Woman first draft pick for professional video game league

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif.--In the inaugural draft of the Championship Gaming Series, a new professional video game league, the biggest surprise may have been first: a woman was the first player chosen.

It's not, of course, that there aren't top-notch women video gamers, because there are, and many. There are even sponsored all-women teams. But it's no secret that the majority of hard-core gamers are male.

So when San Francisco OPTX General Manager Kat Hunter chose Dead or Alive player Vanessa Arteaga with the draft's first pick, a lot of people here at the Playboy Mansion, where the event is being held, may have been caught off guard.

Hunter herself is one of the stars of the video game world, being a former longtime member of the Frag Dolls. But with the No. 1 draft pick in a new league, she surely chose the best available player.

The draft still has many rounds to go, but we're off to a great start here in an event befitting the glamor status of a more established league.

Maybe video games have arrived as mainstream entertainment. And with Arteaga's selection as the first pick, maybe women will see that they have a major place at this table.

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