February 12, 2025
With the esports industry’s rapid growth, the number of gamers worldwide continues to grow every year. However, though almost 50% of gamers worldwide are women or marginalized genders, those numbers don’t translate to professional esports tournaments. Even now, the representation of women in these high-level competitions remains limited. The lack of representation is one of the main reasons why The Milk Cup was created. And it’s safe to say it was truly an important milestone in the esports industry. The tournament, created for anyone who identifies as a woman, serves to promote inclusivity and create opportunities for women in the professional esports scene.
The Milk Cup’s status as an essential milestone in the esports industry was only solidified by its amazing LAN finals, held on October 5th. Here’s exactly how and why The Milk Cup LAN finals left a trace in the esports industry.
The Milk Cup 2024
Gonna Need Milk created The Milk Cup in collaboration with Raidiant’s all-women staff, @ThePeachCobbler, and Women of the eRena (WOTE), an esports initiative set on creating competitive opportunities for women in gaming. The tournament featured North America’s largest to-date prize pool, with $250,000 on the line.
Due to Fortnite’s sheer popularity and lasting appeal in the competitive esports scene, it is no surprise that various tournaments are hosted each year. One of the most famous Fortnite tournaments was FNCS 2024. In addition to that, the Esports World Cup 2024 featured Fortnite, amongst other tournaments. However, none of these tournaments were women’s events, making The Milk Cup the first of its kind.
What made The Milk Cup LAN Finals an esports milestone
The Milk Cup itself was a revolutionary event in the esports scene. Not only was it led and produced by an all-women team, but it garnered a vast audience and left a lasting mark in the competitive scene. However, the LAN finals truly made this tournament a considerable milestone. Held at the Los Angeles Comic Con, the Milk Cup LAN Finals was the biggest all-female Fortnite event to date.
Record-breaking viewership
The Milk Cup LAN finals set a new precedent for women’s participation in Fortnite tournaments in several ways. Most importantly, it provided high-level competition for women in a safe environment without the barriers present in other mixed-gender tournaments. Second, the fact that it was an in-person event made it a high-production, professional setting similar to those of other big-scale competitions. Therefore, it is no surprise that the event piqued the interest of a large audience. The finals garnered over 2.7 million total stream views. This large audience made the tournament one of North America’s most-viewed women’s esports events! Looking at the numbers, this proved to be a huge milestone and a fantastic step forward towards inclusivity in competitive esports.
Prize pool
Another part that made The Milk Cup a groundbreaking milestone in the esports industry was the $175,000 prize pool. Being the largest prize pool in North America, this was a fantastic reward for the dedication and hard work of the winning team, Team Moxie. Team Moxie went home with a whooping $75,000 prize, dominating the competition with 456 points.
Popularity of The Milk Cup
The finals featured a variety of guests of importance in the Fortnite community. This included ThePeachCobbler, one of the event organizers. However, her contributions went further than conceptualizing the event in collaboration with Raidiant, Gonna Need Milk, and WOTE. She also hosted the event, using her enormous platform to promote the tournament and women in esports in general.
Other notable guests included one of the most famous esports players in the world, Bugha. Bugha was the 2019 Fortnite World Cup Solo champion and is now recognized as one of the top-earning Fortnite players. He presented the inaugural Milk Cup Trophy to Team Moxie, using his popularity to highlight the importance of an event such as The Milk Cup in promoting recognition for female players in the esports community.
The Milk Cup finals were a crucial milestone for women in esports and esports in general. With the fast-paced growth of the esports industry, equality has never been more critical. In this climate, The Milk Cup has succeeded in providing a platform for amazingly talented female Fortnite players. Looking at the fantastic production, the massive prize pool, and the sheer number of viewers, it’s safe to say The Milk Cup LAN finals charted a good course for other tournaments.
In the future, we can look forward to similar tournaments and look back to thanking The Milk Cup for kicking off the trend of amazing all-women events.