Excel Esports recently announced its first female esports team with the aim to enter VALORANT Champions Tour Game Changers Tour in 2023.
Excel Esports have signed former N1MP lineup Cornelia ‘Neli’ Johansson (IGL), India ‘cataLina’ Dubourg, Safaa ‘Purii’ Baydi, and Camille ‘Luzia’ Millet to its female esports VALORANT team. Additionally, previous teammate Samantha “Samsi” Caddell will round out the roster.
“Over the course of the Game Changers Championships, we have seen so many inspiring stories that female players across the world could identify with,” said Excel Esports Chief Operating Officer Tim Reichert. “At Excel, we want to offer something new to show young female players a path into esports. We believe through signing an existing squad who work well together competitively and socially, we could help and support them to being the best they could be. We hope that this will encourage more female gamers to get into esports. Our success will come from our dedication to developing the scene.”
Related: Knights Arena Named Official Organizer for VCT 2023 – Ends 2022 with $25,000 VALORANT Freezeout
Excel Esports VALORANT Roster Experience
The announcement marks the beginning of EXCEL’s’ journey into the VCT Game Changers Tour. Already a strong competitive unit, the players of N1MP are close friends in real life. Significantly, this will allow for a higher level of teamwork and communication.
The addition of ‘Samsi’ to the team will bring the roster to the next level. Importantly, this will add even more experience in playing at a high level. Altogether, the former N1MP roster has experience in the VCT Game Changers EMEA Series 3. They came top 5 in the Medusa Series which new teammate Samsi won.
THE EXCEL VALORANT GAME CHANGERS ROSTER FOR 2022:
- Cornelia ‘Neli’ Johansson – IGL/Initiator
- India ‘cataLina’ Dubourg – Smokes
- Safaa ‘Purii’ Baydi – Flashes
- Camille ‘Luzia’ Millet – Sentinel
- Samantha ‘Samsi’ Caddell – Duelist
- Daniela ‘Jupi‘ Gradl – Initiator/Sentinel
- Kevin ‘Noizeeh’ Jaskiewicz – Team Manager
VCT Game Changers was a pioneering initiative announced in 2021 to create more opportunities and exposure for women and marginalized genders in VALORANT esports. Furthermore, the recent VCT Game Changers Championship Finals was the most viewed female VALORANT tournament ever with a peak viewership of over 230,000. With this success,
Team Manager Kevin ‘Noizeeh’ Jaskiewicz said, “This is an amazing opportunity for Excel and the players involved. We have dedicated a lot of time to work on a roster that could bring Excel’s values to female Valorant esports. We’re investing heavily in our players and are forming the infrastructure around what works best for them because we’re confident in their potential to dominate the competition.”
Riot Games recently announced the format for VCT Game Changers EMEA going forward into 2023 which includes academy, amateur and contenders competitions that will form the basis of the VCT Game Changers ecosystem.
Related: Misfits jumps into Valorant with VCT Game Changers
