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In New York, a fan called out to the Gen.G Fortnite team while they were walking into the YouTube Creator Lounge, an area set up amid the theme park-like atmosphere at the Fortnite World Cup.
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Photo: Gen.Gįans want to support women competing at the highest level, like Gen.G, and to see themselves in top Fortnite players. Tina “TINARAES” Perez, Madison “maddiesuun” Mann, Carlee “Carlee” Gress, and Hannah “Hannah” Reyes at the Fortnite World Cup Finals in New York. But despite that, women weren’t competing in the solos and duos events at the Fortnite World Cup. In March, developer Epic Games told Engadget that its female player base at the time was estimated at “roughly 35 percent.” Women are playing the game - and not just casually: women are competing in Fortnite at its highest levels. The Fortnite World Cup was a testament to that: Arthur Ashe Stadium was filled with men and women, with families, with people young and old. “I want to be the role model that I never had for these people.”įortnite, like colorful first-person shooter Overwatch, has one of the more diverse fan bases in the industry. “I never had growing up in the e-sports scene,” Perez said. (Multiple female players competed in the Celebrity Pro-Am, including Soleil “Ewok” Wheeler, a 13-year-old player who announced her signing to top e-sports team Faze Clan during the event.) Though the women from Gen.G, who play together in two separate duos teams, didn’t compete at the event, it was important for them to be there. Out of the nearly 200 players that participated in the Fortnite World Cup’s solo and duos events - 100 players in each, though some qualified for both competitions - no female players qualified to play in the main event. None of Gen.G’s players were at the event to compete. The women of Gen.G’s Fortnite team were in New York City for the Fortnite World Cup Finals, the highly anticipated $30 million event that was held at Arthur Ashe Stadium in Queens, a 23,000-seat tennis stadium best known as the home of the US Open. Hannah, who’s 17, is still in high school and lives at home. Three of them live in Los Angeles and train in Fortnite at Gen.G’s North American headquarters. Tina Perez, Madison Mann, Carlee Gress, and Hannah Reyes - known online as TINARAES, maddiesuun, Carlee, and Hannah - had never been to New York City before.