Version1’s meL calls out Riot for lack of Game Changers promotion
Colin Young-Wolff/Riot GamesmeL is one of the top female Valorant players in the world today.
After winning the Series II North American Game Changers tournament, Version1’s Melanie ‘meL’ Capone called out Riot Games for its lack of media and promotion for the event.
Version1 and meL dominated their second Game Changers event of the year, taking the trophy without losing a single map. The squad has secured 160 points toward Game Changers World Championship qualification and is well-positioned to be North America’s No. 1 seed at the tournament later this year.
A day after winning the tournament, meL took to social media to voice her displeasure at Riot Games for the developer’s lack of media and promotion around the 2023 tournament circuit.
“The promotion and media of Game Changers this year has been lacking compared to before,” meL said. “I was fortunate to come up through GC at a time when the promotion of the events really helped me to gain a foothold in the scene. I feel like a lot of the up-and-coming players now deserve that same opportunity.”
Riot needs to promote Game Changers more according to meL
The Version1 IGL said she doesn’t want to come across as ungrateful, but that she wants the younger players that are rising up through the ranks to have the same opportunities she did in 2021 and 2022.
The most recent North American Game Changers was dominated by young players making a name for themselves at the tournament. Version1 has two young stars, Sarah ‘sarah’ Simpson and Ava ‘florescent’ Eugene, who showed out at the tournament. Disguised, who placed in the top three at the event, also has two hyped-up newcomers in ‘misu’ and ‘unstable.’
“I’m not asking for Riot to fly people out and shoot high-production trailers every GC like they did last year, but not even having press conferences is wild to me. There just hasn’t been as much hype generated from promos this year,” meL said.
The Game Changers circuit will continue across the world as Asia Pacific, EMEA and Brazil are either in the midst of their tournaments or set to compete soon. The Game Changers World Championship is set to take place in November.
