Contenders Legion, a new grassroots esports tournament organiser targeting the European Valorant scene, will today open sign-ups for its Athena Series.
This is a tournament for women and marginalised genders within the EMEA region, which will run from Friday September 2nd to Sunday September 4th 2022.
The Athena Series will host 32 teams – 16 from invitational slots and 16 from open sign-ups – with its format yet to be confirmed. The prize pool stands at €1,000.
Some of the participating teams include the following so far:
- Karma
- Kaizen
- N1mp
- Angry Titans Oni
- vvitches
- Wraith
- NOM
- Sangal
- Mixance
- Finest
- Case Hydra
- Into The Breach Prime
“We aim to make esports a more welcoming and inclusive space, creating opportunities and offer resources for women esports talent/players to gain opportunities and recognition in the space, and instil role models to the younger generation.”
Jade Cavanagh, Contenders Legion
Jade ‘Cavade’ Cavanagh, content director at Contenders Legion, told Esports News UK: “There is a visible ratio of women to male professional players. The professionals at the highest level are almost exclusively male, and the fanbase heavily skews male (some preliminary research showed 72% male which seems plausible enough).
“Hosting a female and marginalised genders tournament is very important for us at Contenders Legion. This is due to F&MG tournaments offering huge benefit for the esports industry as we aim to make esports a more welcoming and inclusive space, creating opportunities and offer resources for women esports talent/players to gain opportunities and recognition in the space, and instil role models to the younger generation.
“We want to change the visible ratio and highlight that F&MG players deserve this recognition and appreciation in the professional player scene.”
The news comes a couple of months after mixed gender tournament Contenders Legion: Valorant Season 1.
Sign-ups for the Athena Series open from 6pm BST today (Tuesday July 5th 2022) on Toornament.
What about verification of non-binary players?
One area of contention for organisers of esports tournaments for marginalised genders is verifying players.
Riot’s VCT Game Changers currently doesn’t allow non-binary players in the EMEA version of the series, partly due to a lack of verification tech and to (as Riot puts it) “ensure we do not endanger the privacy of local players”.
What is Contenders Legion’s approach here?
COO Steven Whiting told Esports News UK: “We are using a verification system that is partially honour based and partially evidence based. By asking questions such as how long they’ve identified that way, what makes them identify that way, looking at social media, as well as their participation within the GC scene, we feel we can generally find the balance between ensuring players are safe but also that it’s fair for as many people in the scene as possible.
“Essentially, we are following the phrase “more likely than not”, if it is more likely based on the answers given and the evidence we see that they identify as non-binary, then we would proceed on that basis”.
Who are Contenders Legion?
Contenders Legion is a grassroots esports tournament organiser founded on March 14th 2022, primarily working in Northern Europe. It’s focused on the tier three/amateur esports scene.
Its goal is to ‘enable young and upcoming talent in the amateur scene and to provide a welcoming, supportive and professional environment for players and staff alike looking to develop their skill sets in the fast-paced industry’.
While it’s focused on Valorant right now, the tournament organiser plans to move into other titles in the future such as CSGO and Rocket League.
Key staff at Contenders Legion include CEO and founder Oliwier ‘Qyful’ Sporny (who is just 14 years old), COO Steven Whiting, content director Jade ‘Cavade’ Cavanagh and head of talent Tom ‘Birdy’ Oakley.
“Our primary goal of helping promote the amateur esports scene has and will always stay the same. While we plan to expand into other esports titles in the very near future, our focus will not change and we will continue to provide the finest support for young and upcoming talent in Northern Europe.”
Oliwier Sporny
Head of talent Tom ‘Birdy’ Oakley added: “The great part about VCL (Valorant Contenders Legion) is that it follows Grassroots, up-and-coming talent. Whether this is on the players or talent side, we cater for all sides of esports.
“I have had the privilege to be given such a great talent team which I was given the freedom to build and expand on. These people are so good at their jobs and are such a fun talent pool to be around, they always make the events so fun, even in the down-time intermissions. I feel like I can make a huge difference with these people and VCL is a great platform to get their names out there within the scene.”
“Contenders Legion is revolutionising the tournament scene – we listen to the feedback of you, the players, first and foremost,” the team said in a statement sent to Esports News UK. “We believe in providing open and transparent information as well as being empathetic and understanding with our decision-making.
“We are massive advocates for the female and marginalised genders scene and are committed to providing the scene with at least two events per year to boost the chance for teams of all skill levels to participate.
“We take a holistic approach to dealing with player verification, team management and information handling. We treat every player with the utmost respect and care for everyone, regardless of their gender identity.”
The UK has a healthy amateur Valorant scene, with the Valorant Beacon grassroots esports series also here for players in the UK, Ireland and Nordics.
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.
