- G2 Esports has signed The Originals roster as its female VALORANT team
- The Originals are comprised of four CS:GO veterans and one newcomer
- The five athletes will now play under the name G2 Gozen
G2 Esports enters the female VALORANT scene by signing five proven esports veterans to its new G2 Gozen roster.
G2 Gozen Joins Women’s VALORANT
Professional esports organization G2 Esports has also joined the fray in competitive women’s VALORANT. The organization has chosen to be represented by the former Counter-Strike: Global Offensive team XSET, which will now adopt G2’s brand as G2 Gozen.
The new team is comprised of four of the five former XSET members. Those include the following:
- Julia “juliano” Kiran
- Michaela “mimi” Lintrup
- Petra “Petra” Stoker
- Zainab “zAAz” Turkie
They will be joined by the Serbian esports athlete Anja “aNNja” Vasalic who will fill the remaining slot.
In the official announcement, Carlos “Ocelote” Rodriguez, G2 Esports’ founder, spoke on the formation of G2 Gozen:
“To me they aren't a female team, they are our VALORANT team. At G2, we build teams and bring in players based on skill and brand fit. These are amongst the best female players in the world and we’re proud to have them. We’ll support them all the way, as we support all our teams, and look forward to seeing them grow and kick some ass as part of the G2 army,” Ocelote said.
A Promising Professional Lineup
G2 Gozen will be solid contenders on the professional female VALORANT scene thanks to the experience of the former XSET members. The four women have a long history of competing in Count-Strike and are regarded as one of the best female players in the game.
The roster has won various prizes and trophies under the flag of several organizations. The pro athletes have played not only for XSET, but also as part of Team Secret and Beşiktaş Esports.
The four players recently quit the CS:GO scene to enter VALORANT where they were joined by aNNja. During the Game Changers EMEA Series 1 where they played as “The Originals”. During that event, the players proved that their CS:GO skill translates well to VALORANT. ANNja proved to be a valuable addition to the team and scored the highest kill-death ratio of the whole team. The Originals reached the semifinals of the Game Changers tournament where they were eventually eliminated by Tenstar Nova who later won first place.
The roster, now playing as G2 Gozen, will have a chance to avenge their loss during the Game Changers EMEA Series 2 which starts on October 25.
The formation of G2 Gozen shows two of the recent tendencies in esports – one is the rise of female teams, especially in competitive VALORANT. The other is the brain drain from CS:GO to Riot’s shooter that has seen many professionals change the esports they are focused on.
