UK esports organisation Rix.GG have announced a new Valorant roster known as ‘Lightning’, in a bid to champion esports for women and marginalised gender players.
“Rix.GG is committed to seeing women and marginalised gender players compete at the highest levels of esports, and hopes to pave the way for the future,” the org said in a press release.
The roster will consist of the following players from the UK and EU:
- Daniela ‘Jupi’ Gradl
- Maria ‘6sonya’ Istrate
- Nelly ‘Raina’ Sosobrado
- Paige ‘Padge’ Thomas
- Anja ‘aNNja’ Vasalic
The Rix.GG Lightning team will be managed by Nicole ‘Wolf’ Sølvmose, who joined Rix at the start of the month to head up their new esports inclusion division. They are currently trialling coaches.
Prior to joining Rix.GG Lightning, this roster played under team name LaGals, consistently winning all-female and marginalised gender tournaments in the EU, including the recent women’s tournament hosted by Rix and the British Esports Association. The team will be looking to compete in all-female, marginalised gender and open tournaments.
Jamie Lewis, founder and CEO of Rix.GG, said: “This could be one of the best-kept secrets in esports. So many people have worked so hard to put this together to ensure Rix.GG has one of the absolute best female and marginalised gender teams in Europe. We are incredibly excited to welcome all five of the new players and cannot wait to see how the Rix.GG setup can benefit the team.”
“So many people have worked so hard to put this together to ensure Rix.GG has one of the absolute best female and marginalised gender teams in Europe.”
Jamie Lewis, Rix.GG
Nicole “Wolf” Sølvmose, head of esports inclusion and team manager, added: “We’re looking at some of the most dedicated and talented players in the world. They are going to take us all by storm and while they are at it, they’re going to make a change so big that it will resonate within the esports profession and beyond.
“Breaking records and breaking negative stereotypical thought barriers. From the bottom of my heart, I believe that this team will make it to the top. They have got the dedication; they have got the fire and the strive to become the best.”
The news comes as Rix.GG changed the name of their other Valorant team to Thunder:
Elsewhere, team Discoteca won the Red Bull Campus Clutch UK national final, featuring Rix.GG players Luzuh and otom.
Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
