Guild Esports enters into Counter-Strike with second all-female team

9 March 2023

It has been coming for a while now, but today, the much-anticipated official announcement finally came: Guild Esports have revealed their women’s team for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. This does not only mark the London-based esports organisation’s entry into competitive CS:GO, but also the introduction of its second all-female team after launching the all-female Valorant Guild X team back in 2021. They will be joining Guild’s various other current teams for various titles, including FIFA and Fortnite, and the team’s first official appearance is expected to come at the ESL Impact Circuit, a female-only CS:GO league with a total annual prize pool of no less than $ 500.000.

Focus on Scandinavia and Baltics

While Guild Esports has its headquarters in London, the organisation actually boasts a very international and diverse player roster for the different teams that compete under its name. This is also the case for Guild’s newest Counter-Strike: Global Offensive team, as it is made up of five players and three different nationalities. Three of the players hail from Norway, namely Marita “Minnie” Sorensen, Thea “Pullox” Evensen, and team captain Kaia “KiKi” Holmen. They are joined by Linnea “Nea” Claesson from Sweden and Anna “Ann4” Laurinovica from Latvia. The team therefore boasts no British players yet, but has a focus on Scandinavian and Baltic talent for the moment.

“This International Women’s Day, we’re delighted to launch a high-flying, all-female team to spearhead our entry into the CSGO arena”, says Jasmine Skee, CEO at Guild Esports, “With female participation rapidly growing in many other competitive sports such as football and rugby, we feel this is the right time for us to recruit top talent for CSGO. It will enable Guild to grow its audience, reach new demographics and continue to provide high-level opportunities for women in the esports space. The team members have experience competing together at the highest levels of competitive CSGO and will be further inspired by the success of Valorant Guild X. We’re looking forward to working with them and celebrating their competitive success”.

Sky-high ambitions

As should be the case at an organisation like Guild, ambitions are sky-high for the new CS:GO team. Its creation has been inspired by the success of Guild’s all-female Valorant team and the hope is that they can replicate this in Counter-Strike. The organisation itself has stated that adding a second all-female team to their roster is part of its strategy to encourage greater female participation in esports and to open new revenue streams in the long term.

“We intend to compete at the highest levels of Counter-Strike and Guild is the perfect place to achieve this”, says team captain Kaia “KiKi” Holmen, “With leading facilities, high-quality coaching staff and a state-of-the-art headquarters, Guild gives us the opportunity to learn and grow as a team in a supportive environment. It’s not just the facilities and coaching – Guild’s long-term commitment to supporting women in esports reassures us that we will be a close cultural fit. We’re excited to bring Guild into CSGO for the first time and hope to make the whole company proud”.