Projekt Gap, one of the leading esports events organizations and broadcasting companies, announced the start of the League of Legends PATHFINDERS tournament for women.
The rise of women’s esports continues; this time, it has reached League of Legends. There is no doubt that this is great news for the female scene, not only in LoL but in esports in general, as more and more female tournaments are being organized and, as interest increases, the prizes and sponsors will increase.
Projekt Gap announces PATHFINDERS, the new LoL women’s tournament
Through an announcement on Twitter, Projekt Gap announces a new women’s League of Legends tournament, PATHFINDERS.
We’re proud to announce … PATHFINDERS. A new League of Legends Womens event initiative.
Read more: https://t.co/g3tuZBN4Nc pic.twitter.com/FYRlQu7LWS
— PATHFINDERS (@PATHFINDERSeu) April 27, 2023
Projekt Gap said:
“With the launch of PATHFINDERS, we want to help provide a place for the Women’s League of Legends community to gather and grow!”
With the launch of PATHFINDERS, we want to help provide a place for the Women’s League of Legends community to gather and grow!
Introducing the PATHFINDERS discord! A safe place for all the members of this great community. #MakeYourWayhttps://t.co/nG26SaQn4C pic.twitter.com/Bc1BsrnXl9
— PATHFINDERS (@PATHFINDERSeu) April 27, 2023
Riot Games continues to support female esports and marginalized genders fully. Recall that, in the 2022 season, Riot organized the Rising Stars tournament series, which offered women the opportunity to compete against each other in official League of Legends tournaments. However, the women’s League of Legends lacks a permanent and sustainable series, as they have done with the VALORANT Game Changers.
The announcement video notes that the tournament will kick off the weekend of May 27-28. However, the open qualifiers will be played on May 13 and 14.
Each tournament will feature eight teams competing in a single-elimination format with best-of-three (BO3) matches and fighting for a share of the £500 prize money.
Projekt Gap implements a “franchise” model
As has been happening in different esports recently, Projekt Gap has decided to implement a “franchise” or “semi-franchise” model for this PATHFINDERS women’s tournament series. As a result, six women’s teams will sign up to be part of the entire season, while the remaining two slots will have to play the open qualifiers to get their tickets.
The teams that have clinched the “franchise” berth for this year are:
- G2 Hel
- Team Vitality
- BIG Chroma
- Galaxy Racers MENA
- Qlash
- Solary
Undoubtedly, the team to watch in this tournament will be G2 Hel, as these girls won the champion trophy at the Rising Stars, organized by Riot Games in 2022. In addition, G2 Esports is an organization that has had a lot of success recently in other disciplines and even in the VCT Game Changers with G2 Gozen.
Regarding the franchise system, Ali Rashid of Projekt Gap said:
“It’s important for us to support the whole ecosystem. That means the players and the staff looking to build their careers within the space.”
Now, the PATHFINDERS tournaments aim to support everywhere, both the women who play on each team as well as all those who work behind the scenes. In addition, it was also announced that the main tournament (May 27-28) would have five-game broadcasts, and the organizers want the talent conducting the broadcasts to be women.
Header: Projekt Gap