Women in Esports, an initiative created by not-for-profit organisation the British Esports Association, has joined forces with UK-based esports organisation Rix.GG.
The collaboration will see the two parties host a female-only VALORANT tournament titled ‘The Huntress Trials’.
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The tournament, which will take place on January 30th-31st, has been designed to promote diversity and inclusivity within the esports industry. The Huntress Trials is open for all openly femme-identifying or non-binary individuals including, but not limited to, biological female, transgender women, openly femme-identifying, femme-presenting, or femme adjacent non-binary people.
Morgan Ashurst, Marketing Manager at British Esports, spoke on the collaboration in a release: “Since launching the Women in Esports initiative in November 2019, it has been one of our main aims to play a part in increasing female participation in esports.
“We’re thrilled to be partnering with Rix.GG to host The Huntress Trials, to not only provide opportunities to females within the industry but to showcase talent!”
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Rix.GG has put up a £2,000 prize pool for the 16 team double-elimination tournament, with first place receiving £1,000 in prize money. The organisation currently fields its own Rocket League roster.
Jorden Dakin-White, Head of PR and Content at Rix.GG, also commented on the deal: “We are deeply committed to growing the grassroots esports scene here in the UK, which is why we are so excited to announce this tournament partnership with Women in Esports! We hope this event is the first stepping stone to make esports more diverse, inclusive, and female-friendly in the UK and EU.”
Esports Insider says: Any collaboration that aims to promote diversity and inclusivity within the esports industry is certainly a positive. With Women in Esports and Rix.GG involved, The Huntress Trials could be the start of more inclusivity-promoting tournaments taking place throughout the year.