FaZe Clan’s Diane ‘di^’ Tran Wants to Win
The much-hyped gaming company’s first all-woman esports team is out for trophies: "Success is the best revenge," Tran told Jezebel.
Makers of NowThe Experts
This article is part of our new women in gaming series, Makers of Now.
In the gaming world, FaZe Clan is, if anything, a hype machine. The ubiquitous esports organization has its hands in nearly every bucket of pop culture—from partnerships with Beats by Dre and the NFL, memberships with stars like NBA player Ben “FaZe Simmo” Simmons and Stranger Things breakout Grace Van Dien, to a glut of high profile investors including rappers Offset, Lil Yachty, and Mr. Worldwide himself: Pitbull.
Despite recent eyebrow–raising headlines, FaZe still claims to be rocking its original swagger: The company’s website triumphantly calls itself “one of the world’s most prominent and influential gaming organizations.” Indeed, hundreds of millions of people play and watch FaZe worldwide—whether the hype is worth believing or not is entirely up to you.
In March, nearly 13 years after its founding, FaZe made history, signing its first all-women’s esports team: Jennifer “refinnej” Le, Emma “emy” Choe, Vannesa Emely “panini” Emory, Madison “maddiesuun” Mann, and Diane “di^” Tran—most of whom are also women of color. The following month, they competed in the 2023 Valorant Champions Tour Game Changer Series, an initiative launched by Riot Games in 2021 to raise the profiles of women and nonbinary esports athletes. FaZe signed their second solo female content creator, Stranger Things actor Grace Van Dien, last month—but it already appears that she’s no longer working with the company, after one of FaZe’s male creators attacked her almost immediately. (FaZe issued a statement in support of Van Dien.)
But for Tran, who chatted with Jezebel for our Makers of Now series, it’s all eyes on the prize. The Houston-based 28-year-old hopes to make FaZe proud that this particular group of women were “the chosen ones:” At the end of the day, all she wants is “to win.” It’s the only outcome that will muzzle anonymous naysayers online, though Tran has already more than proven her place in professional esports.
It’s been well-documented that better representation for women and nonbinary folks—especially those from marginalized backgrounds—is urgent in gaming. Not only does Kotaku describe FaZe as a sort of “bro clan,” but gender equality in the larger esports apparatus is sorely lacking. Though nearly half of gamers worldwide identify as women, women make up just 8 percent of professional players. Given that online spaces can be particularly hostile towards minority groups, some players disguise themselves or refrain from using their microphones to avoid gender-based harassment, often sexual in nature. To combat this climate, as well as to counter the team’s hectic schedules (which include scrimmages until 8:30 p.m. each night), FaZe said it’s provided Tran and her teammates with a mental health coach.
@clocracy This Ace was from one of the worst games I’ve ever experienced and the entire time I was talking to my chat about how sad it was. #valorant #valorantgir #womeninvalorant #womeninesports #valorantaceclip #valoranttoxicity
In spite of the dominant bro-y culture, the FaZe team are part of a small but steadily growing group of all-women’s esports teams, and Tran has all the success and more to justify her inclusion in the industry (wins at the NEST Pro Series LAN Finals and the WESG USA Female LAN Qualifier for CLG Red, to name a couple). A calm and steady leader, she and her teammates are focused as hell—they’re elite athletes, after all. And they’re coming for your prize money.
