EE AND EXCEL ESPORTS SET TO HOST FIRST-EVER WOMEN’S TOURNAMENT

WOMEN'S CUP (1)

EXCEL ESPORTS and EE are set to host Insomnia’s first-ever all women’s tournament, across September 7-9
16 teams will be competing playing VALORANT for a stake of the £10,000 prize pool
The final two matches will be co-hosted by EXCEL’s VALORANT content creator Daniela “Jupi” Gradl, alongside one of Insomnia’s casters
Registrations are open now and can be done through Challenger Mode
Tickets for Insomnia71 are also available for purchase now

15th August, London: EE, together with British competitive gaming culture brand EXCEL ESPORTS will be continuing their long-standing partnership to host the first-ever all-women’s esports tournament at UK gaming festival, Insomnia71 this September. The VALORANT Women’s Cup will see the nation's top emerging gaming talent going head-to-head for their stake of the £10,000 prize pool in a teams-based VALORANT tournament.

Set to begin on Thursday 7th September, the three-day event will be taking place at Insomnia the Gaming Festival at the NEC in Birmingham, UK. Across the event, up to 80 players split across 16 teams will play in a series of edge-of-your-seat VALORANT matches powered by EE Full Fibre broadband, culminating in the final two matches taking place on the Esports Stage at Insomnia the Gaming Festival on Saturday, 9th September.

The landmark tournament marks another milestone in EXCEL and EE’s commitment to nurture the next generation of women in gaming. All women based in the UK over the age of 16, are encouraged to sign up and participate, in the hopes of securing their share of the £10,000 prize pool.

The final two games of the tournament will be co-hosted by EXCEL content creator Daniela “Jupi” Gradl - most notably known for competing in CS:GO, before moving to EXCEL’s VCT Game Changers VALORANT roster - alongside one of Insomnia’s casters. EXCEL’s Game Changers all-women VALORANT team was created to empower and inspire the next generation of women in esports, compromising of exceptional talent including Cornelia ‘Neli’ Johansson, India ‘cataLina’ Dubourg, Safaa ‘Purii’ Baydi, and Camille ‘Luzia’ Millet.

Attendees at Insomnia71 can visit EXCEL and EE at the entrance to the Esports and LAN Party Hall, where they can attendees can obtain EE Advocacy Cards, obtaining their very own VALORANT themed trading card, in a similar vein to Pokémon trading cards. Additionally, guests can meet prestigious EXCEL members such as Fortnite content creator Jackson “Rezhexx” Bradbury, and one of the most successful FIFA players of all time, Spencer “Gorilla” Ealing.

This tournament showcases the ongoing partnership between EXCEL and EE that is set to continue until 2025 - marking one of the longest brand partnerships in esports history. The partnership also sees EE’s branding featured on all kit worn by EXCEL players. EE also continues to help EXCEL’s teams train at their HQ by providing world-class connectivity, backed by the UK’s best network.

Mark Carter, Commercial Director, EXCEL ESPORTS comments: “Together with EE, we are thrilled to host the first-ever all-women’s tournament at Insomnia71! Our overarching mission is to create a safer and more inclusive gaming community for everyone, and we believe the VALORANT Women’s Cup is the perfect platform to showcase the nation’s emerging women’s gaming talent. We look forward to welcoming and supporting all participants across the weekend!”

Christian Thrane, MD for Marketing at EE, comments: “We are committed to making gaming as inclusive as possible, using our platforms and partnerships to nurture the next generation of women in gaming and this tournament is another step in this journey. We hope this tournament inspires more women gamers to get involved with esports”.

Registrations for the tournament are open now through Challenger Mode. Sign-ups will only be available to women UK residents over the age of 16. Tickets for Insomnia71 are also available for purchase now.

-ENDS-

About EXCEL ESPORTS

Headquartered in Shoreditch, London, EXCEL ESPORTS is a British competitive gaming culture brand founded in 2014. The organisation fields top-class gaming talents across three of the world's biggest game titles, VALORANT, League of Legends and FIFA. EXCEL is also one of the ten founding partners of the League of Legends EMEA Championship, Europe's most-watched esports league.

The organisation also carries industry-leading partners including FTSE 100 companies JD Sports and EE as well as financial health partner HSBC UK.

For additional information, visit www.xl.gg and find EXCEL on social media:

Twitter: @EXCEL

Instagram: @excel_esports

YouTube: EXCEL

For media requests please contact excel@swiperightpr.com

About EE

EE runs the UK's biggest and fastest mobile network, offering superfast connections in more places than any other operator. EE brought the first 4G network to the UK in October 2012 and launched the UK’s first 5G network in May 2019.

EE’s mobile network has received extensive independent recognition, including being named the UK’s no.1 5G network by RootMetrics® in 2020 and 2021, and the UK's best overall network by RootMetrics® every year since 2014, as well as being named Network of the Year at the 2022 Mobile Industry Awards.

As well as offering mobile services to consumers and small and medium businesses, EE also provides home and business broadband using both 4G and fixed line connections.

EE is committed to being number one for service in the industry and has over 400 stores across the UK. EE remains the only mobile provider to answer 100% of customer calls in the UK and Ireland and was recognised as the UK’s Best Large Contact Centre by the UK Customer Experience Awards 2018 and Welsh Contact Centre Awards 2019. EE was awarded The Sunday Times’ Best 100 Companies to Work for in 2018 and 2019, as well as being named Best Employer 2018 by the European Contact Centre & Customer Service awards.

In 2022, BT announced that EE would become the lead flagship consumer brand on a mission to create the most personal, customer-focused brand in the UK. EE and BT are joining forces to work as one to better take on what’s next in the world of connectivity and technology, working together to continue to innovate, doing a better job for customers and the nation, now and in the future.

EE is part of BT’s Consumer business unit which provides products and services to all of BT’s consumer customers in the UK. Follow us on:

Facebook at: www.facebook.com/ee

Twitter at: www.twitter.com/ee

YouTube at: www.youtube.com/ee

LinkedIn at: www.linkedin.com/company/ee-uk

For more information, please contact M&C Saatchi Talk: ee@mcsaatchi.com

About Insomnia the Gaming Festival:

Insomnia the Gaming Festival is a four-day event offering immersive experiences with hundreds of games available to play throughout the weekend; from the latest releases, VR games, and tabletop to retro classics. The festival also features major grassroots esports tournaments with finals being played live on the main stage, the latest gaming tech, cosplay competitions, plus many creators and voice actors from around the world. Insomnia the Gaming Festival has been running since 1999, taking place twice a year at the NEC Birmingham and is organised by Player1 Events.

Facebook at: www.facebook.com/igfestuk

Twitter at www.twitter.com/igfestuk

Instagram at www.instagram.com/igfestuk

TikTok at www.tiktok.com/igfestuk

Tickets available at www.insomniagamingfestival.com/tickets

Switched On

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