Heather “sapphiRe” Garozzo — “I Think The Milk Cup is Going to be One of Those Historic Moments.”<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n“What [The Milk Cup] is doing in terms of merch for the women, or the stage for the women, is all the best quality they can get. It’s not skimping,” Peach explained. “I think a lot of sponsorships and people that I’ve worked with in the past, you can feel the quality isn’t really there. It’s kind of a quick fix band-aid, so to speak. But to see Milk say instead, ‘Okay, how can we make it an even playing field? We’ll do three [qualifiers] instead of one. Then, on top of that, we’re gonna fly and pay for all the girls to come out,’ which is something that I wanted as well. FNCS covers their players and gives them that extra feeling of specialness.”<\/p>\n
Peach’s passion for gaming began from a young age, like so many women gamers, and has remained a part of her life ever since. “I’m from a family of 15. I have 11 brothers and three sisters and we were all gamers,” she explained. “My dad got us the console when we were really young from a thrift store. My brothers fixed it up and got it working. We just had so many broken controllers, but that’s how they babysat us. They gave us a controller, put us in their laps and played.<\/p>\nNo stranger to a Fortnite LAN, the FNCS inspired Peach to push for all-women tournaments. (Picture: ThePeachCobbler)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nSo we grew up watching them play. Then, as soon as we were old enough to compete as well, we were just up in the energy of everyone. It became the glue to our friendships and sometimes the breaking points to them, as well. But from a very young age, from the moment I could walk, just competing against my brothers was our favorite pastime. It was like a reward in our household. If we were good, mom let us play.”<\/p>\n
From a hobby, however, Peach grew her passion into much more further down the line through Fortnite. An eFUSE tournament with a $75,000 prize pool gave her a first taste of the competitive scene, and sparked what would quickly become a dedication to women’s esports. “I did well in the tournament. I took my earnings and I created my own tournament for the first time, and just prioritized women. Then it kind of snowballed from there. I’ve been continuing to do that with Milk, hosting scrims while we’ve been getting ready for The Milk Cup, on top of connecting with the female competitors and seeing how they want to be seen in the scene.”<\/p>\n
It’s no secret that women face some of the biggest barriers when it comes to gaming, be it competitive or casual. From daily harassment to lack of opportunities, it’s no surprise why so many often feel deterred from the industry. But events like The Milk Cup serve to break down the walls, giving women the space to compete as their authentic selves, with only their performance to worry about. As we invest more into women’s esports, we’ll see the sector expand in more fresh and exciting ways, and more women will feel comfortable to take that leap into competitive gaming. <\/p>\n
“I want them to know that The Milk Cup isn’t just a tournament, it’s where change starts. We’re here to celebrate you and give you the spotlight you deserve. Women have been put down for so long, and we’re all about changing that and creating a safe space. Come join us, we’ve got you covered!”<\/p>\n
The Milk Cup Finals will be taking place at Los Angeles Comic Con on October 5, 2024. 99 women players will be competing in trios for a $250,000 prize pool. Those that can’t make it to the event in person will be able to catch the action, in full, on Twitch.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"We’re counting down the days until The Milk Cup Finals. A LAN that’s bringing together 33 all-women Fortnite teams to compete for a share of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12874,"featured_media":67808,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"tags":[],"class_list":["post-67807","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fortnite","genre-battle-royal","content_type-interview"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Interview: ThePeachCobbler \u2014 \u201cThe Milk Cup Isn\u2019t Just a Tournament, It\u2019s Where Change Starts\u201d - GINX TV<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n