Esports.gg sat down with ThePeachCobbler, sapphiRe, and Jen Grubb for an interview about 2025’s iteration of The Milk Cup LAN Finals. This is how The Milk Cup turns dreams into reality for women in Fortnite esports and beyond.
After duking it out through qualifier events all year, 100 women Fortnite competitors have earned their spots at The Milk Cup 2025 Finals. The tournament will kick off on Oct. 18, and ahead of the action, esports.gg interviewed the folks who brought the circuit to life. We spoke with top Fortnite streamer ThePeachCobbler, Raidiant founder Heather “sapphiRe” Garozzo, and Milk Processor Education Program (MilkPEP) senior marketing manager Jen Grubb!
Interview: Journey to The Milk Cup 2025
Created by MilkPEP's Gonna Need Milk initiative, The Milk Cup circuit held its first LAN in 2024 at L.A. Comic Con. The event opened new doors for women in esports and featured rising talent from across the scene. Its organizers also learned a lot from the inaugural LAN and focused on improving every part of the player experience. For example, small touches like hand warmers on a cold stage can make all the difference. In the interview with esports.gg, ThePeachCobbler expanded on this.
"This year, we included personal notes. We included a [space] of being able to talk to these women [and] give hugs," ThePeachCobbler said, adding that she made herself available whenever players needed anything. "And we just made that more of like a platform of like, 'Hey, I'm here for you as your big sister. I'm here to get you hand warmers. I'm here to get you some milk if you need some.' We honestly don't have a limit to what that request is."
She continued, noting that some younger players had little LAN experience while some older players had never had mentors to guide them. The team helped everyone navigate airmiles programs, makeup, and so much more. They even added thoughtful additions like goodie bags and photo opportunities to make The Milk Cup extra special.
Grubb, meanwhile, recalled how after last year's qualifiers and LAN, the team relied heavily on surveys and feedback from the players. The folks behind The Milk Cup even asked about everything from tournament structure and gameplay to personal preferences and brand favorites. That information then shaped every detail of this year's event. To Grubb, listening to the gaming community is key.
"We're committed to being by gamers, for gamers," Grubb said. "We want to really listen to the community in the gaming space."
A Tier 1 production for an S-tier Fortnite esports tournament
Meanwhile, SapphiRe detailed this year's upgraded broadcast and described it as a Tier 1 production thanks to its desk hosts, analysts, and casters such as Taco, SierraDawn, Kelly Link, Elisabeth Marchimi, MonsterDFace, and Jacob PR. After all, the competitors deserve to be treated as the main event.
"I geek out about format explainer videos," SapphiRe added. "Like going through what happened in the last six months -- you don't want to assume everyone's watching every single game, and we made it both really friendly if this is the first time you're tuning in, but also if you watch every single step of the way, you can geek out about all the minute details of gameplay and everything that happened."
By making the explainers and recaps easy to follow, the team also made it helpful for parents who are new to the esports scene yet traveled to San Diego to support their daughters.
How The Milk Cup turns dreams into reality for women in Fortnite esports
When asked about what the evolution of The Milk Cup means to them, Grubb told esports.gg about its life-changing moments such as forming new friendships and traveling across the country for the first time ever. These personal milestones for players also indicate the event’s growing impact on the esports industry as a whole.
"Seeing all of this just come to life and change lives, but then also being recognized by the gaming industry [with last year’s LAN being ranked S-tier on Liquidpedia] and all of it together -- is completely mind-blowing," Grubb said. "I'm a marketer, right? This is a complete dream for me -- to be able to mix my day job with actually changing lives and making a really big change for women's esports overall."
As for SapphiRe, she reiterated Raidiant's goal of building a foundation for long, thriving careers in gaming and esports. This includes growing the pool of competitive players and expanding opportunities for staff. Raidiant now has a massive production crew, with around 46 women contributing, which is a significant moment in their careers. Many of them rarely get the chance to showcase their skills in observation, administration, or broadcasting. Therefore, The Milk Cup circuit is truly life-changing.
"It really is changing lives because I guarantee you in like 10 or 15 years from now, someone else from over there, those players, are gonna be sitting in these seats answering the same questions like, 'Back in my day, it's really was The Milk Cup -- it started it at all for me.' And I think that's really exciting," she said.
As an FNCS attendee for the longest time, ThePeachCobbler also shared how The Milk Cup is a realization of a long-held dream. "And a dream shared is a dream that becomes real," she told esports.gg, adding that the circuit also influenced broader opportunities for women in Fortnite such as more visibility in casting and competitions. In fact, the FNCS will stream The Milk Cup 2025 Finals soon as well.
The Milk Cup 2025 Finals will start on Oct. 18 at 11:30 a.m. PT. According to SapphiRe, the very beginning of the broadcast will feature something truly special.
That's all for now. Stick around on esports.gg for more Fortnite interviews, news, and updates!
