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Like any other sport, esports also sees the issue of women not getting equal opportunities. It is no secret that female gamers have not been provided the required support and resources to enter competitive gaming. Taking this into consideration, we look at a just-concluded PUBG Mobile tournament, the Xo Cup, where an all-girls lineup was invited to participate alongside several Tier A teams from across the country.
It all started after an Instagram story by Sophie "Sen" Chelchowska went viral, stating that there should not be separate, girl-only esports events, which many influencers & professional players reposted.
Let's take a look at statements from women about gender discrimination in the esports community.
Sophie "Sen" Chelchowska: esports manager & women empowerment activist
As a woman, I have faced discrimination in many fields in life, and sadly, I also saw it happen to women around me. There is an issue of structural sexism within societies and communities, and the way of thinking of many people. The standards applied to women are often different than the ones applied to men. When a strong woman is leading, she is considered bossy; but when a man does the same, he is a boss. Gaming and esports are still a boys club in many ways. The gaslighting, lack of representation and toxicity are among a few core issues that women face in the gaming community, which results in a lack of equal opportunities and results. Even the strongest of all can bend under the weight of constant negativity. Many times, women carry the weight of somehow being seen as representative figures of half the population. If a woman has a great result, it's an individual act, but if she doesn't, then she is used as an argument against all women, which doesn't make sense. There are good female and male players; and bad female and male players. Stop judging people based on their gender, and recognise them for their skill. We all have to work towards a healthy ecosystem that will be inclusive and empowering to all people, and will result in the blooming of more talent. Be the change.
Purvi “Sniipu” Jain: Professional PUBG Mobile player
It was in Season 3 that I entered the competitive gaming scenario, and that was a period when people did not accept women in the competitive lobby, let alone in their teams. That was the time I was told things like, “You should be here spectating with us, not playing against these players” and so much more. I was laughed at, made fun of, and if I clutched it, they said I was lucky or the enemy choked. It's been one and a half years of proving myself; that I belong here, and I still feel I’m not accepted or respected by fellow gamers. I have been called a noob, a bot, a “2 kd girl”, “game digger”, “wannabe”, “opportunist” and much more. The reality was different, and nobody bothered to see the hard work and grind. Nobody made me; I made myself and yet I have been told that “they” made you; (“they” referred to my teammates, current as well as past). I have played in multiple teams along with guys, having faced discrimination for being a girl, being told I was not good enough. I worked hard and met people who did see my grind, took the “risk” and believed in me. I really feel a lot more people should start believing in these beautiful and talented stars in the making, and not view these girls as a “risk”. A gamer has no gender, just a mind and skills.
Here's her Instagram handle link.
Krutika Ojha: Professional PUBG Mobile player
Not all of you might know me, for obvious reasons, but I am Krutika from team ARC. I was the only “girl gamer” at the PUBG Mobile India Series (PMIS) 2020, who qualified for the quarterfinals — which is 64 of the best teams in India. My journey till here has not been smooth. Not everyone supported the idea of taking a “girl gamer” in their team, but I guess it was a huge slap on their faces after I got my team a chicken dinner at the PMIS 2020 first round, which gave us a spot in the quarterfinals. So, my competitive journey started when I was approached by a sponsor to join their girls lineup, for which we were getting paid. Everything was new to me, but after some time, things started to fall apart. The sponsors of this community are not as merciful as they seem, and are biased against girls. They kicked two of us out — including me — for some reason, and kept the other two. I was shattered and lost all hope, and decided to leave my love and passion for competitive esports behind. I was so low on confidence that I didn’t even play normal classic matches. I used to come online and see people playing customs and scrims. There was a time when even girl lineups wouldn’t take me in. After some time, I decided to play only for fun. I started playing with my old friends, playing classics only, and got pushed to conqueror during that period. Later, I could not control my regrowing passion for competitive gaming, and asked my friends to just play the T4, T5 scrims casually, and even if we didn’t get a chicken dinner, it was ok. Let’s just play and have fun. They agreed for my happiness, and later, we all started to enjoy playing so much. Then came the PMIS 2020. A day before registrations were ending, we decided to register our team. And here it all started. Without having proper experience, proper T1 knowledge and proper devices, we somehow qualified from the online qualifiers. Then came the Round 1 qualifiers, which were against some well-known Tier 1 teams like Element and IND. We were nervous, as it was our first time. We gave it our best and made the quarterfinals, but that's where it ended, as we missed a semis berth by just three points. But that’s something we took in our stride. So what after the PMIS 2020? Was I recognised? No. Was I given a chance to play the T1 customs after the event? No. People only used to say grind and come back stronger at the PUBG Mobile Club Open (PMCO). But grind? How? Play classics? No that’s just not it. I started streaming because people asked me to, and it became my escape from this cruel world. The 20-30 people who motivate me gave me strength. Everyone should get a proper opportunity to show what they have within them. I started from nowhere and you can too. Let nobody discourage you. If you have the love and passion inside you, it will surely come out in front of the world in some or the other way.
Here's her Instagram handle link.
Noopur Patel: Professional PUBG Mobile Player
The biggest problem that I faced was gaining my parent’s support. Even after qualifying for the PMCO 2019 LAN as an IGL for my team (PAiN Retribution), I didn’t gained any support from them. Today, all I can do is imagine how different my life would have been if I would have gotten than little bit of support from my own parents. I’d love to change the mindset of people around the world about gaming, I want gaming to be looked at as a respectable field
Here's her Instagram handle link.
Zerah "Angela" Gonsalves: Professional eSports caster
As a woman in the Indian esports community for a decade now, I have always felt like an outsider to the industry, mostly due to the fact that there was not much structure when I joined. It's something that has been created over time. Yes, brand collaborations and events coming by were tougher before, and the problems mostly were based on finding the right kind of work for a decent pay. Now, with esports exploding in India, there will of course be problems like other industries, but creating a safe environment is important. Having a proper legal body to be called upon when things go wrong is something that can change the way we look at these issues.
Here's her Instagram handle link.
Monika “Sherlock” Jeph: Professional PUBG Mobile player
I started taking PUBG Mobile seriously when I realised how much scope there is in esports. I really enjoyed playing this game, and it as a medium for me to enter the esports space. And so, I started grinding towards my goals. When I was first approached to be in a team, i was told I would be in the playing four, and I happily joined them. But within weeks, I realised they had barely called me to play and, over time, made me a substitute player. Eventually, I left. I personally feel that girls are only seen as a way to get more attention in the community, or from the audience. People hire female content creators to promote their organisations, but when it comes to esports, no matter how good a girl plays, they won’t consider her as a potential part of their roster. I really hope for a day when people start getting opportunities based on their talent, and not their gender, which is just a part of our identity but not something to completely be judged by.
Here's her Instagram handle link.
Kriti "Mountain" Arora: Professional PUBGM player
The issue that I faced as a competitive female gamer is that all conversations are toxic, mostly related to girls playing in a good T1 lobby. The change I really want to see happen is at the grassroots level. Discrimination begins at our homes. Parents need to treat their kids equally, and society needs to stop limiting kids from doing stuff which is supposedly gender-specific. It needs to be open to them doing what they want to do. Once we set that mindset straight, I don’t think women in gaming will face the issues that they are facing today.
Here's her Instagram handle link.
Here's a statement from the man behind the invitation of an all-girls' PUBG Mobile team, Cascade, for the Xo Cup — Himanshu "Bababunny" Chandnani, an esports consultant
I believe that gaming is a sport of skills, where masculinity should not discriminate players. Recently, I saw a post from Sophie "Sen" Chelchowska stating that there should an end to girls-only tournaments in esports. I really liked the idea and thought of doing something to kill this taboo. It's not that easy, because the main challenge is equal opportunities given to a girl gamer. So, to start off, we had an ongoing PUBG Mobile event powered by Esports Xo, where all the PUBG Mobile World League (PMWL)-qualified teams from India were participating. I suggested to the Founders of Esports Xo (Rohit Raj and Utsav Umang) to invite an all-girls team, just to start things off and make other girls believe that they belong on this stage. They were very supportive and invited an all-girls lineup, Cascade. This is just the start, and we will see a lot more girls participate in the future. Hopefully, we will see female players representing nations at the global level soon as well.
Here's his Instagram handle link.
