The female gamers competing for thousands of pounds at first event of its kind in UK
The UK’s first professional women’s gaming tournament of its kind starts on Saturday.
Four teams of professional gamers will play the first-person shooter game Valorant, which is the most-watched esports game in women’s leagues.
It is the first time Europe’s best teams have battled it out in the UK, and organisers hope it will bring more women into gaming.
Meg ‘Megsoundslikeegg’ Gardner is one of the hosts of the Red Bull Instalock tournament
“The more people see you can enjoy gaming as somebody who’s not native to it, the more confident they’ll get and the more they’ll enjoy it,” said host and streamer Meg ‘Megsoundslikeegg’ Gardner.
The players are competing over two days at London‘s Red Bull Gaming Sphere for a prize pool of £15,000.
Michaela ‘mimi’ Lintrup, who is the one of world’s best Valorant players and has been professionally gaming since she was 18, said: “Back then it was not a big thing like it is today.”
The 26-year-old Dane added: “We fought for a case of Red Bull or something, it was not a prize pool with money. I just played because I had passion for it and I loved it.”
But that’s all changed.
Last year, fans watched more than 28 million hours of professional women’s esports, according to industry tracker Esports Charts. The competitions are usually streamed on places like Twitch, TikTok and YouTube.
Those figures don’t even include people watching in China, where esports are so big that more people watched them than traditional sports at the 2023 Asian Games.
In esports, where people play competitively in a variety of video games, there are leagues, prizes and hordes of fans just like in other sports.
Professional gamer Mathilde ‘Nelo’ Beltoise plays for French team Karmine Corp
French player Mathilde ‘Nelo’ Beltoise, who is in a team called Karmine Corp, said the level of fandom in France is off the scale.
“Karmine Corp is so huge that everywhere you go, someone will recognise you. Every time I go into the street, I see someone with the jersey. It’s really huge,” she said.
The popularity of her team in France helped Beltoise’s parents, who are teachers, warm to the idea of her playing video games for a living.
“Sometimes one of their students has a Karmine Corp jersey on and they’re like, ‘Is that you?’ Now they just love it,” she explained.
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Being a professional gamer means glamorous-sounding international travel and online streaming, but it is also a regular nine to five job.
“We practice from Monday to Friday but when we get close to tournament time, we will add Sundays,” said Lintrup.
“We have four games a day which usually last for 50 minutes. Then we can talk a little bit about the mistakes we made [for 10 minutes before the next one]. Then we have about one and a half hours of theory time.”
Michaela ‘mimi’ Lindtrup is one of the world’s best Valorant players
Lintrup is the in-game leader of G2 Gozen and her role is fairly similar to that of a football captain.
She said: “After practice, I will usually stream or review which means I will go back and watch our games and point out the mistakes. I have to put in a bit of extra work. I love it like that.”
British competitor Sarah ‘sarah’ Ahmed is 18 years old and from Derby. She has been playing professionally for six months and became interested in gaming because of her brother.
She said: “He had a laptop and I didn’t so when I was 16, I got my first PC, and that’s when I started playing games, just like my brother.”
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Now, she is travelling the world, having recently competed in Turkey in the first-ever mixed-gender tournament. She described the moment she discovered the women’s gaming scene on Valorant.
“When I was younger, none of my friends played video games so whenever I played, it was just by myself, it was hard making girl friends.
“So when I saw there was a big community with a lot of girls just playing, I wanted to be a part of it.”
Sarah ‘sarah’ Ahmed from Derby has been playing professionally for six months
Valorant was released during one of the COVID lockdowns, when there was a surge in the number of people playing video games. Host Meg Gardner thinks it is more popular with women because of its storytelling.
She said: “Valorant is very good at being inclusive so you’ll see a lot of female characters that aren’t just in a supportive role, but like people that are very strong in the game. People want to pick them to play with.”
The Red Bull Instalock tournament is being streamed live on Twitch from 12pm UK time on Saturday and Sunday.
The first episode of a podcast hosted by AI replicating Sir Michael Parkinson has been released – and comedian and podcaster Jenny Eclair has branded it a “terrible, terrible idea”.
The podcast Virtually Parkinson sees AI technology synthetically recreate the late presenter’s voice and style to interview real-life celebrities.
Known for his interviews with the world’s biggest stars, Parkinson died in 2023 aged 88, following a brief illness.
The first episode released on Monday saw the Parkinson AI speak to R&B singer Jason Derulo, who was answering questions about his upbringing, fatherhood and fracturing part of his neck.
Eclair, who co-hosts the podcast Older and Wider with Judith Holder, said it made her “furious”.
Jenny Eclair, pictured in 2015, co-hosts the podcast Older and Wider. Pic: PA
Speaking about the podcast on ITV’s Good Morning Britain, Eclair, 64, said: “I’m furious, because there are living people like me who’ve still got mortgages, I’ve just actually mostly got rid of mine.
“But there’s not enough room. I know he was dearly loved and that sort of thing but there’s loads of back catalogue content that people can help themselves to.
“This is a terrible, terrible idea, we’re all fighting over the same space you know, the podcasts and the telly, and everybody’s desperately trying to say ‘me over here, please listen to my stuff’.
“I’ve got a podcast and I don’t think I can compete with Michael Parkinson, even when he’s not living and breathing.”
Michael Parkinson and Dame Helen Mirren. Pic: Rex
Virtually Parkinson’s producers Deep Fusion Films, who created the show with the support and involvement of Parkinson’s family and estate, said: “Jenny’s comments are precisely why the podcast was created, AI is a subject which people have strong opinions about, but is AI as scary as people think it is?
“Is it really coming for people’s jobs? Virtually Parkinson exists to explore the relationship between AI and humans, it simply couldn’t do that without having an AI host, so this is not a case of an AI replacing a human job.
“In fact, the podcast is launched at a time when the creative sector has been hit very hard and many find themselves out of work and Virtually Parkinson has created 15 jobs, which otherwise wouldn’t have existed.”
‘A tribute to my dad’
It was Parkinson’s son, Mike Parkinson, who reached out to the company with the idea of creating the podcast as a way to preserve his father’s legacy, calling it “a tribute to my dad”.
Deep Fusion was already using AI technology – dubbed “Squawk” – to allow live humans to speak with voices from the past.
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When Mike Parkinson reached out, Deep Fusion drew from a back catalogue of more than 2,000 of his father’s interviews to recreate his voice and interview technique.
The company also expanded to create the project, hiring a new head of creative AI, an AI prompt engineer, researchers, guest bookers, podcast producers, and a sound engineer.
When the podcast was first announced last year, Mike Parkinson said: “I want audiences to marvel at the technology, the cleverness and cheekiness of the concept, but mostly I want them to remember just how good he was at interviewing and enjoy the nostalgia and happy memories.
“Through this platform, his legacy can continue, entertaining a new generation of fans.”
Podcast comes as government embraces AI future
The show’s launch has coincided with the government’s pledge to “mainline AI into the veins” of the UK, claiming that if AI is “fully embraced”, it could bring £47bn to the economy every year.
Announcing his goals to make the UK “the world leader” in AI, prime minister Sir Keir Starmer said: “Artificial Intelligence will drive incredible change in our country. From teachers personalising lessons, to supporting small businesses with their record-keeping, to speeding up planning applications, it has the potential to transform the lives of working people.
“But the AI industry needs a government that is on their side, one that won’t sit back and let opportunities slip through its fingers. And in a world of fierce competition, we cannot stand by. We must move fast and take action to win the global race.”
Entertainment
Dancing On Ice dedicated to The Vivienne as vigil held in Liverpool to remember drag queen
RuPaul’s Drag Race star The Vivienne was remembered at a vigil in their home city of Liverpool on Sunday night.
James Lee Williams, originally from Colwyn Bay in North Wales, died on 5 January aged 32.
Hundreds of fans and friends of The Vivienne gathered at Liverpool‘s St George’s Hall.
Buildings across the city were lit up in green to commemorate the drag queen and their role as the Wicked Witch of the West in the Wizard Of Oz musical.
Fellow drag queen Danny Beard said the vigil was “a celebration of someone who touched the lives of so many”.
“The Vivienne was one of the world’s most recognisable drag queens, a proper world class entertainer,” they added.
“And above all a shining beacon in all of our lives and especially for the LGBT community.”
James Lee Williams – better known as The Vivienne. Pic: PA
Since The Vivienne first rose to prominence in 2019, they appeared on a number of TV programmes, including Blankety Blank over the Christmas period.
The first episode in the series of Dancing On Ice on Sunday night also featured a tribute to The Vivienne, who competed on the 2023 series.
Presenter Holly Willoughby said many would have been “saddened by the tragic news”.
“They were a huge part of our show, making it all the way to the final in 2023,” she added.
“They will be very sorely missed and our thoughts are with The Vivienne’s loved ones at this time. So sad.”
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In a tribute released after Mr Williams’s death, a Dancing On Ice spokesperson said they were “deeply saddened” by the news.
They said Mr Williams had made “TV history through their groundbreaking and spellbinding skating partnership”, becoming the first drag act to reach the Dancing On Ice final.
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