The Milk Cup

MilkPEP

Created a groundbreaking esports tournament for women

Case Study

CHALLENGE

In the world of professional esports, women are underpaid, underserved, and massively underrepresented. Despite making up nearly half of the gaming community, only 5% of professional esports athletes are women — and none of them rank among the sport’s top 400 earners.

SOLUTION

We created The Milk Cup, an all-women Fortnite tournament free from the obstacles and biases women face in other series. The $250,000 prize pool was the largest ever for a women’s esports event in North America, and culminated in the first-ever live, in-person women’s Fortnite finals, held at L.A. Comic Con 2024.

Results

90m

Earned social impressions

1.13b

Earned media impressions

45^%

OF ALL GLOBAL online Fortnite viewers WATCHed the final LIVE (source: Twitch)

12^%

OF FINALISTS SIGNED BY PROFESSIONAL ESPORTS ORGANIZATIONS

285^%

growth of the GonnaNeedMilk Discord gaming community

6^%

increase in teens drinking milk daily*

*Based on teen reporting of consumption of the past day from 2022 to 2024, MilkPEP consumption tracker study

WE INVITED THE WORLD TO FOLLOW ALONG

Hundreds of women signed up to play in three online qualifier events streamed live on Twitch, the world’s largest online live-streaming platform. Each event had more views than Fortnite’s own official championship series, and became the most-watched women’s Fortnite series ever.

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THE MILK CUP CHAMPIONSHIP AT L.A. COMIC CON

Over 120,000 people showed up at the Los Angeles Convention Center to mingle and marvel at various exhibits. On the main stage of the Gaming Hall, 99 women competed in the first-ever live, in-person women’s Fortnite finals. The event was broadcast on Twitch to over 2.7 million viewers.
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For many finalists, it was their first time competing at a professional level. This groundbreaking event allowed women to see other gamers with similar skills and aspirations, giving them a safe space to compete and providing them with a greater chance to build a professional career in esports. In fact, 12% of finalists signed with professional esports organizations during the series.