British esports organisation Guild Esports and Sky Broadband have launched a grassroots women’s Rocket League competition.
The Rocket League Boost Championship will see women’s teams compete for £5000 in prize money. Qualifiers will commence on August 5th with the league open to women gamers who are looking to go pro.
The league will invite four ‘elite European teams’ to compete, with four qualification places also available. Scheduled to play two games each week, the top four teams will be awarded a share of its £5,000 prize pool.
In terms of content, Guild will broadcast a round-up show each week on Guild Twitch and Twitter (X) channels. The show, which will first be aired on August 25th, will highlight the league’s best moments and matches from the week.
The event is part of Guild’s wider collaboration with Sky UK signed last year. When the partnership was announced, it was revealed the deal would be centred around three key components: providing esports competitions for Sky VIP, delivering esports performance and coaching, and providing greater opportunities for women in esports.
Earlier this year the two companies launched ‘No Room for Abuse’, a campaign that raised awareness of the verbal abuse women gamers face. The agreement also saw Guild launch a women’s Rocket League team.
According to a release, the league will be held in a safe online space for women. This will involve implementing safeguarding procedures and including women and non-binary staff to run the competition.
Jasmine Skee, CEO of Guild Esports, commented: “Ensuring that we’re supporting and nurturing womens esports is a huge priority for us here at Guild.”
“Boost Championship is just one of our many ongoing commitments alongside our partner Sky Broadband, to the development of womens’ esports, and to making the Sky Guild Gaming Centre a safe space for diverse gamers of all backgrounds.”
Rocket League, which has an established female esports scene, has seen several new women’s esports tournaments spring up recently. DreamHack announced a $20,000 (~£16,000) women’s tournament, Raidiant launched year-long women’s esports programme, and Ally Financial launched its own tournament as part of a partnership with Rocket League Esports.
The new tournaments come after a dramatic period where Women’s Car Ball, previously the only regular women’s esports tournament, had to shut down due to not paying staff. Shortly after, the tournament was acquired by Gamers First (G1).
