While women like Geguri, a former member of the Shanghai Dragons Overwatch professional team, see exceptions, the esports scene has long been dominated by men. Women who try to establish themselves in the industry are often tormented by their respective gambling communities. Cloud9 White, the new show from Cloud9 announced on October 25, is trying to change that and make history as the first female team of Valorant.
As Cloud9 tweeted, Cloud9’s Whitelist included Alexis “alexis” Guarrasi, Annie “AnnieDro” Roberts, Jasmine “Jazzyk1ns” Manankil, Melanie “meL” Capone, and “katsumi”. You have joined two established Valorant teams: Valorant Blue and Valorant Korea. Along with the news, the players were featured in a video where a clip of Valorant’s game was highlighted by each team member.
Cloud9 has export teams for various titles including Fortnite, League of Legends, and Hearthstone. According to GamesBeat, he is taking an important step towards proper representation and inclusion in sport. In May, Cloud9 partnered with Kaiser Permanente to promote mental health awareness among gamers in the United States. Kristen Salvatore, senior vice president of marketing at Cloud9, said in an interview that such a move would spark a greater focus on mental health and inclusion in video game culture.
“At Cloud9 we have experience finding players and employees who belittle other people,” says Salvatore. “If we see you being neglected, we will invest time, attention, and support to help you develop your raw talent.”
Cloud9 member, White meL, supports this mood in a team trailer and said: “I believe that empowering women and supporting marginalized communities is part of their culture.” She was pushed after she realized that her first point of contact with Cloud9 was “women in positions of power”.
Cloud9’s most recent list has the same history. They were originally named MAJKL and their first tournament was the Counter Logic Gaming Blitz Open Cup. The band then starred in the series Valorant Ignition, which starred in Cloud9 and took over the team. They occupy the first place. “We know we are ready,” said Alexis of the race. “We knew we were going to win. We were not too surprised after winning. It just proves that we are ready to compete at a higher level.”
Cloud9 White didn’t wait long before flying the Cloud9 flag. Fans can watch their debut today, October 26th, during qualification for the first shoot of the Riot tournament.
