(Left to right) Danielle Udogaranya (Ebonix), Harrie Silver (Harrie) and Shauna Ward (Shauna Games), photo credit: Matt Alexander/PA Media Assignments
A Guild Esports x Sky Broadband Women’s Gaming Tournament Series has been announced today as the first-of-its-kind in the UK, in a bid to improve diversity and inclusion.
The series of tournaments, kicking off in April, provide a platform for talented women gamers to showcase their skills. It is the first women’s esports tournament to award professional contracts as well as cash prizes to winners.
It’s made up of two tournaments: Racers Eseries, a sim racing-based competition, and the Soccer Eseries, an esports football tournament, culminating in the Women’s Esports Finals.
With a total prize pot of £50,000 split between the tournaments, all competitors at the Women’s Esports Finals will receive a cash prize, with the two ultimate winners of the Racers Eseries and Soccer Eseries also awarded a pro contract each and free Sky Broadband for 18 months.
This follows research that revealed out of all esports pros, only 5% are women despite women making up 47% of all gamers in the UK.
The women’s esports initiative is being brought to life by Sky Broadband in partnership with the Guild Esports company, co-owned by football legend David Beckham. Both Sky Broadband and Guild share the mission to create a more inclusive esports industry.
- Racers Eseries – taking place from the 26th April to 19th May in person and online: sim racing-based competition – ten gamers will make it through to the Women’s Esports Finals
- Soccer Eseries – date to be announced later this year: an esports football tournament, the top four gamers will make it through to the Women’s Esports Finals
- Women’s Esports Finals – date to be announced later this year: The UK’s first-of-its-kind Women’s Esports Final hosted live and streamed from Sky’s headquarters
As part of the coveted esports pro contracts, winners will receive bootcamp training, access to top-class facilities and experts including nutritionists to help them keep at the top of their game.
Sky Broadband is the official partner of Guild Esports, and powers the Sky Guild Gaming Centre with its superfast speed and reliability. It is kick starting the series of tournaments and supporting the esports company in their shared mission to make the industry inclusive and equal for all.
Amber Pine, MD, Sky Connectivity, said: “At Sky Broadband we’re committed to powering the gaming community, and we want to help ensure it’s an equal playing field for all.
“We’re creating new, safe and equal opportunities for woman gamers, working with Guild Esports for the past two years to achieve this ambition. This first-of-its-kind initiative opens up new avenues to help women go pro, with contracts and cash prizes up for grabs.”
Amber Pine, Sky
Despite the growing popularity of esports and large prize funds, research by Bryter revealed over half (56%) of women feel that there is a great lack of women gamers in esports, and similarly 54% agree that the gaming community isn’t doing enough to encourage women gamers.
However, the report also found that 36% of women gamers would consider entering an esports tournament.
Ruby Allenby, Fortnite pro esports player and the first gamer to graduate from the Guild’s Academy, said: “It’s about time we level the playing field and get more talented gamers who are women into the spotlight. This initiative is a great way to make gaming more inclusive and show everyone what we’ve got. I can’t wait to watch the event, cheer on the competitors, and see some real game-changers in action!”
Jasmine Skee, CEO of Guild Esports, added: “With women representing 47% of all gamers in the UK, it’s high time we create opportunities for talented women gamers to showcase their skills and compete at the highest level. We look forward to witnessing gaming enthusiasts across the country and beyond taking part in this unique opportunity.”
Last year, Sky partnered with Guild Esports and charity Cybersmile on a campaign, #NoRoomForAbuse, to address the abuse women face when gaming online, revealing that almost half (49%) of women in the UK have faced abuse with 80% of those revealing messages had been of a sexual nature.
Those looking to take part in the tournaments can visit sky.com/broadband/gaming for more information on how to sign up. Entrants must be 18 or over and UK residents.
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.
