Call of Duty League (CDL) team Minnesota Røkkr and esports social media startup eFuse have revealed co-hosting plans for the sixth Women of the eRena event, which will be played in Call of Duty: Warzone.
Women of the eRena 6 will take place on May 26. The women-only event, presented by Activision, will feature 16 teams competing for $26,000 (£18,516) in prize money. The event is the first in a forthcoming series co-hosted by Røkkr and eFuse.
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Minnesota Røkkr parent company, Version1, is co-branding the event series as part of its new V1SIONARIES project. According to a release, V1SIONARIES is a women-only competitive event series designed to ‘identify and promote talented gamers who compete in and stream various titles.’
Annie Scott Riley, Vice President of Marketing and Creative at Version1 commented: “There was a time in our recent history when studies showed women leaders were not seen as ‘visionary.’ Today, we see a parallel in gaming, as women in the industry are consistently underrepresented and underestimated.
“They’re not invited to the ‘table,’ which in this case is the team, the sponsor deal, the tournament. We want to provide opportunities for women to lead, shine and win – so we established V1SIONARIES, an event series to do just that.”
The play-in event will take place on May 19 from 4:30-7:30 pm CT. Sign-up is open until Tuesday, May 18 at 11:00 am CT to 30 teams of women-only competitors on a first-come, first-serve basis. Those interested in competing in the play-in can find tournament rules and can sign-up for free on the eFuse website.
Women of eRena 6 will be a competitive kill race featuring teams of four, each captained by a Warzone influencer. As of this writing, captains include Kalei Renay, Kathleen ‘Loserfruit’ Belsten, Cloud9’s Emma ‘EmZ’ Rankin, and previous Women of the eRena Warzone winner plus eFuse CoEd Cup champion ‘Smixie.’
Smixie added: “I’m so excited to play in another Women of the eRena event! Being a part of this series from Røkkr and eFuse means a lot to professional gamers like me, who have the talent and passion to contribute to the Warzone and gaming community. It’s great to see more organizations creating space for women in gaming.”
Other team captains will be announced at a later date. The May 26 main event will be live-streamed on the official Call of Duty Twitch channel and hosted by Røkkr player and Director of Content, Ashley ‘MiDNiTE’ Glassel.
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Matthew Benson, CEO of eFuse added: “Women are the most underrepresented, yet among the most skilled communities in gaming. By partnering with the inspiring leadership at V1, eFuse is extending our commitment to discovering female talent. We’re thrilled to welcome them as partners of the ‘Women of the eRena’ Warzone series as we boost our prize pool to $26,000 and elevate our event production. While universally true, but especially for women in esports – opportunities change lives.”
Esports Insider says: The esports industry has been diligent lately about pushing for more women to participate as players. While the industry is host to a myriad of talented women behind the scenes, we still don’t see many in the role of athletes. Hopefully, events like Women of the eRena will help to normalise the appearance of girls playing in the future.