New women's only tournament series launched by Guild Esports and Sky Broadband with £50,000 cash prize

To tackle this problem, a new women’s only esports initiative has been launched by Sky Broadband and Guild Esports to promote diversity in the games industry.

The series of tournaments will begin in April and give aspiring young women in esports a platform to showcase their skills.

Finalists will compete to win a share of the £50,000 cash prize in addition to a professional contract with Guild Esports, a London-based organisation co-owned by David Beckham which looks to help train and support the next generation of esports professionals.

The popularity of esports tournaments is on the rise, as are the cash prizes being made available. But one report found that more than half of women who play games feel that there is a lack of women in the esports industry, with 54% agreeing that the gaming community isn’t doing enough to encourage women gamers.

Looking to drive equality and inclusion in the gaming industry, Amber Pine, the managing director of 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.”

This was echoed by Jasmine Skee, the CEO of Guild Esports, who shared that they wanted to create opportunities for women gamers to compete at “the highest level”.

Skee added: “We look forward to witnessing gaming enthusiasts across the country and beyond taking part in this unique opportunity.”

How will the initiative work?

The women’s only initiative is made up of two tournaments – the Racers Eseries, a SIM racing-based competition, and the Soccer Eseries, an esports football tournament – which will culminate in the Women’s Esports Finals.

Finalists will each receive a share of the total £50,000 prize pool, with the two ultimate winners to be awarded a professional contract with Guild Esports as well as free Sky Broadband for 18 months.

In addition to the professional contract, winners will receive bootcamp training and access to top-class facilities and experts such as nutritionists.

When will the tournaments take place?

The Racers Eseries will kick off the tournament series from Friday, April 26 until Sunday, May 19 with events to take place both online and in person. Ten gamers from this sim racing-based competition will make it through to the Women’s Esports Finals.

Those hoping to compete in the Soccer Eseries will unfortunately have to wait a little longer for exact dates to be unveiled. The football esports tournament will see four gamers through to the Women’s Esports Finals.

The date for the Women’s Esports Finals will also be announced later this year, once both tournaments have found their winners. The final will be hosted live and streamed directly from Sky headquarters.

Here’s how to sign up

Those interested in participating in the tournaments can find more information on Sky’s website at www.sky.com/broadband/gaming. Entrants must live in the UK and be 18 or over.