It is a well-worn stereotype that girls are not considered as being ‘gamers’ – at least not in the same way that boys are. People generally assume that the majority of gamers are male and that females only enjoy playing ‘cutesy’ games that are considered colourful, ‘easy’ and not very challenging.

This is where Girls HK comes into the picture. Girls HK are a team of female gamers who aim to break stereotypes and prove to the world that girls are just as talented and ‘in tune’ with the pro-gaming world as men are. The team already has more than 50,000 fans on Facebook, with the number steadily increasing as the girls gain more popularity the further they make it in the pro-gaming industry.

The girls will take on Taiwanese team Logi-A later this month at E-Sport Festival 2015, and they hope the clash will raise the profile of gaming among other women.

The gaming contest offers prizes of up to HK$50,000, and the team captain Fafa Yim told SCMP she was confident of winning.

The Girls HK team specialise in the popular multiplayer battle game, League of Legends. This game gets over 20 million players each day who log in online to battle with their friends in an exciting and adrenaline pumping video game.

Fafa Yim did feel that some women are put off gaming by the violent nature of some games, explaining: “[League of Legends] probably attracts fewer girls because it’s not that cute and there’s lots of killing.”

The efforts of her team are showing that that sort of blanket statement isn’t necessarily true though, with many girls equally at home playing the sort of games male competitors compete in.

During the tournament, players will compete in a range of different games such as Street Fighter, Counterstrike and Hearthstone. The leading players of the festival are thought to earn more than $1 million.

This huge prize is thought to be one of the many reasons why hundreds of professional gamers try their luck in the competition each year.

Girl gamers need to get the confidence to realize that they are just as good as male gamers. Girls HK are, through their eye-catching displays, flying the flag for their gender and should inspire others to test their talents – and compete for big money – on the biggest stage.

Whilst the gaming industry seems to be male dominated, many women have shown interest in the industry. In fact, according to The Guardian 52% of the gaming audience is made up of women.

Just three years ago, the figure was at 49% and has risen considerably over a sustained period, emphasizing the fact that prejudices are proving to be redundant.

Some people feel this is largely due to the fact that women enjoy playing mobile games a great deal more than men, often indulging in activities purely for the fun of it and not taking a competitive approach as often as men, but is that too simplistic?

Girls HK aim to become full-time gamers in the near future, battling to put an end to the female gamer stereotype whilst fulfilling their passion at the same time.

If they succeed then they’ll almost certainly not be the last team of their kind. The work they’ve done already might suggest that, in fact, they’ve already been a success of sorts when it comes to the question of why more girls should be gaming.