Riot Games announced that the VALORANT Champions Tour Game Changers Series, a tournament circuit for women and underrepresented genders, is coming to Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The new VALORANT EMEA Game Changers circuit will have three tournaments over the next three months. A co-ed tournament will also feature.
VCT Game Changers has had two tournaments in North America, along with a few others in South East Asia and Brazil, with a third NA event coming soon. From the format layout, EMEA will be similar to SEA and Brazil, hosting different qualifying tournaments leading up to the big prize pool event in October.
“Right now, the esports industry is suffering from a severe lack of female representation at pro level,” said Vera Wienken, the DACH Brand Manager for Riot Games in the announcement. “If we want to inspire more women to pursue their esports dreams, we need to take direct action to make these games more accessible, and create a level playing field for them to enter in years to come. We want VCT Game Changers EMEA to be that stepping stone for women, in the EU to show off their VALORANT skills and compete in a fair, safe environment but still within the ecosystem.”
EMEA Game Changers schedule
The first two open qualifier tournaments start on Sept. 27 and Oct. 25 respectively. The six-day events will have 64 slots for competing teams, with the second tournament as the co-ed event. In that event, teams must have at least three women on their squad to compete. Both tournaments will feature €20,000 (roughly $23,742) prize pools.
The final tournament of the circuit will start Nov. 15 and feature a €50,000 (roughly $59,347) prize pool. It will not feature an open qualifier. How teams do qualify for the event, or any other details on the tournament, have not yet been revealed. The upcoming events will also have watch parties, approved by the developer at the semi-finals stage.
Registration for the first EMEA Game Changers tournament starts now.
