Engine Gaming and Media’s (GAME.V) subsidiary UMG Gaming recently launched its first season of the Lady Spartan Pro Series (LSPS), which is a $20,000 Pro Series aimed at giving women who play Halo e-sports a place to build their skills without the presence of toxic leering dudebros.
These are usually proto-incels in their early to mid-twenties angry because they can’t get a date. They almost exclusively live in their mother’s basement, and are almost exclusively children of divorce, so they take their angst and rage out on girl gamers, especially if they’re new and just honing their skills. This is a positive use for the idea of safe spaces. I’m not a fan of bullies of all stripes and dudebros are the worst.
“The goal of the tournament series is to break down the walls that have been unjustly placed in front of female competitors across the esports ecosystem. We are beyond excited to support and uplift the female Halo community. Lastly, we are excited to add partners such as Goodr, Madrinas Coffee, Respawn Products and the Juked App for their commitment to empowering female competitors in esports,” said John DeHart, director of business development at UMG.
Engine provides social sports and esports gaming experiences, as well as data analytics, marketing, advertising and intellectual property for both business to consumer and business to business approaches.
If you’ve ever played any online games you’ve run into the dudebro phenomenon. These are often young men who think they can get a competitive advantage by attacking female players, and sadly enough, they’re usually right. That’s probably why it’s so prevalent. Esports can be especially toxic because there’s money involved and getting underneath a female player’s skin provides a natural trash-talk advantage.
But there are just some girls you can’t shake. UMG’s commitment to Halo’s female community is about building this kind of competitive antifragility while keeping the dudebros out. As such, they’ve welcomed Hayley “Veronickuh” Legros, a Halo competitor and community member, as a community liaison and series planner.
“Game goodr is thrilled to support UMG and the Lady Spartan Pro Series because inclusivity in the gaming space is critical to us. In an industry that was previously dominated by men, organizations like the Lady Spartan Pro Series level the playing field and aid in creating a path for female gamers to go pro,” Stephen Lease, goodr CEO and founder.
UMG is also adding some new sponsors:
- Goodr, a sunglass and eyeglass brand
- Madrina Coffee
- JukedApp, esports chat apparently
- Respawn Products gaming furniture brand
The inaugural season for the Lady Spartan Pro Series will have a $20,000 prize pool across five tournaments.
—Joseph Morton
