Riot Games announced that it will be hosting an all-women's League of Legends tournament called Rising Stars this November. It will be the first standalone tournament for women who want to compete in League of Legends professionally. This will also be modeled after the Valorant Game Changers, a similar initiative for all-women Valorant teams.
League of Legends esports tournaments have been around since 2011, which culminate in a World Championship, or more commonly known as Worlds, featuring teams from various regions. Just recently, Riot Games wrapped up its League of Legends World Championship 2022, where South Korea's DRX came out on top against T1. That being said, there has never been a Riot-sponsored all-women's League circuit in the game's over 10 years of existence. The only ones were hosted by third-party groups in the past.
With Rising Stars, Riot wants to promote inclusion and create more opportunities in esports as it encourages teams, composed of women over the age of 16, to join the League of Legends tournament. For the inaugural event on November 26 and 27, players from the Northern European region, which includes the UK, Republic of Ireland, and Nordic nations, can join the online tournament via Rising Stars NE's Challenger Mode page. Players from other European regions are also welcome to sign up. Qualifying teams will have a chance to win £3,000 in the tournament.
Registrations on Challenger Mode will be open until November 22. According to Riot's press release, the registration will include gender verification by showing documents to prove their eligibility. This will be done in collaboration DivE, an organization that promotes gender diversity in esports. DivE also assists with the operations of Valorant Game Changers EMEA.
Some people might find the gender verification part unnecessary, especially if there are transgender players who might not have the proper documents to show. If Rising Stars will be like Game Changers, then it's likely that they will allow trans women and non-binary people to join the tournament. However, even Game Changers had past controversy when a player lied about being non-binary, causing their team to get disqualified. It's important for Riot to make these rules clear for the players joining the League of Legends tournament.
Likewise, Riot should consider making Rising Stars a permanent League of Legends circuit. Valorant Game Changers already has LANs scheduled, and is now considered a legitimate circuit alongside the Valorant Championship Tournament. Making the all-women's League of Legends tournament permanent will definitely be a big step for Riot towards gender inclusivity and diversity in the esports scene.
Source: PC Gamer