Previewing the 2022 VALORANT Champions Tour Game Changers Series I

The VALORANT Champions Tour Game Changers series completely changed the landscape for women’s VALORANT, as it led Tier 1 esports organizations to place new emphasis on the women’s scene. From that push, we saw the complete domination by Cloud9 White, which capped off the 2021 VCT season with three consecutive Game Changers victories.

Last week, the 2022 Game Changers season got underway as 16 VALORANT teams went through open qualifiers to determine the field of eight that will play at the main event. This time around, however, those teams are competing for something even grander than their share of the $50,000 prize pool.

What’s at stake?

This year, VCT Game Changers will see teams compete against one another to earn points toward qualifying for the International Game Changers Championship sometime in November.

A total of 410 points will be distributed across all 16 teams that qualified for the open qualifier stage of VCT 2022 Game Changers Series I. The eight non-qualifying teams have all received 10 circuit points each, while the remaining 330 will be distributed among the qualifiers.

Circuit points will be distributed to the remaining teams as follows based on their performance at the VCT Game Changers event:

First place – 80 points
Second place – 60 points
Third place – 50 points
Fourth place – 40 points
Fifth and sixth place – 30 points
Seventh and eighth place – 20 points
Ninth to 16th place – 10 points

Schedule and format for VCT Game Changers (all times ET)

Aside from the Grand Finals’ best-of-five format, all matches will be best-of-three. The eight teams have been seeded into a double-elimination bracket based on their performance through the 2022 VCT Game Changers 1 open qualifier.

The schedule for the matches goes as follows:

April 6

Cloud9 White vs. CLG Red – 6:30 p.m.
VersionX vs. Shopify Rebellion – 6:30 p.m.
dart monkeys vs. TSM X – 9 p.m.
Dignitas vs. Gen.G Black – 9 p.m.

April 7

Upper bracket semifinals – 4 p.m.
Lower bracket round one – 7 p.m.

April 8

Lower bracket quarterfinals – 4 p.m.
Upper bracket finals – 7 p.m.
Lower bracket semifinal – 7 p.m.

April 9

Lower bracket finals – 4 p.m.
Grand final – 7 p.m.

Three teams still standing going into the final day of the event, with both the lower bracket finals and grand final held one right after the other.

Who’s competing?

Last year, the North American women’s VALORANT scene was dominated by Cloud9 White, who are back chasing their fourth consecutive Game Changers title. But with a new year and new meta in play for 2022, the field could be wide open.

Here’s a closer look at all eight teams competing at VCT 2022 Game Changers Series I.

dart monkeys

Unsigned and brimming with determination to make their mark on the women’s VALORANT scene, dart monkeys are the event’s biggest surprise. Amongst a sea of team’s sponsored by Tier 1 orgs, they stand as the outlier after showcasing impressive growth in their less than two months as a team and just 22 official matches. Though they enter the event as underdogs, they will look to continue their rapid rise to the top.

TSM X

TSM X is just one of a handful of teams that have qualified for every Game Changers event to date. However, they have yet to make the kind of groundbreaking run that could push them into the upper echelon of women’s VALORANT. With their highest placing a 5th-6th finish at VCT 2021 Game Changers Series II, TSM X now look to 2022 as an opportunity to finally show why they are the next group to watch.

Gen.G Black

Gen.G Black first formed in May of last year, but initially struggled to make headway in the VCT. However, instead of opting to make wholesale changes, the primary four-person core of Carlee “Carlee” Gress, Hannah “hannah” Reyes, Lee Lee “leelee” McNeil, and Tiraye “Tiraye” Knox stuck together and progressively got better.

With the addition of Lynn “Lynn” Clarke in July, Gen.G Black qualified for their first 2021 VCT Game Changers Series III, where they finished 5th-6th after losing to XSET Female 2-0 in the lower bracket. This marks two Game Changers appearances in a row for the rising squad.

Dignitas Female

Alongside TSM X, CLG Red, and Cloud9 White, Dignitas Female return for their fourth VCT Game Changers event. Yet, the road will be harder for these longtime VALORANT competitors after they dropped down to the lower bracket for the first time in an open qualifier.

Often viewed as one of the top teams in women’s VALORANT, Dignitas Female has yet to make a grand final appearance, with their highest placement being 3rd at the last Game Changers in October. With a season in front of them, the hope is they can build off of that performance and put their shaky open qualifier behind them.

CLG Red

In the early Game Changers events, CLG Red was viewed as the second-best team in women’s VALORANT, justified by consecutive grand final appearances at the first two Game Changers. But at the most recent tournament, they were brought down by Shopify Rebellion and Dignitas Female, resulting in their lowest Series finish yet at 5th-6th.

Heading into 2022, CLG Red is a predominantly new-look crew, having only retained Claudia “Clawdia” Che and Melanie “rise” Tetreault – the latter of which has transitioned into the IGL role. They have an opportunity to demonstrate they’ve made major strides and put the rest of VCT on notice at this event.

VersionX

Since their last appearance at VCT 2021 Game Changers Series II as Just Breathe, a lot has changed. That lineup was signed by Version1 to create VersionX in September. Unfortunately, the team was unable to replicate their magical run, ending 2021 being eliminated in the open qualifiers of Game Changers III.

Just weeks before the open qualifier for 2022, VersionX swapped out Natalia “Natty” Jackson and Kiara “milk” Makua for the ex-Polaris duo of Katrina “katriggered” Perez and Makayla “Starlight”.So far, it’s been a huge success as the rebuilt team was able to qualify by defeating Misfits Black in the lower bracket of the open qualifier.

Shopify Rebellion

Shopify Rebellion burst onto the women’s VALORANT scene instantaneously after they climbed all the way to third at VCT 2021 Game Changers Series II, just days after forming as a team. They then quickly surpassed that performance when they reached the Grand Final of Series III, before ultimately losing to Cloud9 White 3-1.

10 months later, Shopify Rebellion enter their third Game Changers as the strongest contender to dethrone Cloud9 White. With a revamped meta in VALORANT, paired with their own reinvigorated confidence, Shopify now look at this event as an opportunity to validate their beliefs.

Cloud9 White

Unchanged and unchallenged since forming on October 25, 2020, Cloud9 White stand atop the women’s VALORANT scene as the team to beat.

Now, Cloud9 White is looking to extend their domination into 2022 and win their fourth straight title. Knowing their capabilities to dominate the North American scene, Cloud9 White’s sights are set on using this event to qualify for the International Game Changers Championship in November.

The newly added factor of circuit points, as well as the opportunity to play in an International Game Changers LAN, are set to provide a new level of competition as the eight remaining teams look to start 2022 off with a win.

More information surrounding VCT 2022 Game Changers Series 1 can be found on the official blog post detailing the event.