Equal eSports Festival 2023 comes to a successful close with its own Code of Conduct

The third Equal eSports Festival in Cologne had a record number of visitors. For the first time, it took place under its own Code of Conduct for more equality and diversity in the gaming scene.

The third Equal eSports Festival, which took place as part of Digital X in Cologne, made a statement for more equality and diversity. More than 6,000 gamers attended the two-day gaming festival, including many school classes - each morning. There were around 300 tournament participants from 15 countries. The Equal eSports initiative includes Deutsche Telekom, the esports player foundation and SK Gaming.

For the first time, the Equal eSports Cup was a tournament exclusively for women and non-binary players. The League of Legends tournament, organised in cooperation with Riot Games, was won by Team SK Avarosa from Cologne. Second place went to Team BIG Chroma from Berlin.

"Congratulations to SK Avarosa," said Antje Hundhausen, Vice President Brand Experience and initiator of the Equal eSports initiative. "With the first Equal eSports Cup, we have set another important milestone towards equality and diversity in gaming. Our long-term goal is to see mixed eSports teams - free from discrimination. With our festival and the hosting of the first Equal eSports Cup, we have taken another big step towards this goal in the third year of our Equal eSports initiative".

"We are very excited about the win. It was a very emotional final. Our team gave everything, we were on top," said Lily 'GWolfieG' Kraft, player of the winning team SK Avarosa. "Thanks to the Equal eSports initiative we were able to take part in a tournament in this protected environment for the first time. The success will help us all to continue to develop confidently and professionally".

The festival also saw the introduction and implementation of its own code of conduct as an important statement for equality and diversity. "Our initiative has its origins in the eSports and gaming community," explains Antje Hundhausen. "With our commitment, we want to create relevant, positive social change. We want to create a safer space for everyone. For this reason, the Equal eSports Council, a code of conduct for the gaming community, was also presented at the festival.

"We have developed a code of conduct to make another important statement for equality and diversity," says Finja Walsdorff, a media scientist with a research focus on gender and games and a member of the council. "This Code of Conduct is not only a guideline for fair behaviour, but also a crucial instrument for more fairness in the gaming scene. It reminds all players in the eSports scene that it is up to us to make the virtual worlds and live events a safe and welcoming place for everyone. An emergency phone number has also been set up at the festival for participants to call in the event of any incidents or concerns regarding the code of conduct.