League of Legends: what is the Equal Esports Cup ?

Since 2023, Telekom, in partnership with Riot Games and SK Gaming, has been organising the European League of Legends competition dedicated to women and non-binary players: the Equal Esports Cup (EEC). In 2023, participating teams would go through four Qualifiers throughout the year to collect as many points as possible to finally make it into the Final Four. As fate would have it, it was SK's women's roster - SK Gaming Avarosa - that won this first edition.

In 2024, the format has changed drastically, with eight teams invited to the tournament alongside the two best structures that distinguished themselves during the Qualifiers. While the competition is played online, the grand final will take place on 25 August in front of a live audience at Cologne, for the Gamescon.

The invited teams all come from orgs that are already familiar to the European public: G2 Hel, SK Gaming Avarosa, Vitality Rising Bees, Team GO Aurora, BDS Valkyries, MAD Lions KOI Female, Solary Académie and NNOwO. The two rosters that have entered the 2024 edition of the competition via the Qualifiers are NORD Polaris and Chester Gaming.

There are other initiatives aimed at bringing women and non-binary players to the forefront of the League of Legends esport scene. Some, such as the Pathfinders in 2023 or the Storm Takeover in 2024, seem to be more one-off events, while others, such as the EEC, look set to become permanent fixtures. This is particularly true for the Coupe des Étoiles, which will also be staging its second edition in 2024. As a reminder, some women's and non-binary teams also participate in certain regional second or third division championships.