G2 Esports is launching an all-female team named Hel
(Picture: G2 Esports)G2 Esports is launching a new all-female League of Legends team, named Hel, made up of prominent women in the esports industry.
With the launch of this new team, the esports organisation is doubling down on its support for women gamers and aims to break down the gender barriers that exist in gaming.
Five gamers will compete in Riot’s main title: Olivia “Olizia” Nnenna Calistus, 20, AgnÄ “Karina” IvaškeviÄiÅ«tÄ, 22, Alena “TIFA” Maurer, 28, Maya “Caltys” Henckel, 20, and Ève “Colomblbl” Monvoisin, 23.
Following the forming of G2 Gozen VALORANT in 2021, this new team is part of G2’s goal to empower men and women to compete alongside each other in mixed leagues and to create more role models for female gamers.
Carlos ‘Ocelote’ Rodriguez, founder and CEO of G2 Esports, comments: "We took VALORANT by storm with the G2 Gozen team, which includes five of the most gifted and entertaining players who happen to be females.
“You should expect nothing less from G2 Hel. We will dominate competitively, all while having fun the G2 way.”
G2 says it aims to hire “the best and highest performing gamers in the industry to compete at the highest level possible,” regardless of gender identity.
The team name Hel is inspired by the daughter of Loki, following G2’s new team-naming system based on the names of female warriors and mythological figures.
Team member Maya “Caltys” Henckel said: “It’s no secret that women are extremely under-represented in esports and gaming in general. As a young girl, I didn’t have any female role models within the gaming space to look up to and aspire to be, which was hard.
“Coupled with the fact that, as a woman, I’ve had my fair share of negative experiences in championships, ranging from gender-inequity slurs thrown at me by competition to negative online groups made about me during official matches.”
She added: “While the female scene in League of Legends is still relatively small, G2 are taking a leap in picking up our roster and paving the way for more to follow. Having G2, one of the biggest Esport organisations in the world, invest in the scene helps show the world that there are women that play the game on a competitive level.
“I hope that this will open more opportunities for women to enter esports and inspire more young girls to start playing competitively.”
Team member Alena “TIFA” Maurer added: “Joining G2 is literally my childhood dream come true. And I get to do it with the best teammates and staff I could ask for. This is a huge milestone that breaks stereotypes, full of opportunity and possibility for female gamers and the esports sector in general – one we’ve all been hoping and waiting for for a long time.
“This simultaneously encourages the next generation of female gamers to embrace their dreams without restrictions or limits which will, hopefully, see more and more female pro-gamers coming through.”
