Nerd Street Gamers and Spectacor Gaming Partner to Host Largest All-Women VALORANT Tournament on September 12

The FTW Summer Showdown Showcases Female Talent in the New Emerging Esport and Features a $10K Prize Pool Sponsored by T1 and G FUEL

PHILADELPHIA – AUGUST 31, 2020 – Nerd Street Gamers, the national network of esports facilities and events dedicated to powering competitive opportunities for gamers, and Spectacor Gaming, Comcast NBCUniversal’s division that owns and operates the Philadelphia Fusion, are partnering to host the largest all-women VALORANT tournament on Saturday, September 12 at 3PM ET.  Sponsored by T1 Entertainment & Sports and G FUEL, the FTW Summer Showdown will consist of eight all-female teams that will compete for a piece of the $10,000 prize pool. 

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“We want to give more women a seat at the table in this industry - both for competitors and for women seeking a career in esports,” said Paige Funk, Senior Marketing Director at Nerd Street Gamers. “We’re excited to team up with Spectacor Gaming, T1, and G FUEL to host our first all-women VALORANT invitational and spotlight female gamers who are making strides in the industry. From the players to the logistical staff, this tournament is a testament to the power that women have to drive the gaming industry forward today and in the future.”

The FTW Summer Showdown tournament is part of a larger inclusion initiative, FTW: For The Women.  Spectacor Gaming launched its women in gaming resource group in 2019 to connect, support, and inspire the growth and advancement of women across all sectors of the gaming landscape.  FTW has expanded its partnership with Nerd Street Gamers to help foster a dynamic amateur to pro pipeline – furthering its mission to champion an inclusive space for women and their allies by empowering them through networking, professional growth opportunities, and tournaments that help drive the industry forward.

“Since FTW’s inception, we knew we wanted to create unique opportunities for women to showcase their talent through esports tournaments and inspire the next generation of gamers,” said Spectacor Gaming’s Meredith Weber, Co-Founder of FTW.  “We’re thrilled to expand our partnership with Nerd Street Gamers to power our first all-women tournament and were drawn to VALORANT as our first title since many of the game’s core values align with FTW’s mission, like being triumphant through teamwork, committing to respect and empathy, and protecting your team and community.”

The FTW Summer Showdown features seven professional and content creator teams that will be announced at a later date, with one spot remaining open for an amateur team to fill via a qualifier event.  GALorants, a women’s VALORANT Discord community, is hosting the qualifier tournament on Saturday, September 5 where competing teams will have the opportunity to secure a portion of the $1,000 prize pot and the winning team will face off against top female VALORANT players and streamers in the official $10,000 Showdown on September 12.

The qualifiers are open to women and those interested in competing can register here or tune in to watch on Saturday, September 5 at 6:15pm ET on twitch.tv/nerdstgamers.

“Since VALORANT’s explosive release earlier this year, we’ve seen the new title’s competitive ecosystem flourish,” said Kelsey Rowley, Communications Manager at T1.  “As an industry, we have the unique opportunity to engage, develop, and provide opportunities for women to succeed at all levels within the VALORANT community from the ground up – and this is just the beginning.”

“Spectacor Gaming and Nerd Street Gamers have been leading a powerful initiative to elevate women in gaming, and we’re honored to support their efforts as a partner of their first FTW tournament,” said Cliff Morgan, Founder and CEO at G FUEL. “We’re looking forward to a memorable event and milestone for women gamers.”

VALORANT fans can tune in to the FTW Summer Showdown competition on Saturday, September 12 at 3PM ET on twitch.tv/nerdstgamers. Broadcast production and tournament operations will be powered by Nerd Street Gamers. 

About Spectacor Gaming
Spectacor Gaming is a North American gaming and esports organization that is a division of Comcast NBCUniversal. Spectacor Gaming owns and operates the Philadelphia Fusion, which competes in Activision Blizzard’s Overwatch League and is the first professional esports organization to represent the City of Philadelphia. In addition, Spectacor Gaming has created FTW: For The Women, a resource group dedicated to connecting, supporting, and inspiring the growth and advancement of women across all sectors of the gaming landscape.  Spectacor Gaming is owned and operated by Comcast Spectacor, a professional sports and live entertainment company based in Philadelphia and an invested partner of T1 Entertainment & Sports and Nerd Street Gamers.

About T1 Entertainment & Sports
T1 Entertainment & Sports is a global esports joint venture that owns and operates the ultra-successful T1 League of Legends (LoL) Champions Korea (LCK) team, along with teams and players in competitive gaming segments that include Valorant, Fortnite, Dota 2, PUBG, Super Smash Bros., Hearthstone, Apex Legends, Overwatch, and FIFA Online 4. The T1 LoL LCK team, previously known as SK Telecom T1, has won three LoL World Championships (2013, 2015, 2016).  T1 unites esports enthusiasts around the world through its gaming culture and lifestyle, content creation, entertainment and merchandise. SK Telecom and Comcast Spectacor launched T1 in October 2019 and have global operations based in Seoul, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles. For more information on T1, please visit T1.gg.

About G FUEL
As The Official Energy Drink of Esports®, G FUEL provides gamers with a healthier, more performance-driven alternative to standard energy drink products. With an ever-expanding, sugar-free product lineup that includes a powdered energy formula, ready-to-drink cans, a hydration formula, and edible energy crystals, G FUEL has firmly established itself as the market leader in the gamer energy drink industry.

With over 200,000 5-star Shopper Approved Ratings, a shipping network that spans over 125 countries, a newly-forged nationwide retail campaign, and a global social media footprint of over 400 million followers, G FUEL maintains the industry's largest and most passionate community of fans, customers, content creators, and partners. Content creators and partners who include the likes of NoisyButters, FaZe Clan, Luminosity Gaming, PewDiePie, Summit1G, NICKMERCS, xQc, KSI, Roman Atwood, Logic the rapper, Bethesda Game Studios, HYPEMAKER, DXRacer, Scuf Gaming, SteelSeries, and Digital Storm.

Join the movement today at meritpd.top and follow us on social media @GFuelEnergy.

Media Contacts:
Brownstein Group on behalf of
Nerd Street Gamers
[email protected]
(215) 735-3470

Kelsey Rowley
Spectacor Gaming
[email protected]
(267) 254-3757 

G FUEL Press
[email protected]

G FUEL Distribution and Wholesale
[email protected]