UNT esports program to set up all-female VALORANT team

DENTON, Texas — When you glance across the University of North Texas’ esports facility, you’ll be able to to find the entire necessities: gaming PCs, headsets, mechanical keyboards or even high-end pc displays.

But, something you’ll be able to additionally to find is a most commonly male program.

In truth, out of the program’s 23 avid gamers, simplest two are girls. And it is a pattern no longer distinctive to UNT.

“Honestly, it’s a black mark on esports,” Dylan Wray, assistant director for UNT Esports, informed WFAA.

Wray believes it has to do with the poisonous environments girls care for in on-line video games.

“Women face a slew of obstacles, especially when they talk online. They’re subject to online bullying, harassment and even the misperception that men are better at playing video games,” Wray mentioned.

The on-line harassment has a tendency to lead girls to forestall speaking in aggressive video games, which is a pivotal a part of competing, in accordance to Wray.

And in case you ask freshman Brenda Cervantes about her reports taking part in on-line, she would wholeheartedly believe how poisonous voice communications can get.

Cervantes is new to the college’s esports program and used to be drawn to it by means of her love of gaming whilst rising up.

She informed WFAA she grew up taking part in video video games together with her 4 brothers or even stored up her first paycheck from her first process to purchase a pc in 2021.

But, whilst her love of gaming stays, she mentioned she’s had firsthand revel in with the darker aspect of aggressive on-line video games.

“I don’t think there has ever been a day where I don’t get some type of backlash for being a woman,” Cervantes informed WFAA.

“It’s always a very sexist comment, very misogynistic, or a very sexualized comment towards me. It’s really disgusting, but I’ve learned to just cope with it,” she added.

Cervantes mentioned the easiest way she’s been in a position to deal with those scenarios is thru muting or blockading avid gamers who’re making the feedback.

But that may simplest pass thus far.

“It’s very difficult, and it’s very common, unfortunately,” she mentioned. “[Comments] like ‘go back to the kitchen. Why are you playing video games? This is for men, women shouldn’t be on this game… the reason we’re losing is because a woman is on our team.'”

“Then there are sexualized comments, like ‘what’s your Snapchat? Would like to get some nudes,'” Cervantes added.

The UNT freshman desires to let the arena know that ladies can play simply in addition to males at aggressive video games.

But she, along side Wray and a beneficiant donor, additionally don’t need feminine avid gamers to have to simply deal with the harassment.

For the primary time, the UNT esports program could have a devoted girls’s team for the sport VALORANT.

“We felt that our program didn’t fully represent the University of North Texas. [Women] have a lot of obstacles to overcome to make it to the high competitive level,” Wray mentioned.

With the assistance of a UNT alum, the college is taking a look to set an instance for different faculties with esports methods.

The program partnered with alum and proprietor of Plano-based RGB CustomPC Holly Millay to set up 5 scholarships for the brand new VALORANT team, which could have 5 avid gamers.

“There’s a lot of allies that want to make this a reality. It’s not just one or two folks, there’s a lot of people that want to see this happen,” Wray mentioned.

Right now, the program has groups for the video games League of Legends, Overwatch and Rocket League.

The plan is to have the VALORANT team up and operating by means of the autumn 2023 semester.

“It’s time we have better representation in esports, and at the end of the day, we want people to have all the same games [and] have fun doing it,” Wray added.

Cervantes mentioned she desires to be a part of the alternate taking place within the esports program.

“I hope for younger people… I can just become a beacon of what they can be and should be doing,” she mentioned.

It’s inspiration that will likely be welcomed for a brand new era of Mean Green avid gamers.