ESL launches season 2 of it’s all women’s esports league — ESL Impact

ESL Impact, an all women’s CS:GO league, has finished its qualifiers for season 2. ESL, the esports league organization, started Impact as part of their #GGForAll initiative. The main focuses of Impact are to attract more women to CS:GO, create more opportunities, increase awareness and reduce toxicity.

“We work on creating opportunities in all areas where we operate, not only offering opportunities for women players in the ESL Impact tournaments, but also for women that want to pursue a career in esports whether it being as a director or sound engineer for the live show, tournament admin or social media manager etc … ,” said Charlie Sirc, Product Lead, in a press release.

New teams join the league

Along with the new season, some popular esports organizations are announcing their rosters. Among the new additions is Danish esports organization Astralis. In a recent interview, Anders Hørsholt, CEO of Astralis, spoke on the positivity of Impact and their impending roster.

“In Astralis we want to champion the positives of esports and gaming,” said Hørsholt. “On the women’s side, our Brazilian FIFA player Stephanie ‘Teca’ has been a great ambassador for years and I can confirm we will continue our investment in this field. This also goes for CS:GO, and even though we can’t say much right now, we’re really pleased to see the efforts that have gone into the women’s CS:GO scene over the last 12 months – such as ESL Impact Season 1 and the set up of multiple, talented rosters. This is something that will shape the future of esports, and just like in FIFA, very soon we will be officially joining and amplifying the conversation in CS:GO as well.”

Another addition, Evil Geniuses, released their roster via twitter back in mid-August. Nicole LaPointe Jameson, CEO of Evil Geniuses, recently shared her thoughts on joining Impact and the importance of inclusion.

“We’re at a pivotal moment in making esports levelly human where as an industry, we have the opportunity to finally build the women’s game like never before through top tier competitions like the ESL Impact League and the support of pro teams through access to the best coaching, tools and resources,” said Jameson. “Evil Geniuses continues our commitment to supporting these fierce competitors by ensuring they’re operated like every EG team, including practicing against our men’s teams, working in tandem with our industry-leading data and analytics group, and the infrastructure that will help them grow and develop as a team.”

“If we want esports to continue to prosper and reach new heights, we have to be unwavering in our dedication to creating a space that represents the true breadth of the esports community, and that includes giving the best women gamers in the world the platform and resources to crush the competition,” continued Jameson. “The ESL Impact League is another step in that direction, and we’re thrilled to join other top organizations as we create an industry that views women as equals to their male counterparts.”

Finally, esports organization Ninjas in Pyjamas has joined ESL Impact with their newly announced roster.

“NIP is making a monumental move by entering ESL Impact,” said Hicham Chahine, founder and co-CEO of NIP. “It is a step in the right direction, a way for us to showcase that greatness and talent has no bounds.”

ESL Impact’s second regular season begins September 8. For more information on Impact and to keep up with the regular season, check out the league site here.

Originally appeared on: TheSpuzz