The HER Galaxy $100K Apex Legends Open has reversed its decision to disqualify a team with a trans player after a player raised accusations against the organizers.
What kind of tournament is this? HER Galaxy is an initiative for women in gaming. With the tournament series of the same name, the organizers aim to help eliminate the “immense gender inequalities” in the gaming world, similar to how Overwatch 2 announced the “Calling All Heroes Challengers Cup” in 2022.
As part of these efforts, an “Apex Legends Open” with $100,000 is currently taking place – the largest prize pool for a women’s tournament in Apex Legends to date. Unlike Valorant, men and women typically compete together in Apex tournaments.
Recently, there had been trouble because Twitch streamer Nickmercs reportedly did not invite enough women to his tournament. However, on May 19, the “HER Galaxy” tournament also came under fire: A player accused the organizers of disqualifying her team due to the identity of one member.
Player accuses organizers
What are the accusations? On May 19, Sani “Rkxine” from Team VEXX wrote that her team was excluded from the tournament less than 48 hours before they were supposed to compete in the Upper Brackets for a spot in the finals. They had already qualified.
The reason for the disqualification is said to have been a “notoriously transphobic member of the Apex community.” The person allegedly knowingly spread “rumors and misinformation” about Gab, a member of Team VEXX who uses the pronouns “she/they.”
Inclusion has now become an important topic in gaming as well. A 17-year-old at a Pokémon trading card game tournament was asked about his pronouns to ensure the broadcast would refer to him correctly. However, the reaction of the young man led to his disqualification.
You can find the beginning of Rkxine’s thread here:
As Rkxine explained, Gab had never had the opportunity to come out to her family and change her identity legally due to a “difficult life situation.” This had been agreed upon in advance with the tournament admins. There were no issues during the identity verification.
What were the reactions? Members of Team VEXX received significant support from fans. Twitter user Ira shared clips of the player “wondernikki,” who was reportedly responsible for the disqualification, and criticized her for “public, malicious, and transphobic hate.”
In the comments, Twitter users called for the player’s ban and the re-admittance of Team VEXX. We have embedded the tweet with the recordings here:
Organization reacts, initiates investigation
How did the organizers react? On the evening of May 19, a statement from the HER Galaxy admins followed. It stated that they had decided to allow the team after all. The tournament was established to create an inclusive and welcoming space for women and trans women.
The events were a “teachable moment,” said the organizers, who also apologized for any “harm and confusion” caused.
Furthermore, the admins announced that during the investigation, they uncovered conduct that violated their code: They had a zero-tolerance policy for discriminatory behavior and accordingly disqualified “this team.”
However, the organizers did not name any names.
How did it all end? In the end, Team VEXX finished in 9th place and thus qualified for the finals along with the other 9 best teams, which are set to take place in June.
In Valorant, there is a separate tournament circuit for women and other marginalized genders called “Game Changers”. There, a player was banned for allegedly lying about his gender identity:
Valorant bans player for 8 years for pretending to be non-binary to play against women
