Because slinging virtual cards is manly business, that's why

Jul 2, 2014 14:24 GMT  ·  By

Apparently, the bid to make Hearthstone a legitimate eSport that can roll with the likes of tennis and football also means that women have to be banned from taking part in competitions.

A user from Reddit Hearthstone's community has shared an interesting image from the announcement page of the Finnish Assembly eSports tournament, with a single highlighted sentence popping out, "The participation is open only to Finnish male players."

There you have it, Hearthstone is serious business, and not a mere plaything for girls to dabble in. The thing is, this is in accordance with the rules laid out by South Korea's International eSports Federation, and not at all an arbitrary decision.

Apparently, the Finnish Assembly eSports Tournament is a qualifying event for the IeSF World Championship, and its admins say that entry is closed to female players in order to avoid "possible conflicts" later in the series.

"The decision to divide male and female competitions was made in accordance with international sports authorities, as part of our effort to promote e-Sports as a legitimate sports," writes the IeSF on their Facebook page, in an attempt to explain the bizarre rule.

The IeSF is a global organization based in South Korea, comprised of various eSports associations from all across the world, and its aim is to promote eSports as "true sport," and that is where the gender division stems from.