Meet the teams competing at VCT Game Changers North America Series 3

Last updated Sept. 29

The VCT Game Changers North America Series 3 main event starts Friday following this past weekend’s opening qualifier. The bracket has not been released yet but it will be an eight-team double-elimination bracket like previous tournaments.

VCT Game Changers is a program in North America for women and marginalized genders to compete in a high-level VALORANT tournament.

Cloud9 White have won the previous two tournaments, so teams will no doubt be putting a target on their backs. Here’s everything you need to know about each of the eight teams competing this weekend.

Cloud9 White

This team has been unstoppable in VCT Game Changers. They haven’t dropped a single map in the entire tournament, and their momentum doesn’t seem to be stopping anytime soon, considering they eliminated both of their opponents in the open qualifiers before they got to the main event.

Equipped with head coach Chris “Dream” Myrick and a roster that is absolutely stacked with talent, they are far and away the best all-women team in the NA circuit right now. Their roster hasn’t changed from the core five members since the team was formed in 2020. Their synergy and skill have given them a competitive edge that other teams just haven’t matched.

Shopify Rebellion

Before they were Shopify Rebellion they were Built Better, and before that, were Moon Raccoons, the orgless team that had people screaming to sign them.

In the second VCT Game Changers tournament, Diana “diana” Zhang was absent and Kiana “KP” Lytle filled in. The team finished third overall, but now they have a new coach in Rob “rob-wiz” Kennedy, who just joined the team two weeks ago. Rob-wiz brings with him a plethora of experience in VALORANT, CS:GO and Overwatch, which together could give the team an edge this time around.

Shopify Rebellion scored a clean 2-0 in each of their qualifying matches, which means they’ll start with a top seed and avoid seeing Cloud9 White in the first match of bracket play.

CLG Red

CLG Red have competed in the last two tournaments as well and faced Cloud9 White in the final both times. They’ve been a powerhouse team throughout the tournament, with Cloud9 White their Achilles’ heel.

Although they didn’t have a good open qualifier, this team isn’t one to be counted out. They consistently perform well and are hungry for more. Their roster has seen some changes this tournament after CLG Red announced recently that Naomi “Naomi” Sauvola and Evalynn “ChoboMe” Chiu were released from the team. Amnesia and bungee take their place to fill out the roster.

Benita “bENITA” Novshadian, Melanie “rise” Tetreault and Claudia “Clawdia” Che, the core members of CLG Red since the last tournament, are ready and motivated to snatch the top prize this time around.

Dignitas Female

Dignitas have been a consistent presence in the VCT Game Changers tournaments, so it’s no surprise that they made it through to the main event this time around too. Led by IGL Emmalee “EMUHLEET” Garrido, Dignitas are always a team to watch out for, and for this tournament they had some tough opening matches.

They started out playing VersionX, which is Version1’s female roster and beat them 2-0. After that, they faced TSM Female, who gave them a good run for their spot. Dignitas were able to win the last two maps of that match in a dominant fashion, which sent them to the bracket playoffs with a 2-1 score over TSM.

Gen.G Black

This is Gen.G Black’s first appearance in a VCT Game Changers main event, but they’ve been on an upswing in terms of performance lately. Recently, they placed third in the Pittsburgh Knights Sakura Cup 4.

Not only did Gen.G Black make the bracket stage this time around, but they also grabbed a top seed. Their impressive performance so far will have fans watching to see how far they go. They are another team who has been together for a fair bit of time, so perhaps their synergy has started to pay off.

TSM Female

There was quite a bit of roster moving going on earlier in the year for TSM Female, but they’ve made only one roster move since the last tournament in releasing Zoe “Zoessie” Servais. Karnthida “dodonut” Chaisrakeo has been brought on as a trial.

TSM were able to qualify via the lower bracket after they lost to Dignitas Female in the upper bracket. They beat +22 (an orgless team) 2-0 to qualify for the main event. They have a lot of work to do and might have a possible rematch against Dignitas early on, so they’ll have some preparation to do if they want to make it far in this tournament.

Polaris

Speaking of Zoessie, she was released from TSM Female and then went to play for Just Breathe for a bit before joining Polaris for this Game Changers tournament.

What’s most impressive about Polaris was that they kicked CLG Red to the lower bracket after beating them 2-0 in their first match of the tournament. They did eventually fall to Cloud9, but they came out of the match against 24 Haven 2-1 which qualified them for the main event bracket.

If there is a team that might surprise everyone, Polaris will be that team. They’ve already shocked those following the tournament after beating CLG Red, who are consistently regarded as a top three team in the women’s VALORANT scene.

XSET Female (formerly NOTHING2LOSE)

The team formerly known as NOTHING2LOSE have reached both of the VCT Game Changers main event tournaments they’ve participated in, although they didn’t get very far last time. On Wednesday, XSET announced they had signed the roster and will compete at this weekend's tournament as XSET Female.

Ariane “ARIANARCHIST” Lafrenère, Katherine “starriebun” So and Carolyn “ArtstaR” Noquez have been with the team since the beginning, and now Elena “EllieTwitches” Garland joins the them after a run with the now disbanded Man I Love Fwogs. EllieTwitches was awarded MVP in their qualifying match versus CC Angels, and her experience and skill will be a boon to the team.

Along with Polaris, XSET will be an underdog in this bracket. They took a hard loss to TSM Female, but they were able to beat VersionX and CC Angels to move on. This team has been putting in some serious work and playing around with their players’ roles, so they might just surprise some of the top-seeded teams.

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The main event bracket for NA VCT Game Changers 3 begins Thursday and will be streamed on the VALORANT Twitch channel.

Lead photo credit: Riot Games