The first women’s professional tournament of its kind in the UK begins on Saturday.
Four teams of professional players will play the first person shooter game Valorant, which is the most watched esports game in women’s leagues.
It is the first time Europe’s best teams have faced each other in the UK and organizers hope it will bring more women into the game.
“The more people realize that you can enjoy games like a non-native, the more confident they will be and the more fun they will have,” said host and streamer Meg ‘Megsoundslikeegg’ Gardner.
Players are competing over two days in Londonfrom Red Bull Gaming Sphere for a total prize pool of £15,000.
Michaela ‘mimi’ Lintrup, who is one of the best Valorant players in the world and has been playing professionally since she was 18, said: “It wasn’t as big a deal back then as it is today.”
The 26-year-old Dane added: “We fought for a Red Bull box or something, it wasn’t a prize money thing. I just played because I had a passion for it and I loved it.”
But everything changed.
Last year, fans watched more than 28 million hours of professional women’s esports, according to industry tracker Esports Charts. Competitions are often streamed on places like Twitch, TikTok and YouTube.
These numbers don’t even include people watching Chinawhere esports are so important that more people watched them than traditional sports at the 2023 Asian Games.
In esports, where people play competitively across a variety of video games, there are leagues, prizes, and hordes of fans, just like in other sports.
Professional gamer Mathilde ‘Nelo’ Beltoise plays for French team Karmine Corp
French player Mathilde ‘Nelo’ Beltoise, who is part of a team called Karmine Corp, said the fan level in France is off the charts.
“Karmine Corp is so big that wherever you go, someone will recognize you. Every time I go out on the street, I see someone with the shirt on. It’s really huge,” she said.
Her team’s popularity in France helped Beltoise’s parents, who are teachers, accept the idea of her making a living playing video games.
“Sometimes one of your students will wear a Karmine Corp shirt and be like, ‘Is that you?’ Now they just love it,” she explained.
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Being a professional gamer means international travel and glamorous-sounding online streaming, but it’s also a regular nine-to-five job.
“We train Monday through Friday, but when we get closer to tournament time we will add Sundays,” Lintrup said.
“We have four games a day that usually last 50 minutes. Then we can talk a little about the mistakes we made [for 10 minutes before the next one]. So we have about an hour and a half of theory.”
Michaela ‘mimi’ Lindtrup is one of the best Valorant players in the world
Lintrup is the leader of the G2 Gozen game and her role is very similar to that of a football captain.
She said: “After practice, I’ll usually stream or review, which means I’ll go back and watch our games and point out mistakes. I have to work a little harder. I love it that way.”
British contestant Sarah ‘sarah’ Ahmed is 18 years old and originally from Derby. She has been playing professionally for six months and became interested in gaming because of her brother.
She said: “He had a laptop and I didn’t, when I was 16 I got my first PC and that’s when I started gaming, as did my brother.”
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Now, she is traveling the world, having recently competed in Turkey in the first mixed gender tournament. She described the moment she discovered the female gaming scene in Valorant.
“When I was younger, none of my friends played video games, so whenever I played it was alone, it was difficult to make friends.
“So when I saw there was a big community with a lot of girls just playing, I wanted to be part of it.”
Derby’s Sarah ‘sarah’ Ahmed has been playing professionally for six months
Valorant was released during one of the COVID lockdowns when there was a spike in people playing video games. Presenter Meg Gardner thinks she is more popular with women because of her storytelling.
She said: “Valorant is very good at being inclusive, so you will see a lot of female characters who are not just in supporting roles, but as people who are very strong in the game. .”
The Red Bull Instalock tournament will be broadcast live on Twitch from 12pm UK time on Saturday and Sunday.
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