MAJKL win FTW Summer Showdown All-Women Valorant tournament

Calum Patterson

In a collaboration between G FUEL, Nerd Street Gamers, Spectacor Gaming, T1 and Riot Games, the FTW Summer Showdown Valorant Ignition Series tournament will pit the best all-women teams against each other, with $50,000 in prizing up for grabs.

Valorant esports has got off to a flyer already in 2020, as Riot Games has supported third-party tournaments, and some of the biggest organizations in esports are already fielding teams.

The FTW (For The Women) Summer Showdown is giving a chance for the best women’s teams to shine, with eight professional rosters and four amateur teams to secure through a qualifier.

FTW Summer Showdown: Format

The tournament split the 12 teams into two groups, with the top four teams from each group advancing to the Playoffs. The Playoffs put the top eight into a single-elimination bracket to decide the ultimate winner.

Single-elimination means there will be no second chances — lose a match and you’re out!

FTW Ignition Valorant tournament
The best women’s Valorant teams will compete for their share of $50,000.

FTW Summer Showdown: Group Stages

Following the best-of-one Group Stage matches on September 11, here’s how both respective groups finished.

Group A

Position Team Map count Round count
1 MAJKL 5-0 65-8
2 hamboigas 4-1 54-21
3 Dignitas Female 3-2 45-37
4 Hardstuck 2-3 37-52
5 Zenith 1-4 30-53
6 GFuel Krabby Patties 0-5 5-65

Group B

Position Team Map count Round count
1 GX3 5-0 67-40
2 silhouette 4-1 63-41
3 Flawless 3-2 54-39
4 Sailor Scouts 2-3 45-49
5 Chick Fil Ayy 1-4 47-57
6 Bloom 0-5 15-65

FTW Summer Showdown: Playoffs

After an enthralling Group Stage, eight team made it through to the single-elimination Playoffs. The best-of-three bracket can be found below.

Saturday, September 12

Round Match Map 1 Map 2 Map 3
Quarterfinals MAJKL 2 – 0 Sailor Scouts 13-2 13-2
silhouette 0 – 2 Dignitas Female 2-13 7-13
GX3 2 – 0 Hardstuck 13-6 13-3
hamboigas 2 – 0 Flawless 13-0 13-5

Sunday, September 13

Round Match Map 1 Map 2 Map 3
Semifinals MAJKL 2 – 0 Dignitas Female 13-7 13-5
GX3 2 – 0 hamboigas 13-1 13-9
Grand Final MAJKL 2 – 0 GX3 13-3 13-11

FTW Summer Showdown: Final placements

Placing Team Prize money (USD)
1st MAJKL $25,000
2nd GX3 $15,000
3rd hamboigas $7,500
4th Dignitas Female $2,500
5th – 8th Sailor Scouts
silhouette
Hardstuck
Flawless
9th – 10th Zenith
Chick Fil Ayy
11th – 12th Bloom
GFuel Krabby Patties

FTW Summer Showdown: Stream

The event took place on September 11 to 13, streamed live on the Nerd Street Gamers Twitch Channel.

An all-female Valorant teams qualifier took place on Saturday, September 5 to decide the four amateur teams that would participate alongside the invitees. This event boasted its own $1,000 prize pool as well.

What is FTW?

For The Women is Spectacor Gaming’s initiative to support the growth of women in esports, through competition as well as content. “The whole mission of FTW is to get women together across all sectors of esports to pave the way for the next generation of gamers,” said Spectacor Gaming Communications Manager Kelsey Rowley.

There are also plans to host more FTW tournaments in different games, but Valorant has been chosen as there’s lots of hype around it still. “The hype for Valorant is so big across the entire industry, and it’s such a badass game,” said Paige Funk of Nerd Street Gamers, “I think it’ll showcase some badass female talent.”

Nerd St Gamers came on board to help with the running of FTW’s first esports tournament, the Valorant Summer Showdown, and the event has also secured sponsorship from G FUEL and T1.

And G FUEL isn’t just coming on as a sponsor, as five ambassadors from G FUEL will also be competing. G FUEL’s CEO Cliff Morgan said: “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. We’re looking forward to a memorable event and milestone for women gamers.”