FaZe Clan has had a rough 2019 so far. But now, it seems keen to turn its image around by signing their first female player, a 13-year-old Fortnite pro who also happens to be deaf.
The player, EwOk, broke the news on Twitter last night from the Fortnite World Cup in New York. She posted a video of herself making the announcement in sign language. Fans have responded to it with overwhelming support and positivity, congratulating EwOk for her achievement.
This is a big deal for FaZe. The organization’s roster includes pros across many different games from Fortnite, to Counter-Strike, to PUBG, and all of them are male. This is not unique in the esports industry, either. Women have often had a hard time gaining sponsorship in the male-dominated community. Seeing such a well-known group finally take that first step should be encouraging for the future of women in esports.
FaZe Clan shared the news this morning on their own Twitter feed with a follow-up Tweet that featured EwOk celebrating in sign-language in Times Square. EwOk is currently attending the Fortnite World Cup Finals in New York City, where FaZe is competing. In the video, EwOk signs “Now is the time for girl gamers. FaZe EwOk.”
As exciting as this news is, it’s hard not to see it outside of the context of the controversies that have plagued FaZe Clan this year. In May, Fortnite pro Tfue sued FaZe Clan over his contract claiming that FaZe held him back tremendously by preventing him from signing lucrative deals with sponsors and by taking 80% of his revenue.
On top of that, a few months later it was revealed that FaZe may have knowingly signed an underaged player. Allegations by Tfue claimed that FaZe not only signed Fortnite streamer H1ghSky1 when he was only 11-years-old but that they “lied about the minor’s age” and “pressured his family to do so.”
None of this should take away from EwOk’s achievement, but the current negative image surrounding FaZe Clan is hard to ignore, and it has the effect of coloring this whole thing as a PR stunt designed to draw positive attention.
That said, visibility is important, not only for female gamers but for gamers with disabilities, the latter of which is a group that has become increasingly more considered in the last few years. EwOk’s excitement and the positivity of her fan-base shows that the esports community can benefit from more representation. This move by FaZe Clan will hopefully do nothing but add more momentum, and that is arguably more important than the announcement’s political context.