Riot is surprising the Valorant community with FTW Summer Showdown, an all-women Valorant tournament with a $50,000 prize pool.
Leveling the Playing Field
The North America Ignition Series was set to end after Pop Flash, but Riot had a surprise waiting. A new tournament aimed to bring eyes to the underrepresented group in esports. The tournament will take place over three days, beginning on Sep. 11 at 5 PM EST. The event was originally set at eight teams competing for $10,000 however, it expanded to 12 teams and $50,000 after teaming up with Nerd Street Gamers, Spectacor Gaming, T1 Gaming & Entertainment, and G FUEL. The tournament will bring exposure not to the top female gamers in Valorant, but also for the aspiring amateurs.
“The VALORANT Ignition Series is all about showcasing the best talent of our community, and we want to use our platform to celebrate those who do great things,” said Anna Donlon, Executive Producer of VALORANT at Riot Games. “Competing as a female in games is a daunting task for many reasons, so when we heard of Nerd Street Gamers’ and Spectacor Gaming’s FTW Summer Showdown, we knew we wanted to throw our support behind the tournament and elevate it to the level of our VALORANT Ignition Series.”
On Sep. 5, the qualifier tournament dictated which four amateur teams will be moving on to face the top eight this weekend. Teams at FTW Summer Showdown are composed of content creators, amateur, and professional players, boasting more diversity than any other Ignition Series event so far. This is one of the largest prize pools for an all-women esports event. Competitive Valorant is in its infancy, a tournament like this promotes diversity for future tournaments. Matches take place from Sep. 11-13 starting at 5 PM EST on Nerd Street Gamers’ Twitch channel.
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