The International e-Sports Federation (IeSF) has changed its rules so that it will no longer hold any male-only events after a chain reaction of negative attention.

The issue was sparked earlier this week when a competitive gaming event in Finland, run by the Finnish e-Sports Federation, was challenged over its decision to have gender-segregated events.

The issue was originally sparked when some Hearthstone players found they couldn't compete in an event at Assembly Summer 2014 because of their gender. Credit:Blizzard Entertainment

Of particular concern to many was that some events at Assembly Summer 2014, including a tournament of Blizzard's popular free-to-play card game Hearthstone, were only being held for one gender, meaning women were blocked from participating entirely.

When challenged, the FeSF stated that they were not happy with the situation, but they were restricted by the rules put in place by the international body, the IeSF.