Riot Games announce Valorant tournament for “marginalized” players: VCT Game Changers

As Valorant’s esports scene continues to blossom, Riot Games have announced the Valorant Champions Tour Game Changers competition, which provides “marginalized genders” a shot at VCT glory. 

All eyes are on the Valorant Champions Tour right now, Valorant’s premier tournament circuit, which is well underway around the globe.

As a subsection of the ongoing competition, Riot Games have announced the VCT Game Changers and Game Changers Academy. The main feature of these competitions is that they are composed completely of what Riot has called marginalized genders.

What is VCT Game Changers?

Riot describes VCT Game Changers as “a new initiative which will supplement the competitive season by creating new opportunities and exposure for marginalized genders within Valorant. Game Changers will be a year-long effort to build a Valorant Champions Tour that is more representative of the diversity of the Valorant community.”

Senior Director of Esports at Riot Games, Whalen ‘Magus’ Rozelle, writes “with Valorant esports we’re committed to fostering an inclusive environment for competition and creating safe opportunities for women to compete without fear of identity or gender-based harassment.”

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Executive Producer Anna ‘SuperCakes’ Donlon goes on to say that “competing in games as a woman can be a daunting task, oftentimes resulting in a very real competitive disadvantage.”

“While we’re addressing this challenge in-game, with improvements to chat, voice communications, and mitigation of griefing, we also see an opportunity to take another step with esports.”

How does VCT Game Changers work?

The main leg of the tournament, the VCT Game Changers Series, kicks off in March of this year in North America.

Similar in scale to the Ignition Series that took place last year with a $50k prize pool up for grabs, the tournaments will take place all around the globe and run alongside the main body of the Valorant Champions Tour circuit.

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Additionally, VCT Game Changers Academy will also get underway with monthly tournaments. Working alongside Galorants, the organizer for last year’s ‘For the Women Summer Showdown,’ Academy is the perfect place to foster improved grassroots competitive play.