Lilian Chen

Former professional gamer, web designer and eSports women’s advocate, Lillian Chen has made an undeniable impression on the gaming community. Negative experiences as a Super Smash Brother’s Malee player, led Lillian to develop The New Meta and Smash Sisters, all with the aim to diversify the eSports industry.

A social media post was the inspiration for Lillian to call out gender inequality in gaming after a stranger reached out to her, as one of the few females involved in Super Smash Brothers. Lillian decided to write blog posts sharing her experiences about the discrimination she was subjected to as a female eSports player. The posts went viral.

In 2014 Lilian co-founded ‘The New Meta’ panel of key female eSports figures that discussed their challenges and hopes for the future. The aim of Lillian’s work has always been to handle the topic of gender imbalance in a progressive way and remove any shaming of male gamers. In 2016, she went on to develop ‘Smash Sisters’ an organisation focused on all-female Super Smash Brothers competitions. The first took place at the 2016 Genesis 3 event, with over fifty women participating.

Before becoming the essential advocate she is today, Lillian began playing Smash Brothers in 2004. She competed in her first local competition as an incredibly introverted sixteen-year-old. Within a year she had created her online alias ‘Milktea’ and traveled across the United States to compete. Unfortunately, as a young woman in a male-dominated industry, Lillian experienced the negative impacts of gender inequality when she was singled out at events.

Lillian’s work to raise awareness has been well received by the gaming community and she was invited to speak for TEDEd in a TEDYouth talk in 2014. Addressing the room of young eSports enthusiasts, Lillian’s message was clear, that gamers need to initiate a conversation, deconstruct negative behavior and work towards diversification. In 2013 she was featured on the Smash Brothers documentary and has recently begun working for Youtube as an Interaction Designer.

Changing the mindset of an industry is no easy feat, but Lillian Chen has dedicated her time to making progression for women in eSports. As a speaker on the controversial topic of gender equality, you’d expect a serious lecture, however, Lillian will surprise you. With an informal address, that opens the floor to accepting discussion and involves comical anecdotes from her time in the industry, you’ll be engaged from start to finish.