[Translation source: http://lol.15w.com/zt/lsj02/]

Why interview a female team?

“Do you know any coaches? My friend is trying to establish a female team. He needs a coach.” One of my good friends in the group asked me in QQ. Are female teams that trendy recently? With this question in mind, I asked some friends that are active in the competitive scene. Through multiple channels, I learned that there are many organizations right now trying to create female teams, including the VG club in LPL. “Maybe two months later there will be a large scale female league.” An insider informed me.

As an old driver in the scene, after learning this information, I started to develop deep interest in the female teams in China. Therefore, I decided to travel to two of China’s most representative female teams, “LLG” and “EBB ESEE”, to find out exactly what is going on.

Before this, I would like to explain why these two teams are the most representative of the scene.

First, LLG was an underdog entering the first season of LongZhu Gaming Queen Invitational. But in the competition, they played harder and harder, eliminating the Master Girl team led by “Miss” (popular player) and entering the finals. In the finals, LLG shoulder the responsibility to resist the Koreans, unfortunately, they finally lost in a 0:2 set to the Korean champions IM Athena, taking the second place. LLG’s jungler, “Ice”, deserves a special mention for her excellent performance—she was called the “female Clearlove” by the netizens.

Now on the topic of team EBB. This team was created by a famous modelling company ESEE, consisted of five girls that came from modelling. Before the match, nicknames such as “flower vase team” and “legs-revealing team” circled around them. Despite this situation, the five girls that were supposed to be active on the fashion runway surprised everyone by breaking into the top 4.

From this perspective, it appears that LLG is more of a male team than a female team, and EBB cannot be more feminine than they are already. Therefore, I believe that these two teams are the most valuable to interview.

LLG, the “Resist Korea” team

Our interview session with LLG was at 11AM in the morning. When our production crew arrived at their team base, the girls just got out of bed and were washing up. Hmm, this is actually similar to the male teams. LLG’s team base is located in a community’s residential area. Their interior layout seems similar to a sub-squad of a male team that I interviewed back in 2013. Although their base doesn’t look very big, it also doesn’t seem to be crammed. Despite the area consisted of a bunch of female players, the club still prepared a maid to take care of their meals and daily needs, allowing them to practice comfortably.

“Currently this is our vacation period. The focus of our practice focus is mainly solo queue.” The team’s jungler and coach “Ice” told me. Different from male teams, female teams have only just started. There aren’t that many competitions and teams, therefore it is difficult for them to find scrimming opportunities. “Ice” is a lady that has been involved with electronic athleticism for a long time; from FPS games to MOBA, she quickly adjusted to it. Also, she brought in the team’s top laner “Qian Xun”. In LLG, these two are the more experienced players. “I used to be in Cany’s (famous caster/streamer) LOLADIES team for a while.” Qian Xun told me. Aside from that, the team’s ADC is also a very energetic female player. In the past, she faced against WE’s legendary ADC Weixiao in an event. Weixiao referred to her as the only female player who could really play LoL in that event.

While LLG was actually a team that has been underestimated, with this kind of preparation, making the finals in the first LongZhu Gaming Queen Invitational isn’t a surprise anymore. But compared to the Korean team, LLG still doesn’t have a real star player. “The Korean team’s mid laner is just too good”. Qian Xun said. Also, the recently established LLG faced many of the same management difficulties as the male teams that were established two years ago. Not long ago, they got rid of their old mid lane player for not returning to base on many nights and picking random champions in competitions, ultimately losing her privilege on the team.

EBB, the model team

Afternoon, our production crew met with the “model team” EBB. In the first season of LongZhu Gaming Queen Invitational, the nicknamed “flower vase” team surprised everyone by breaking into the top 4. To showcase this team’s speciality, we chose to interview them at their modelling company, not their team base.

ESEE Model Management is located in Shanghai Puxi District’s most bustling area. 3PM afternoon is the time when the models are busily doing their interviews. Interviewing at this time was a feast for our production crew’s eyes—all kinds of well-built, tall ladies walked around us. If EBB’s players weren’t waiting at the door early, we actually wouldn’t have believed that there is a female team located here.

“After entering team EBB, playing LoL took most of our daily time. Modelling work actually became our side job.” One of the players told me. “But we are still afraid of pulling all-nighters to play the game, because it is not good for our skin.” We felt a strong “professional modelling” vibe from these girls.

Different from other female teams, aside from playing the game, EBB’s players had body training, dance classes, and singing practices. This also welcomed a lot of expectations from the fans for these girls. We could also notice this from the Gaming Queen Invitational program, where even the hosts felt that the “variety show factor” cannot be lacking in the female competitions. And that is how they can attract more fans to watch this competition.

Team EBB’s manager, “Dian Kuang”, is a senior within the esports scene. Dian Kuang used to work at the L-ACE league. In 2013 Shanghai All-Stars, he used to be the captain of the Chinese all-star team. Afterwards, he left the league and brought LMQ to North America’s LCS, and also brought SHRC to S4 Worlds finals. With a pedigree like that, why did he chose to create a female team? “At first I actually rejected the idea of creating a female team, because I believed that female gaming is only for entertainment.” Gaming Queen Invitational changed Dian Kuang’s perspective. “The attraction factors of female team are not limited to the players’ physical appearances. Events within competitions and gaming skills could also have large influences.” The Korean champions team IM Athena left Dian Kuang with a very deep impression. Their team’s “female Faker” has a skill level that is obviously a level above the Chinese female players. “In the future, the difference in skill levels will be one of the most important factors in the development of the female league.” Dian Kuang says.

Female league in Korea

In this Gaming Queen Invitational, the Korean champions IM Athena left the fans with a very deep impression. In reality, Korea’s esports for ladies started from the Starcraft era. In 2013, Korea’s OGN tried hosting a ladies’ exhibition competition, but the results were poor. The fans in Korea weren’t hot on idea of the female league. For the Korean fans, high-level esports competition was what they really wanted.

“Most of the players in the Korean female teams are Silver, and some of their accounts could have been boosted by pros. Also, the appearances of the female Korean players appearance aren’t anything special, therefore many Korean fans don’t really pay attention to the female league. There are some Korean streaming platforms that tried hosting female leagues, but the average viewership is only 200-300.” One of the Korean esports media organization told me.

After hearing from him, I wasn’t surprised about team IM Athena’s skill level anymore. It looks like in Korea, whether it is male or female, only high skill level teams have marketing value. “I feel like that Athena team could play some TGA cyber café or regional competitions without a problem.” Dian Kuang says.

The future of female professional leagues

The year 1930 was when the first soccer world cup was hosted for males. It wasn’t until 1991 that the first female soccer world cup was established. Therefore, the female esports program would need some time before it fully develops. Despite being in the internet era; despite an increase of male players being interested in watching female streamers; despite more female players playing League of Legends; in the recent years, it is still very difficult to host an “S-level” competition for the female leagues. “I feel like in the next two years, there is still the possibility that there will be female exhibition games in the male S-level competitions.” Dian Kuang says.

From team LLG, we can discover the “competitive elements.” From team EBB, we can feel the “variety show elements.” From what I can see, in the future, a successful female team must have much higher levels in terms of management operational skills, players’ self-discipline, esports skill and talent level. That is how they can attract more fans to pay attention to the ladies in esports.  

Translation source: LoL.15w.com

Please remember to turn on captions

Why interview a female team?

“Do you know any coaches? My friend is trying to establish a female team. He needs a coach.” One of my good friends in the QQ group asked me. Are female teams that trendy recently? With this question in mind, I asked some friends that are active in the competitive scene. Through multiple channels, I learned that there are many organizations currently trying to create female teams, including the VG club in LPL. “Maybe two months later there will be a large scale female league,” one insider informed me.

As an old hand in the scene, after learning this information I started to develop a deep interest in the female teams in China. Therefore, I decided to travel to two of China’s most representative female teams, “LLG” and “EBB ESEE”, to find out exactly what is going on.

Before this, I would like to explain why these two teams are the most representative of the scene.

First, LLG was an underdog entering the first season of LongZhu Gaming Queen Invitational. But in the competition, they played harder and harder, eliminating the Master Girl team led by “Miss” (popular player) and qualifying for the finals. In the finals, LLG shoulder the responsibility to resist the Korean march, but unfortunately they lost in a 0-2 set to the Korean champions IM Athena, taking the second place. LLG’s jungler, “Ice”, deserves a special mention for her excellent performance—she was called the “female Clearlove” by the netizens.

Now on the topic of team EBB. This team was created by a famous modelling company ESEE, consisted of five girls that came from modelling backgrounds. Before the match, nicknames such as “flower vase team” and “legs-revealing team” circled around them. Despite this situation, the five girls that were supposed to be more active on the fashion runway surprised everyone by breaking into the top 4.

From this perspective, it appears that LLG is more similar to a typical male team than a female team, where EBB cannot be more feminine than they are already. Therefore, I believe that these two teams are the most valuable to interview.

LLG, the “Resist Korea” team

Our interview session with LLG was at 11AM. When our production crew arrived at their team base, the girls just got out of bed and were washing up, which is actually similar to a normal male teams in our experience. LLG’s team base is located in a community’s residential area, and theinterior layout of their bae seems similar to a sub-squad of a male team that I interviewed back in 2013. Although their base doesn’t look very big, it also doesn’t seem to be cramped. Despite the area housing a bunch of female players, the club still prepared a maid to take care of their meals and daily needs, allowing them to practice comfortably.

“Currently this is our vacation period. The focus of our practice focus is mainly solo queue.” The team’s jungler and coach “Ice” told me. Unlike male teams, female teams have only just started to play and practice. There aren’t that many competitions and teams, therefore it is difficult for them to find scrimming opportunities. “Ice” is a lady that has been involved with esports for a long time; from FPS games to MOBA, and she quickly adjusted to it, whilst also bringing in the team’s top laner “Qian Xun”. In LLG, these two are the more experienced players. “I used to be in Cany’s (famous caster/streamer) LOLADIES team for a while.” Qian Xun told me. Aside from that, the team’s ADC is also a very energetic female player. In the past, she faced against WE’s legendary ADC Weixiao in an event, and afterward Weixiao referred to her as the only female player who could really play LoL in that event.

While LLG was actually a team that has been underestimated, with this kind of preparation, making the finals in the first LongZhu Gaming Queen Invitational shouldn't be a surprise. But compared to the Korean team, LLG still doesn’t have a real star player. “The Korean team’s mid laner is just too good”. Qian Xun said. Also, the recently established LLG faced many of the same management difficulties as the male teams that were established two years ago. Not long ago, they got rid of their old mid lane player for not returning to base on many nights and picking random champions in competitions, ultimately losing her privilege on the team.

EBB, the model team

In the afternoon, our production crew met with the “model team” EBB. In the first season of LongZhu Gaming Queen Invitational, the side dubbed the “flower vase” team surprised everyone by breaking into the top 4. To showcase this team’s speciality, we chose to interview them at their modelling company, not their team base.

ESEE Model Management is located in Shanghai Puxi District’s most bustling area. 3PM afternoon is the time when the models are busily doing their interviews. Interviewing at this time was a feast for our production crew’s eyes—all kinds of well-built, tall ladies walked around us. If EBB’s players weren’t waiting at the door early, we actually wouldn’t have believed that there is a female team located here.

“After entering team EBB, playing LoL took up most of our daily time. Modelling work actually became our side job,” one of the players told me. “But we are still afraid of pulling all-nighters to play the game, because it is not good for our skin.” We felt a strong “professional modelling” vibe from these girls.

Different from many other female teams, aside from playing the game, EBB’s players had body training, dance classes, and singing practices. This also created a lot of expectations from the fans for these girls. This was noticable at the Gaming Queen Invitational program, where even the hosts felt that the “variety show factor” shouldn't be lacking in the female competitions, especially if they can attract more fans to watch the competition.

Team EBB’s manager, “Dian Kuang”, is a veteran within the esports scene, and used to work at the L-ACE league. In 2013 Shanghai All-Stars, he was the captain of the Chinese all-star team. Afterwards, he left the league and brought LMQ to North America’s LCS, and also brought SHRC to S4 Worlds finals. With a pedigree like that, why did he chose to create a female team? “At first I actually rejected the idea of creating a female team, because I believed that female gaming is only for entertainment.” However, Gaming Queen Invitational changed Dian Kuang’s perspective. “The attraction factors of female team are not limited to the players’ physical appearances. Events within competitions and gaming skills could also have large influences.” The Korean champions team IM Athena left a very deep impression on King, as their team’s “female Faker” has a skill level that is obviously a level above the Chinese female players. “In the future, the difference in skill levels will be one of the most important factors in the development of the female league.” Dian Kuang says.

Female league in Korea

In this Gaming Queen Invitational, the Korean champions IM Athena left a deep impression on the fans as well. In reality, Korea’s esports for ladies started from the Starcraft era, where in 2013, Korea’s OGN tried hosting a ladies’ exhibition competition, but the viewing figures were poor. The fans in Korea weren’t hot on idea of the female league. For the Korean fans, high-level esports competition was what they really wanted.

“Most of the players in the Korean female teams are Silver, and some of their accounts could have been boosted by pros. Also, the appearances of the female Korean players appearance aren’t anything special, therefore many Korean fans don’t really pay attention to the female league. There are some Korean streaming platforms that tried hosting female leagues, but the average viewership is only 200-300.” One of the Korean esports media organization told me.

After hearing from him, I wasn’t surprised about team IM Athena’s skill level anymore. It looks like in Korea, whether it is male or female, only high skill level teams have marketing value. “I feel like that Athena team could play some TGA cyber café or regional competitions without a problem.” Dian Kuang says.

The future of female professional leagues

The year 1930 was when the first soccer world cup was hosted for males, but it wasn’t until 1991 that the first female soccer world cup was established. Therefore, it seems like the female esports program will need some time before it fully develops. Despite being in the internet era; despite an increase of male players being interested in watching female streamers; despite more female players playing League of Legends; in the recent years, it has been difficult to host an “S-level” competition for the female leagues. However, “I feel like in the next two years, there is still the possibility that there will be female exhibition games in the male S-level competitions.” Dian Kuang says.

From team LLG, we can learn more about the “competitive elements.” From team EBB, we can feel the “talent show elements.” From what I can see, in the future, a successful female team must have much higher levels in terms of management operational skills, players’ self-discipline, esports skill and talent level. That is how they can attract more fans to pay attention to the ladies in esports.