The women’s CSGO ESL Impact League Season 3 Finals are starting at DreamHack Dallas from today (June 2nd) to 4th, rounding out what will be the final Impact league to feature CSGO before CS2 takes the stage.
While Guild didn’t reach the finals, Guild launched their own campaign, #NoRoomForAbuse, highlighting the toxic environment often faced by women in gaming and esports. Guild also signed their first women’s CSGO roster this year, and also field a women’s roster in Valorant. We spoke to their CSGO players in this interview.
(Note: Guild’s Marita ‘Minnie’ Sørensen was unwell for the interview – we hope she has recovered!)
As a team, you have been given a fantastic platform by Guild Esports to emphasise the potential of women in esports. What are your aspirations within this capacity? What does being a pro player mean to you, and what do you want your legacy to be?
Nea: For me, it is awesome to be a woman and play professional esports – that we can build women’s esports higher. We are in 2023, and if we look back a few years, we would not be able to believe that we are in this position. It is awesome to be an inspiration for younger girls and people who are into gaming and show that you can make it. If you practice hard enough, you can do it.
Pullox: That is important to me as well. Also, I struggled when I was younger to show my parents that if you have a young girl, this is a viable thing for them to do –play games. It can be a normal thing for young girls, and a thing that can help them learn social skills. It can be a huge positive in their lives.
Anna: I completely agree with Nea and Pullox. However, for me, it wasn’t about showing that I could be female and play video games. It was more about proving to myself that I was good and that I could make it. Regardless of gender, I am a good competitor.
Kiki: It is the same for me as well – I do this because I love the game. I love playing. There was no call to be a role model or show girls that we can do this as well – I just love the game, so I keep playing it, and I want to be the best.
Moving into higher-level competition with Guild puts you among many other incredible people in the scene. Are there any players that have been an inspiration for you on this journey?
Kiki: Mimi – she used to play Counter-Strike before she went over to Valorant. She always grinded really hard and wanted to play against the guys – and beat the guys. The ways she has developed from CS to Valorant and how motivated she is to show she belongs among the best inspired me.
Nea: I’m more of a Petra fan – her teammate! I always watched her streams, and she is such a lovely person. She is so good, and she also wants to be the best. When I used to watch her streams I always used to think, “OMG, I want to be this girl”. Sadly, she chose Valorant, but she really is an awesome player.
Anna: I don’t actually have a pro player as inspiration, I have an ex-teammate from when I started playing the game. The women I used to play with – three women – when I knew nothing, taught me a lot. I still look up to them.
Pullox: I had had one IGL for two years, “lowlita”. She was a sister to me and taught me so much about how to be a good teammate, not only a good player. She has helped me to understand how I should act. I am so grateful that I played in the scene with her.
James (operations manager): She still joins to watch our streams as well – it’s really wholesome! She always comes in shouting for you guys.
How have you found the process of navigating criticism surrounding women’s esports and women’s CSGO – especially when people misunderstand the purposes of these tournaments?
Nea: It is kind of sad to say, but for me, I am so used to it being negative that it doesn’t really affect me anymore. When I first started playing, people would say, “You stupid b****, go back to the kitchen”. It just doesn’t affect me anymore – it’s just stupid boys sitting behind a screen making bad comments because their life sucks? I don’t know why they do it. Of course, it is frustrating. You just want to play the game and learn, but it is going to take a long time for it to go away.
Kiki: It doesn’t really affect me either. I’ve dealt with it for many years. I would rather turn the hate into motivation and show who I am and that I am actually good at the game.
Pullox: When you join a game, I feel like you can change a lot of people’s minds just by being professional, doing your best, and trying to win the game as much as possible.
“People might be disrespectful, but you have to be respectful back and not give them any more reason to hate you. That’s what I’m trying to do. They can be yelling at me mid-game, but I’m still going to win the game.”
Pullox, Guild Esports
Anna: I have so many negative games, where at first, I have cried. Now I do not think about it that much. Although I do have people that are negative towards me during the game, I also have people who will back me up. Teammates in the game remind me that they are being mean for no reason.
Nea: There are nice people out there as well.
James (operations manager): When we first started streaming the ESL Impact games, the comments were filled with people coming to the stream and spewing hate for no reason. However, we found by the end of the season, those people wouldn’t even join the streams. Even if they did, they would make one comment, and about 100 people would jump on their backs. It sucks that it’s there, but hopefully, the more we compete, the less excuse people have to comment.
What has been your favourite moment playing competitive CSGO?
Nea: For me, it was actually when we won against G2 at the latest ESL Impact. Everyone was so happy, and we made a great comeback. The G2 organisation had made some nasty comments on Twitter, and it felt like karma for us to win. It was a wonderful feeling. We sat there almost crying in the Discord channel together – it was a lovely moment and is something I will always remember.
Kiki: For me, it was my first super big event with Katowice, in February. We started the tournament with me playing the first round of the whole tournament, and I couldn’t stop thinking: “I did this! I did this against some of the best teams there are, and nobody expected us to do it.”
It was fun!
Pullox: I think for me, it was playing on stage at Valencia – even just being at the event and experiencing being special! Being behind the scenes and seeing all the pro players walking by and thinking, “am I really here?” – you feel starstruck. Then, you walk on stage and it is such a new experience. It’s the end goal, and you touched it. Maybe you didn’t win, but you saw the trophy, and you were there.
Kiki: That experience of being able to go anywhere and feel special – it’s so fun!
Anna: I have the same as Pullox – when we made it through qualifiers (which was also amazing), just being there and meeting other pros was incredible. It’s different from playing qualifiers or cash cups. You are actually there! Whether you win or lose, it still feels amazing.
Of course, the main focus right now is the upcoming ESL Impact tournament. What has your experience been like competing in initiatives such as ESL Impact?
Pullox: I think it saved the female CSGO scene. It did. It was barely alive, on the edge of dying when ESL Impact came along. When it got announced, everyone questioned whether it was really happening – and it was almost too late. ESL Impact came at the right time to save us, and it has been a great initiative. It really helps people in CS, driving up views and people want to see women succeed for the first time in a long time. They want to watch us do good. It’s a massive improvement from before.
Kiki: It also helped get bigger orgs into the female scene. There were basically no big orgs before Impact came.
‘I’ve been starting to do the mantra and prep the team saying: “Today’s going to be a good day. We are going to communicate. We are going to do our best. We are going to help each other. We are going to look for the win. If we don’t win, that’s fine. We learn, we grow, and we keep moving forward.”
Nea, Guild Esports
As a team, how do you prepare ahead of your games, especially to maintain a good team dynamic?
Nea: I mean, we are only human. We can’t be positive all the time. Before a big game, we just have to put everything aside and play the best we can. We know we can play very well together, so it’s the mindset.
Kiki: We also do this mantra before every match, and I feel like it really pulls us together as a team.
Are you down to reveal what your mantra is?
Nea: It’s a bit different every time! Usually, it is along the lines of: “When I’m happy, everyone else is happy. When I am tilted, it effects everyone.”
I’ve been starting to do the mantra and prep the team saying: “Today’s going to be a good day. We are going to communicate. We are going to do our best. We are going to help each other. We are going to look for the win. If we don’t win, that’s fine. We learn, we grow, and we keep moving forward.”
I keep it in that style every time.
Finally, what should we be looking out for from the team in the near future?
Kiki: Season 4! The goal is to go to the LAN finals in Valencia.
Pullox: Everyone is starting from scratch because the new game is coming out! We are a relatively new team, so we see it as a great positive that everyone is starting from the same page again after so many years.
Nea: I’m so excited for all the games!
ESL Impact Dallas finals key info: Broadcast talent, teams, schedule and more
ESL Impact, part of the #GGForAll initiative ‘to combat negativity and toxicity within the esports industry and foster diversity and inclusivity’, sees the top teams from several regions compete for a share of the $123,000 League 3 finals total prize pool and the coveted title, from June 2nd to 4th.
Eight squads will face off in front of their fans at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas, Texas, USA. Reigning ESL Impact Champions Nigma Galaxy, who have won all ESL Impact titles so far, will also be returning to defend their title.
The show will be broadcast on the ESL Twitch and YouTube channels.
Schedule and Format
Group Stage (June 2 – 3):
- Two double-elimination format groups, with four teams each. The Opening & Winners’ matches are best-of-one, and the Elimination & Decider matches are best-of-three.
- The top two teams from each group advance to the Playoffs.
Playoffs (June 4):
- Single-Elimination bracket, with all matches being best-of-three.
Teams attending
- Black Dragons
- B4 Esports
- HSG
- Nigma Galaxy
- Navi Javelins
- 9Pandas Fearless
- Ex-CLG Red
- Shimmer
Broadcast talent
- Host:
- Frankie “Frankie” Ward
- Sideline Reporter
- Anastasija “Heccu” Tolmačeva
- Commentators
- Tom Pickering
- Samantha Naori “Naorimizuki” Timms
- Lucy “LucyLuce” Eastwood
- Brandon “BDog” Rawlings
- Analysts
- Hege “Hedje” Botnen
- Sudhen “Bleh” Wahengbam
- Swayd “Hiyanoot” Barkhuizen
Hannah is a writer specialising in the esports, gaming, and technology sectors. Working for companies such as Lionscreed Esports, Esports Insider, and SideQuest Hub she has developed a love for wider esports and Apex Legends, although it may never surpass her drive to passionately beat her friends in every game of Mariokart. You may have seen her at various esports and gaming events, including ESI London, EGX, Discover: Esports and many League of Legends watch parties.
