A week ago, Julia “juliano” Kiran announced that she was quitting the Counter strike game. In the same vein, his colleague Zainab “zAAz” conveyed the same message to Turkey.

– The CS scene is dead, especially for girls. As a professional player, there is nothing left to pick up there. I’m against dividing women and men, but we need to get better at supporting and showcasing women, says Julia Kiran in a video on streaming service Twitch.

“Harsh jargon”

The two Swedish esports players are not the only ones to leave the game. Players all over the world have already done the same.

– It’s a pretty harsh climate for the girls. If you think of Counter Strike as a game, that’s tough jargon. As soon as you enter the game, it’s an insult and people point out that you are a woman, explains Effie Karabuda, Swedish radio game reporter.

Besides Julia Kiran and Zainab Turkie, relatively few women manage to have a professional career in Counter Strike.

– There aren’t a lot of sponsors or big tournaments for women so it’s hard to have a professional career and make money out of it, explains Effie Karabuda.

“A beautiful statement”

When Julia Kiran left, she posted a live video in which she explained that she would now switch to the Valorant game, as do many other women who quit Counter strike.

– Julia Kiran and Sida Turkey are among the best esports players in the world. For them to switch to Valorant, that’s a big statement. I think it’s Valorant that will apply to women’s esports in the future, says Effie Karabuda.

Valorant is largely reminiscent of Counter Strike but is seen by many as more inclusive. The game was released in 2020 while Counter Strike premiered in 1999.

The article was supplemented in retrospect by the fact that these are two of the best female counterattackers in the world.