath |first=Ben |date=2014-11-17 |title=Good Game |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/11/24/good-game |access-date=2024-03-28 |magazine=The New Yorker |language=en-US |issn=0028-792X}}</ref>
==Career== ===''StarCraft II''=== thumb|Hostyn at the North American Star League Season 3 in 2012 Hostyn became prominent in the ''StarCraft II'' scene in 2012 when she beat a number of highly ranked professionals at an event in Las Vegas.<ref name=dd /> In 2013, she climbed the global ''StarCraft II'' rankings to rank 21 and placed second at NorthCon.<ref name="av" /> By mid-2014, Hostyn had taken first place in seven tournaments, making her the second highest-paid professional female gamer at the time.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.businessinsider.in/15-Of-The-Highest-Paid-Professional-Female-Video-Gamers/2-Sasha-Scarlett-Hostyn-81282-44-from-30-tournaments/slideshow/36327430.cms |title= 15 Of The Highest-Paid Professional Female Video Gamers |date= 10 June 2014 |first= Karyne |last= Levy |work= Business Insider |accessdate= 27 January 2015 |archive-date= 6 February 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150206035553/http://www.businessinsider.in/15-Of-The-Highest-Paid-Professional-Female-Video-Gamers/2-Sasha-Scarlett-Hostyn-81282-44-from-30-tournaments/slideshow/36327430.cms |url-status= live }}</ref> By 2014, Hostyn had won over $110,000.<ref name="ny" />
During her time playing ''StarCraft II'', Hostyn has been called "the queen of ''StarCraft II''", "Korean Kryptonite", and "The Queen of Blades".<ref name="dd">{{cite web |url= http://www.dailydot.com/esports/sasha-scarlett-hostyn-starcraft-esports/ |title= Meet Scarlett, the 20-year-old woman who's blazing trails in 'StarCraft' |date= 21 December 2013 |access-date= 27 January 2015 |first= Patrick |last= O'Neill |work= The Daily Dot|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131221214410/http://www.dailydot.com/esports/sasha-scarlett-hostyn-starcraft-esports/|archive-date=December 21, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.theverge.com/2014/2/5/5382152/meet-scarlett-the-queen-of-starcraft-ii |title= Meet Scarlett, the queen of 'Starcraft II' |work= The Verge |first= Adi |last= Robertson |accessdate= 27 January 2015 |date= 5 February 2014 |archive-date= 10 August 2018 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180810105120/https://www.theverge.com/2014/2/5/5382152/meet-scarlett-the-queen-of-starcraft-ii |url-status= live }}</ref> ''The New Yorker'' called her "the most accomplished woman in e-sports".<ref name="ny" /> She was the only Red Bull Battle Grounds 2014 finalist from a country other than South Korea.<ref name="HG: Red Bull 2014" /> In 2014, ''Polygon'' named her one of 2014's 50 admirable gaming people, describing her as "one of the few women succeeding at the top level of the ''StarCraft II'' pro scene".<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.polygon.com/2014/12/30/7379031/polygons-50-gaming-heroes-of-2014 |title= Polygon's 50 admirable gaming people of 2014 |date= 30 December 2014 |work= Polygon |first= Colin |last= Campbell |accessdate= 27 January 2015 |archive-date= 31 December 2014 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141231040306/http://www.polygon.com/2014/12/30/7379031/polygons-50-gaming-heroes-of-2014 |url-status= live }}</ref>
===''Dota 2''=== Having lost some of her "competitive drive" for ''StarCraft II'', Hostyn switched to playing ''Dota 2'' in February 2015, explaining "If I can be good at both it’ll be something nobody has really done before."<ref name="Guardian">{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/feb/06/sacha-hostyn-scarlett-starcraft-dota2-video-gaming | title=StarCraft II's high-flying 'Scarlett' is turning to Dota 2. Does success await? | work=The Guardian | date=February 6, 2015 | accessdate=February 24, 2015 | last=Parkin | first=Simon | archive-date=September 1, 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170901063911/https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/feb/06/sacha-hostyn-scarlett-starcraft-dota2-video-gaming | url-status=live }}</ref>
===Return to ''StarCraft II''=== As of June 2015, Hostyn has returned to ''StarCraft II'', joining the Dead Pixels team<ref name="Team Liquid">{{cite news | url= http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/starcraft-2/510421-scarlett-and-fear-join-dead-pixels | title= Scarlett and FeaR join Dead Pixels | access-date= 2016-06-17 | archive-date= 2023-04-10 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230410215249/https://tl.net/forum/starcraft-2/510421-scarlett-clem-and-fear-join-dead-pixels | url-status= live }}</ref> and will compete in Korean leagues.
On August 17, 2016, Scarlett joined Team Expert.<ref>{{cite tweet |user=expertesport |number=765831389778444288 |date=17 August 2016 |title=A selection of our new roster. Do you recognize any of them? }}</ref>
In February 2018, Scarlett won the Intel Extreme Masters tournament, held in the leadup to the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, becoming the first woman to win a major ''StarCraft II'' tournament.<ref>{{Cite magazine |url=https://www.pcgamer.com/scarlett-wins-intels-pre-winter-olympics-2018-starcraft-2-event/ |title=Scarlett wins Intel's pre-Winter Olympics 2018 StarCraft 2 event |last=Donnelly |first=Joe |date=2018-02-07 |magazine=PC Gamer |language=en-US |access-date=2020-02-10 |archive-date=2019-04-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190418233847/https://www.pcgamer.com/scarlett-wins-intels-pre-winter-olympics-2018-starcraft-2-event/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2018/02/sasha-scarlett-hostyn-becomes-first-woman-to-win-a.html |title=Sasha "Scarlett" Hostyn Becomes First Woman to Win a Major StarCraft 2 Tournament |last=Bell |first=Brian |date=2018-02-07 |website=Pastemagazine.com |language=en |access-date=2020-02-10 |archive-date=2018-02-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180209163652/https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2018/02/sasha-scarlett-hostyn-becomes-first-woman-to-win-a.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Following this, in November 2018 Scarlett joined Newbee.<ref>{{cite tweet |user=newbeecn |number=1061308173510995968 |date=10 November 2018 |title=The QUEEN is here~ Welcome to Newbee @onfireScarlett}}</ref>
In February 2021, she joined the newly formed Shopify Rebellion.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-02-19|title=Shopify forms Rebellion and signs StarCraft II pro Scarlett|url=https://www.dailyesports.gg/shopify-forms-rebellion-and-signs-starcraft-ii-pro-scarlett/|access-date=2022-01-25|website=Daily Esports|language=en-US|archive-date=2022-01-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220128164815/https://www.dailyesports.gg/shopify-forms-rebellion-and-signs-starcraft-ii-pro-scarlett/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
==Awards== Scarlett was entered in the ''Guinness Book of Records'' as "highest career earnings for a female competitive video game player" on October 5, 2016.<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/383251-highest-career-earnings-for-a-competitive-videogame-player-female | title=Highest career earnings for a competitive videogame player (Female) | access-date=2016-12-08 | archive-date=2016-10-28 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161028234648/http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/383251-highest-career-earnings-for-a-competitive-videogame-player-female | url-status=live }}</ref>
== References ==
{{Reflist|30em|refs=
<ref name="HG: Red Bull 2014">{{cite web |url=http://www.hardcoregamer.com/2014/09/24/red-bull-battle-grounds-2014-comes-to-stunning-conclusion/107087/ |access-date=December 2, 2014 |title=Red Bull Battle Grounds 2014 Comes To Stunning Conclusion |last1=Aidan |first1=Julian |date=September 24, 2014 |work=Hardcore Gamer Magazine | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140928181912/http://www.hardcoregamer.com/2014/09/24/red-bull-battle-grounds-2014-comes-to-stunning-conclusion/107087/ |archive-date=September 28, 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref>
}}
==External links== * [https://www.twitch.tv/scarlettm Twitch channel]
{{Professional StarCraft II competition}}
Category:1993 births Category:StarCraft players Category:Canadian esports players Category:Women esports players Category:Living people Category:Canadian transgender sportspeople Category:Canadian transgender women Category:Sportspeople from Kingston, Ontario Category:Transgender sportswomen Category:LGBTQ esports players Category:21st-century Canadian LGBTQ people Category:21st-century Canadian sportswomen