Acer announces the partnership with the newborn women’s esport team: LXT Esports. The team, made up of five girls (Seffyra – Effy, aka Daniela Vrabie aged 23; Aranel, aka Sara Lippolis aged 24; Lia, aka Jamalia Duangrai aged 18; Regi, aka Regine Cabael aged 22; Giu, aka Giulia Venuti 20 years), is the first to compete nationally and internationally on Valorant (5v5 tactical shooter developed and produced by Riot Games). Acer in particular will support the girls with the most powerful devices of the Predator range, the brand dedicated to hardcore gamers, equipped with Intel Core processors, which will enrich the LXT gaming house soon arriving in Milan.
Acer’s choice to sponsor an all-female team stems from the desire to continue to support and support women in technology, especially in gaming, where numbers are constantly growing in the Italian scenario. In fact, according to the report on the video game sector recently published by IIDEA (Italian Interactive Digital Entertainment Association), in 2022 there are over 14.2 million Italians who play video games, and of these women represent 42%, with an average age of at 30.6 years. While on the one hand these numbers are encouraging, on the other, other research conducted on professional gamers highlights that many women – especially among pro players – do not feel represented and considered on a par with men.
“Gaming and esports are by their nature very inclusive – he says Diego Cavallari, Country Manager of Acer Italy – because they allow you to overcome geographical and physical barriers that characterize traditional sports. We are excited to support the new all-female LXT esports team from its inception, with the aim of increasingly reducing the gender gap in this area”.
“We firmly believe in this project and in the fundamental role of women in gaming and esports – adds Arianna Timeto, Consumer Marketing Manager of Acer Italy – in particular on this issue we believe that companies must also play a social role: through activities and campaigns communication systems can in fact make their contribution and help break down stereotypes, normalizing the presence and added value of women”.
“LXT Esports is competition, it is a game, but above all a valuable project” he comments Robert Daverio, President of LXT Esports. “LXT’s mission is in fact to create a true corporate culture of esports, fostering sustainable connections and synergies with the world of companies that want to enter this new space, creating a membership system that brings innovative content related to training, education, inclusion and sustainability. Acer immediately shared our same values and thanks to the support provided for the gaming house, our sports team will be able to compete at the highest levels thanks to the performance of Predator products”.
This year the LXT girls compete in Game Changers, the official Valorant tournament, organized by Riot which supports the female gamer community. “At Riot, we also strongly believe that women in gaming need more space to be seen,” she says Charles BaronBrand Manager of Riot Italy – with Game Changer and the Italian activity connected to it the Minerva Series, we wanted to create a stage dedicated to them, in the hope that
convert into the right visibility opportunity. Riot alone is not enough, continues Barone, we need realities that believe in women’s gaming and companies that want to put the resources into it to give it the right prominence. In this sense, we can only applaud the collaboration of Acer and LXT Esport, in the hope that others will soon want to follow this excellent example”.
The partnership was officially announced on Friday 21 April, in the context of the Milan Design Week Fuorisalone, at Spazio Filippetti, where the exhibition “Design in videogames” curated by Intel was staged. During the workshop day conducted by Elisa Baldi, Country Marketing Manager of Intel, focused on the value and role of women in the gaming sector, which saw Acer, LXT Esport, IIDEA and Women in Games Italia as guests, an important fact emerged:
according to an international research, girls and boys who approach video games are three times more likely* to approach and pursue a career in STEM subjects, which have always been considered a legacy of men. With as many as 25.9% of female gamers between the ages of 6 and 15, there is a concrete possibility that the new generations are more likely to approach scientific subjects.