More Than a Tournament: How The Milk Cup 2025 is Empowering Women On and Off the Stage

Back in 2024, GonnaNeedMilk launched a space dedicated to supporting women’s esports in the form of The Milk Cup. It was carefully planned, and culminated in a 99-player Fortnite LAN that offered the biggest NA women’s prize pool in history. But its success and impact perhaps surpassed everyone’s expectations. Even before the inaugural LAN had taken place, women Fortnite players had boosted their profiles, shared their stories, and had even secured signings with teams — all that off the back of the first few qualifiers. It proved that the community was eager to support fresh talent, there just needed to exist a dedicated space to showcase it. 

The Milk Cup’s success meant that it was able to return for its second year with some significant upgrades, including an even bigger prize pool at $300,000. We spoke with MilkPEP’s Senior Marketing Manager Jen Grubb and CEO of RaidiantGG Heather Garozzo to dive into why The Milk Cup is more than a tournament; it’s a platform that invests in the future of its players and professionals, keeping its community at the heart of every decision. 

“A lot of the players reference the [The Milk Cup 2024] LAN as, first off, the biggest moment in their career, and now they want more. They're hungry for what that next step is,” said Garozzo. “But I'll also shout out that there's other players that have looked at this community and said ‘what more can I do?’ So, a lot of times they're hosting scrims on their own because they want to play with these women more. We'll talk about the Milk Cup Academy too, but we were inspired by a lot of that and we're offering our own resources too. But to see the players really come into their own, start to build their brands, having a better understanding of how to leverage social media and what it means for building their own growth — opportunities beyond just being a player.”

It’s in these additional opportunities that The Milk Cup’s initiatives really shine, as a career in esports extends so much further than being a competitive player. Offering a space for women to explore these avenues not only ensures there’s fresh talent being nurtured in the wider esports ecosystem, but that women will always have a place in it. 

• Read more: The Milk Cup: A Shining Beacon for All-Women LANs

“From the beginning and in pretty much everything we do at Milk, in wanting to uplift and support women, is behind the camera and in front of the camera,” added Grubb. “Even outside of the esports production opportunities. We try to hire women photographers, women videographers on our other non-Milk Cup commercials, our talent, our influencers. Everything we do is women-led. It's always been a very conscious decision to want to provide more opportunities where we can. Not just for the competitors.”

But even for the competitors, the opportunities through The Milk Cup don’t stop with playing in the LAN. “Players have asked me about adminning, about casting,” said Garozzo, founder of the for-women broadcast, events and content platform, Raidiant. “One of the players last year, her name is Hemmys, made it to the LAN and she loved it. And that was great, but being a competitive player can take a lot of time, too. And she's like ‘Y’know what? I think I want to work in this.’ So now she's one of our admins, she works with us. And then vice versa. One of the admins from last year, her name's Spynor, now she's a player in The Milk Cup.”

In 2024, the LAN found a home at L.A. ComicCon and saw a healthy parade of foot traffic full of curious attendees likely witnessing their first all-women LAN for themselves. This year, however, The Milk Cup 2025 Finals are heading to TwitchCon San Diego this October. The choice of venue makes a lot of sense, bringing the LAN straight to those that share the same enthusiasm for gaming as its team and players.

“GonnaNeedMilk sponsored TwitchCon in 2022 and we had an awesome time. That was really our first big foray into the gaming space as Milk, and it was incredibly successful,” said Grubb. “The audience there is unlike anywhere I've ever been, and just the focus on gaming — it makes sense to have The Milk Cup there. I don't think there's a more iconic and energetic space to host The Milk Cup in the U.S., so it just felt like a natural evolution.” 

“I'll also add to that —  I go to a gaming event probably every other weekend, across the globe. This is definitely one where, if you wanna meet your friends from online for the first time and hang out together, TwitchCon is the natural one that a lot of people select,” said Garozzo. “The footprint is just out of this world. People are genuinely engaged in everything that's happening there. You get both a really good mix of esports people, but also people that might not have even known that esports exists but play these games as content creators. The foot traffic that's going to be passing by and wanting to sit down and learn more is just going to be incredible, so I couldn't have picked a better venue.” 

Aside from an elevated venue, the tournament’s growth is reflected in the numbers and the additional offerings on show. Roughly 440 players have registered for The Milk Cup in 2025, with 230 of them being returning players from the inaugural tournament. One particularly notable addition to The Milk Cup experience this year is The Milk Cup Academy, a program that offers women access to resources that’ll help them on their pro journey. This ranges from advice and support from other pros and influencers, access to exclusive Q&A sessions, and even finding partners for scrims.  

• Read more: Interview: ThePeachCobbler — “The Milk Cup Isn’t Just a Tournament, It’s Where Change Starts”

“So, The Milk Cup Academy is built around the idea of scrims; women practicing together. We have seven of those,” explained Garozzo. “But in addition to that we're supplementing it with educational content. Live Q&A's, health and wellness resources, editorials, coaching training regimens. All these things that I, you know I've been in esports forever, but I've never seen this large scale of big influencers, successful players and content creators coming together to support women, and offer these resources for free. You just show up and be part of the community, and you can get all these educational resources. That's really really exciting to me.”

The Milk Cup has shifted from being an unknown event to one that’s now a respected name within women’s esports, and the changes and improvements for this year, no matter how small, seem poised to make a meaningful difference. “I think this year we're gonna have some gaming chairs instead of folding chairs, so that's always a nice level up, too.” 

And credit where credit is due, I was so engrossed in the competition and experience last year that I failed to notice that the players were all competing on simple folding chairs. The back support alone will likely inspire even more impressive performances from the competitors in the upcoming LAN. 

“We've had a few Q&A's, a few resources go out, but we have so much more coming,” added Grubb. “As an amateur Fortnite player, the things I am learning from the content coming from the academy are so valuable. And I don't have goals to compete at the competitive level, but I just imagine as someone newer to the competitive scene, a lot of the stuff typically comes with time and experience and watching hours and hours of competition and pro play. You kind of have to pick up on a lot of it yourself. But getting customized resources to help you take that first leap I think is gonna make all the difference for some of these competitors. I'm really excited to put this content out in the world.” 

• Read more: Interview: Taco on The Milk Cup and the Passion of the Women’s Competitive Scene

Having been lucky enough to experience The Milk Cup Finals first-hand in 2024, I’m excited to see how the LAN has evolved for its second year. In particular, I’m eager to see the growth of its returning players, including some of the standout stars from last year’s LAN. Players such as Kanary who, despite finishing 6th at the inaugural LAN at just 14-years old alongside teammates FemaleClix and CeceNuggets, captured the attention of the audience and fellow competitors alike with her natural skill. This year, Kanary is teaming up with Fraanticc for the LAN’s switch to Duos. The two have already established themselves as a force to be reckoned with, placing first in The Milk Cup 2025: Series 2 in July, and second in Series 1 earlier this year.

“There's some really impressive women this year; some of the returning players, the new players,” said Grubb. "I think anyone could really win it this year, especially with how hard these women have been training, practicing and competing, so I'm just excited to see the competition this year. I think it'll be a step up from last year, especially.”

The Milk Cup Finals is set to take place on October 18, 2025 at TwitchCon San Diego. Before that, fans can catch the action during The Milk Cup Series 3 on August 21, where the top 20 teams will be competing for a share of the $30,000 prize pool, and a coveted spot in the Finals.