The open qualifiers for the Valorant Champions Tour Game Changers Series 1 for the North American region have ended with eight teams qualifying for the tournament.
VCT Game Changers was first announced in late February. The main goal behind Game Changers was to supplement the competitive season by creating new opportunities for women and other marginalized genders within the Valorant esports scene.
Many organizations formed female-only Valorant rosters to participate in the open qualifiers, including Cloud9, TSM, and others.
Valorant Game Changers Series 1 NA schedule and format
The VCT Game Changers series 1 open-qualifier for the NA region started on March 19th and went on till March 21st. Among the 32 teams that participated in the qualifier, only the top eight teams qualified for the main event held on March 25th.
The eight teams were:
- Moon Raccoons Black
- Cloud9 White
- Counter Logic Gaming Red
- Dignitas Female
- TSM Female
- Watch This
- OWA OWA
- Man I Love Fwogs
The tournament features the usual double-elimination bracket, with all games being played as a best-of-three series besides the grand finals, which is a best-of-five series. The match-ups have not been disclosed as of yet. The tournament will be broadcast from VCT NA’s official Twitch and YouTube channels.
As for the final rewards, the tournament boasts a $50,000 prize pool, which will be divided among teams depending on their berths.
The prize distribution for the tournament is as follows:
No matter who wins this tournament, it will be a huge step for everyone in the Valorant community. It will be the best chance for marginalized sections to show audiences that they aren't far behind in the Valorant esports scene.
Anna Donlon, Executive Producer of Valorant, had this to say about the Game Changers Initiative:
If we want to build a thriving, competitive scene for VALORANT, which we do, we have to cultivate communities where players can compete together safely. We think Game Changers is an important next step in this, and we can't wait to see things kick off in March. We are dedicated to creating a VALORANT social experience that you deserve, and we look forward to working on that goal together.