Team Liquid, one of the most recognizable names in eSports, just signed an all-female "VALORANT" team from Brazil, composed of members of the team formerly called Gamelanders Purple, reports DotESports.
The team features Paola "drn" Caroline, Natália "daiki" Vilela, Ana Beatriz "naxy" Gomes, Paula "bstrdd" Nagiul, and Natália "nat1" Meneses. Here is Team Liquid's tweet officially announcing the signing:
🇧🇷 Uma nova história. Uma nova oportunidade de alcançar o topo 🔵⚪
— Team Liquid BR 🇧🇷 (@TeamLiquidBR) January 9, 2022
🇺🇸 A new story. A new opportunity to reach for the top 🔵⚪ pic.twitter.com/hYheLY2dFF
They will be joined by coach Andre "palestra" Gomes. This news comes after another all-female roster from Brazil, G2 Gozen, was signed by G2 eSports, according to TheSportsRush.
With the signing, Team Liquid has a new roster to field in the upcoming VCT Game Changers, which will be one of several events to kick off the 2022 "Valorant" season.
Team Liquid CEO Steve Arhancet seems quite excited about the newest addition to their roster, claiming that the women have worked very hard to fine-tune their skills to "show the world just what they're capable of."
With this signing, the eSports giant also further solidified its foothold in the Brazilian market. This new "Valorant" team is the latest addition to their roster consisting of "Free Fire," "Rainbow Six Siege," and the massively popular battle royale title "Fortnite."
The country's competitive gaming scene is flourishing recently, with SambaDigital calling it "a sleeping giant." Twitch viewership of popular eSports there is increasing, with the Brazilian gaming industry earning $1.5 billion in 2019. Experts also predict that this sector will grow by a further 5.3% this year.
"Valorant," however, is not the most-followed game there. That honor goes to "League of Legends," which is followed by "CS:GO," "Rainbow Six Siege," and "Free Fire."
New Team Liquid 'Valorant' Team: Just How Good Are They?
The short answer: pretty good. Dominant, even. And this is made clear by just how the team has performed so far in their most recent competitions.
Gamelanders Purple, according to VLR.gg, was ranked an impressive 6th in the Brazilian Game Changers Circuit with a 31-2 win-loss record. All in all, the squad won 13 tilts, while also finishing twice in the Top 32 of VCT 2021 Brazil Stage Two Challengers Open Qualifiers.
They have proven to be an excellent signing so far, but the weight of expectations are heavy considering Team Liquid's winning pedigree.
Women In eSports And Gaming: How Has The Situation Fared?
Major eSports franchises have been signing all-female teams left and right recently. But this doesn't really mean that the situation and bias against female gamers are gone.
This was made evident in a game survey by Lenovo, which showed that most girl gamers pose as men online in order to avoid being harassed.
One controversial situation involved Twitch streamer Grenade Queen, who made headlines after posting a video of her being bombarded by sexist insults while playing "Halo Infinite."
This wasn’t the future for @xbox live we envisioned. As a community and with the help of @Microsoft this needs to be highlighted and stopped. It will take teamwork between players, devs, and console manufacturers to change this and it’s time. It’s past time. https://t.co/hVPHDvESVP
— Seamus Blackley (@SeamusBlackley) December 20, 2021
The situation in competitive gaming might be improving for women, but it still has a long way before it becomes completely inclusive.
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This article is owned by Tech Times
Written by RJ Pierce
