Published , by Ozzie Mejia
Published , by Ozzie Mejia
While esports circuits and prize pools have grown for games across numerous genres, women's esports is developing at an increasingly rapid pace. DreamHack is beginning to recognize this, as well, and is shining a specific spotlight on the world of women's Counter-Strike. On Tuesday, the organization announced that it would hold a special all-women Showdown tournament during this summer's DreamHack Valencia event in Spain.
Set to be held from July 5-7, eight teams will compete in this CS:GO tournament, where $100,000 will be at stake. Two of those teams will receive invitations, while six others will qualify from the Europe, North America, and Asia regions. The Asia qualifiers will run from June 1-2, while the Europe and NA qualifiers will run June 8-9.
"Inclusivity at our events is a huge part of DreamHack -- we aim to be the esports and gaming festival where all groups feel welcome," said DreamHack AB co-CEO Marcus Lindmark (via ESPN Esports). "DreamHack Showdown is a step to help create inspirational moments for aspiring female esports competitors worldwide."
This is certainly not the first all-women's esports tournament or all-women esports initiative to be unveiled over the past number of years. To name a few examples, Samantha "Persia" Hancock recently founded the XO Academy dedicated to help women in the competitive fighting game world. World Showdown of Esports has hosted a pair of all-female Hearthstone tournaments, featuring some of the top names in the community like Jia Dee and Pathra Cadness. However, the DreamHack Valencia women's CS:GO tournament is arguably the biggest such tournament yet, featuring one of the biggest prize pools so far in a women's esports event.
DreamHack Valencia is the third DreamHack event of the year and will also feature a men's CS:GO tournament, Rainbow Six Siege, and Rocket League. More information can be found on the DreamHack website.