Women in Esports Ones to Watch – Top 4 Players

This International Women’s Day, Women in Esports are running a week-long campaign (Centre Stage) to highlight existing and upcoming talent in the industry.

In this piece, we look at a few individuals, recommended to us, who are making waves as players, and share some of their achievements in their career so far.

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Pronouns: She / Her

Role: Secretary of Oxford University Gaming and Esports Society

Laura said: “I’m currently an undergraduate student in my third year studying Classics at the University of Oxford. I’ve always been passionate about gaming since I was growing up and my dad taught me how to play my first fps, but joining the society in my first year really helped spiral this passion into more of a career path. Through my society, I joined the Women and non-binary LoL NUEL tournaments, and the friendly community there inspired me to take a leadership role within my own society.

“Definitely the biggest achievements I’ve had so far are helping to run the very successful Oxford vs Cambridge Esports Varsity 2022, my role mostly involving community and player management and social media content, and the opportunity to take part in the Intel FutureGen 2023 programme.  I’m also still a very active player in League of Legends – I placed top 8 in the first Riot official female tournament, Rising Stars, last year and am currently part of the Fourth Wall NLC organisation and part of the Women in Games France League of Legends Incubator programme.”

Quote from Lauryn at Esports Coven: “I’ve recommended Laura because she’s made an amazing contribution to women and non-binary university esports over the past few years. Laura began W&NB NUEL as a gold support player, but decided to flex to top lane for her team. Her passion and dedication has seen her become a high Diamond top lane player, which is an amazing achievement. She is now also a part of Women in Games France’s incubator programme, a substitute for Fourth Wall’s (a British esports org) Academy team playing in NLC Div 3, and part of the Intel FutureGen program.”

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Pronouns: She / Her

Role: Support Player, League of Legends, for Fourth Wall Academy

Tabby said: “I’ve been playing LoL since 2011. I started getting more into playing competitively at university, when I played in the NUEL; I then moved onto Belong Gaming Arena tournaments. After that, I somehow got involved in the UK esports scene and started working my way up, into finally playing NLC in Spring 2022. I also placed 5th in Rising Stars more recently with Lionscreed. Nowadays I’m playing with Fourth Wall in NLC Division 3 and hope to promote to Division 2!”

Quote from Lauryn at Esports Coven: “Tabby is likewise an amazing League of Legends player, having consistently finished high elo over the years. She took part in the Rising Stars tournament with Lionscreed, and secured a top 6 finish. She is a part of Fourth Wall’s Academy Team, as their main lineup support. Tabby has also been pivotal in the development of the Coven Discord server. As a mod, Tabby has been so helpful in recognising and understanding what our members want and love, which has resulted in our thriving community.”

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Pronouns: She / They

Role: Overwatch 2 Player, BTEC Esports Level 3 Extended Student at Sheffield United Community College

Lily said: “My name is Lily, I am 17 years old and I enjoy playing competitive video games. I realised I enjoyed gaming when I got my first gaming console when I was 6 years old, the Wii. I fell in love with the competitiveness and adrenaline which came with gaming. I knew since then that I wanted to dedicate my life to gaming, and that became possible when I found the level 3 BTEC in esports hosted by Sheffield United Community College.

“I found this course through mutual friends and it opened a lot of opportunities for me. I have a couple of achievements such as playing in Valorant tournaments, hitting top 500 in Overwatch and getting recognised as a good player by the community. I want to become a graphic designer designing for top esports publishers and help inspire the future generation of women into knowing it’s ok to be a gamer!”

Quote from James Sellars at Sheffield United Community College: “Lily is an inspiration to us all and is a role model for all young people wanting to enter competitive esports, or learn about the industry itself. Lily studies on our BTEC programme and is flourishing in her studies, despite the learning difficulties that she has. Lily continues to put an outstanding amount of effort into her studies, along with her invaluable role of medic in our Overwatch 2 team.

“Just like in the game, Lily is kind and considerate to all of her peers and is a fantastic example of females thriving within esports. Lily absolutely loves gaming and I have no doubt with her determination, she will continue to break down barriers and provide further opportunities that she most thoroughly deserves!”

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Pronouns: She / Her

Role: Social Media and Marketing for Sheer Cold (Overwatch EU Contenders) and Team Management for 2EZ Esports

Lily said: “I want to work in the industry because it’s something I’ve always wanted to do, working in the gaming sphere has always felt right. It’s really exciting to be able to meet the people in the space and to learn from them. My achievements are being the SMM for the Contenders team SheerCold, esports staff for 2EZ, and Coach for Guardians T2 Halo team.”

Quote from Tyler Wilson at York College: “Lily is a player and team coordinator, and student rep for the York College Vikings and is an outstanding example of a strong and talented leader and coordinator. Lily often helps to liaise issues regarding teams and is a confident whistle-blower to any issues themselves or their peers may face and acts selflessly whenever they have an opportunity to support a peer.

“Lily also plays for the York College Vikings WiE OW2 Team where she acts as Team Captain and the team’s target caller, where Lily keenly listens to the feedback of teammates and considers their feelings in all of their action and inaction. Lily actively inspires and supports her peers inside and outside of the classroom and this space would not be the same without them. They are an incredibly gifted individual and will go far in their future.”

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All of these incredible individuals are making a name for themselves as players in the scene and pushing to make change for other women and marginalised genders in esports.

To find out more about these individuals, and what else Women in Esports is doing for International Women’s Day – follow Women in Esports on Twitter. 

You can also support Women in Esports’ chosen charity, WomanKind Worldwide, during this campaign over on JustGiving.