How Riot’s all-female esports programme is changing the game.
Gradl is a Valorant player and member of the RIX.gg Lightning team.
But slowly that’s changing andRiot’s Game Changers programmeis at the forefront.
“Game Changers exists to combat these obstacles, it exists for women who are here to stay.”
“It helps create a true reflection of our vibrant, diverse community,” says Wienken.
The initiative has three aims: to educate, elevate, and engage.
“I couldn’t be more proud about our first achievements,” says Wienken.
Valorant itself already has a diverse playerbase, something Wienken attributes to its diverse cast of playable characters.
Gradl is one of many players to benefit from the programme.
Prior to their inception, I feel the support was underwhelming and something definitely needed to change.
“For me, that’s exactly what Riot has done.
Wienken says that support amongst players online is increasing regardless of gender.
It means that esports tournaments are beginning to reflect the diverse playerbase of the games.
That goes for broadcasters too.
There remain some limitations, however.
One of those is in salaries - women esports players earn significantly less than men.
According to astudy by betting community OLBG, women earn 7877 percent less than men across all games.
There’s a long way to go, then.
But Gradl is thankful for Game Changers and hopeful for the future.
And as Wienken explains, there are big plans for the future.
She’s also anticipating even higher numbers for its 2022 circuits.
The ultimate goal for Game Changers is for it to not even need to exist.
Game Changers exists now, so that hopefully it won’t need to exist in the future.”
Until then, Game Changers is truly focused on expanding the visibility of women in esports.
“This is only the beginning,” says Wienken.
