Equal Esports Cup returns for third year, dedicated to women and non-binary players

The Equal Esports Cup, an esports tournament for women and non-binary players in the EMEA region, has officially entered its third edition.

There will be 12 teams competing for the championship in this event. The top two teams will advance to Gamescom in Cologne, Germany, for the offline finals.

The competition is jointly organized by SK Gaming, Esports Player Foundation and Deutsche Telekom, and is officially supported by Riot Games. The event will open on July 1 and last until August 24.

Unlike previous years, the 2025 Equal Esports Cup competition system will undergo major adjustments.

• Group Stage:

• The 12 teams will be divided into two groups, with 6 teams in each group.

• The competition adopts a BO2 (two-game points system) round-robin format, and the top three teams in each group advance to the knockout stage.

• Knockout Stage:

• The six qualifying teams will enter a double-elimination tournament, with all matches being BO3 (best of three games).

• The event will continue to use the Fearless Draft selection model, which is consistent with high-level events in the League of Legends e-sports system.

There are 8 invited teams in this competition, and 4 teams that have advanced through the open qualifiers. Currently, 5 invited teams have confirmed their participation, including:

• G2 Hel

• SK Gaming Avarosa

• Team Vitality French Bees

• Solar Academy

• Galions Pearl (formerly Team GO Aurora)

The remaining three invited teams have not yet been announced.