Esther Vander Meulen reflected on her experience at the Excel Esports European Open, where she was the only woman to progress to the second day of the competition. Read her thoughts below:
I was the top-ranking woman in the main event at the Excel Esports European Open – the only woman, in fact, to make it far enough to play on the second day of the competition. I am proud of this achievement, but it also highlights the fact that women remain underrepresented in these competitions.
Why aren’t there more women in Excel e-sports? Part of it might be the lack of representation. At the finals in 2025, only a few women qualified to compete, and none made it past the quarterfinals. Afterwards, jokes were made on social media that “yes, women are allowed to play too.” Such comments, though they may be well-intentioned, can feel off putting to potential new competitors.
A new format at the European Open tried to address this directly by pairing men and women together for a mixed doubles round, which by design brought a lot more female competitors into the spotlight. As one of a limited number of women competing, I found myself receiving partnership requests from several men, including a few I had never spoken to before. It was an unusual experience, and it felt strange that people who didn’t know me suddenly wanted to partner with me because there were so few women available. In the end, I chose to pair up with Michael Jarman. A former coworker at Operis, he’s the one who got me involved in Excel e-sports to begin with, so I knew from experience we could work well together. (This, more than his 2024 MEWC win, is why I picked him.) If we didn’t have that shared history, I don’t believe we would have placed 2nd.
I am pleased to say that my experience working at Operis has been altogether different. I am grateful to have several strong female role models here, including Hilary Smart, who won Model-Off, a predecessor to the current Excel e-sports competition, in 2013. Beyond that, I feel that my gender has no bearing on the opportunities available to me at Operis, from progression to training and beyond. I am empowered to develop myself and my abilities because that’s what I want to do.
Within the Excel e-sports community, there is a special bond between the female competitors. Before I even started competing, I was invited to join a weekly ladies’ practice group and welcomed with open arms. We have each other’s backs, cheer for each other, and help each other learn and grow. Despite the challenges I’ve mentioned, the wider community has generally been welcoming and supportive. Even so, there’s something special about knowing that the other women understand my experience, and so we stand together.
In the world of Excel e-sports, and more broadly in the world of financial modelling and finance, it is easy as a woman to feel outnumbered. This is hard to ignore. But the support from women around me, and from a community that has far more warmth than it may appear, empowers me to keep showing up.
