Cloud9 announced that it is introducing a new Valorant team that’s going to have an all-women professional esports roster. To make this happen, the organization partnered with AT&T to sign-up the entire roster of MAJKL. They’re now going to be known as Cloud9 White and are expected to join up with the men’s team, Cloud9 Blue, in Riot’s First Strike tournament.
The roster is composed of:
- Alexis “alexis” Guarrasi
- Annie “Annie” Roberts
- Jasmine “Jazzyk1ns” Manankil
- “Katsumi”
- Melanie “meL” Capone
As MAJKL, the team started competing back in July in various tournaments, getting a 5th-8th place finish in two Counter Logic Gaming tournaments, the Blitz Open Cup and Blitz Cup Pro. They managed to finally get noticed when they took first place in September’s FTW Summer Showdown. The $25,000 prize money the team earned immediately put them in the top teams of total competitive Valorant earnings.
For Cloud9, bringing in the MAJKL roster was not a problem since the organization was always on the lookout for some of the world’s best gaming talent. Considering that both Cloud9 and AT&T have strong values shared around gender equality, it was fortunate the two were able to come together to provide the needed resources, support, and environment for some of the top women in Valorant.
In a post on the Cloud9 website, organization Senior General Manager Gaylen Malone said what stood out for her about this team was “that they had to work hard to perfect their play, find each other, and then compete as a unit.” She added that this talented group of women “displayed so many of the values we have here at C9, both within the game and out of it, and I’m beyond excited to be welcoming them to Cloud9.”
In the same post, AT&T Associate Vice President of Sponsorships & Experiential Marketing Shiz Suzuki said that they are happy to partner with Cloud9 in order to build an esports industry that’s more inclusive. Their goal, Suzuki shared, “is to not only provide value to gamers with AT&T’s products and services, but to also contribute to real, meaningful change in the industry by giving this powerhouse team and other talented women what they need to succeed.”
What about you? Are you excited with this one as we are? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
