Fragbite Masters is entering it’s third season and the cash bounty for this years tournament is up to 42 000 dollars.
But this is also the year when Bad Monkey Gaming as the first female team ever will enter the tournament, facing off against all of the world’s best players in competitive play for the first time.
– If we start strong it could become an advantage for us. We’ve got nothing to lose but the other teams will view it as losing their pride if we beat them, Julia ”Juliano” Kiran says.

Even though eSports on paper are totally gender neutral and a field in which men and women can compete on equal ground, the scene is far from equal. According to Swedish organisation Goodgame, up to 90 percent of professional players are male, and historically tournaments have been all male affairs.
That is, up until now.

”Incredible to be invited”

When Fragbite presented the third season of their Fragbite Masters this september, the Copenhagen Games and ESWC champions Bad Monkey Gaming were listed as one of the invited teams. It will mark the first time they compete outside of the female scene in a highly prestigious event.
– It feels incredible to be invited and we’re really looking forward to it. Hopefully we can put on a good performance even though we’ve never competed or played against one of the top teams before, Kiran says.

”Will be a fun experience”

Immediately after the announcement, voices over the internet raised the question why BMG were invited over one of the other top teams out there, like the Norwegian team London Conspiracy. But that’s not something Kiran and her teammates are especially concerned about.
– There are always teams who deserve a spot more than another team when there are so few spots. We were probably invited because Fragbite saw that we’ve performed well individually and that we’ve dominated the female scene. We’re gonna do what we do best, and that’s a good start. The top teams have never given us a chance to practice against them before, so it will mainly be a fun experience.

Do you think your participation in this tournament will help make the scene more equal in the future?

– If we keep playing in the mixed tournaments and perform well, that might happen. But it’s not gonna be entirely equal until a number of active and serious female players start playing as much as the guys are. That’s why we still need female tournaments, to get more players into the game.

”We’ve got nothing to lose”

Now, Juliano and her Bad Monkey Gaming crew will practice as hard as they can up until they enter Fragbite Masters group play October 11-12. There, they will face some of the hardest opponents out there in the shape of Katowice champions Virtus.Pro and french top team Titan, plus another not yet named team. But according to Juliano, they might just surprise and turn some heads.
– On a good day we can cause an upset, if we’re not too nervous or psyched. Since people in the scene generally look down on girls it can play to our advantage if we start out strong. We haven’t got anything to lose, but the male teams will view it as losing their pride if we beat them.
– No matter how it turns out, we hope to have a great tournament and get some experience.

”No need to divide because of gender”

Fragbite boss Pontus Eskilsson says that selecting Bad Monkey Gaming for a spot in the tournament was an easy choice.
– We looked at several European teams and Bad Monkey Gaming stood out in the way that they’ve won everything they’ve played in. Plus, every tournament nowadays has the same teams in it. In the end, it’s not gonna be fun watching. How many times have we seen NiP against Titan, for example?

When you announced the lineup, you took some flak for inviting them. What’s your view on that?

– Personally I don’t see why we need to divide tournaments because of gender. In the end we all have the same basis; a computer, an internet connection, the love of the game and the gear. The reactions were expected but that’s what happens when you start shaking things up.