NA VCT Game Changers Series 2: Everything you need to know

July 6, 2022

by Sage Datuin

The VALORANT Champions Tour Game Changers series continues to change the landscape for women’s VALORANT, as it led Tier 1 esports organizations to place new emphasis on the women’s scene. Cloud9 White began dominating the North American scene last year, and that has continued into the 2022 season.

Last week, the 2022 Game Changers picked up once again as 48 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 in NA VCT Game Changers Series 2?

This year, VCT Game Changers will see teams compete against one another to earn points toward qualifying for the International Game Changers Championship 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 2. 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 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

The schedule for the matches is as follows:

July 6

4 p.m.

Shopify Rebellion GC vs. Ariana Grande’s Perfume

Dignitas Female vs. Sanri-O’s

7 p.m.

Immortals vs. Cloud9 White

TSM X vs. Dart Monkeys

July 7

4 p.m.

Upper bracket semifinals

7 p.m.

Lower bracket round one

July 8

4 p.m.

Lower bracket quarterfinals

7 p.m.

Upper bracket final

Lower bracket semifinal

July 9

4 p.m.

Lower bracket final

7 p.m.

Grand final

The eight teams competing at VCT NA Game Changers Series 2

Jazzykins &. Co. are the favorites. Photo credit: Nerd Street

Cloud9 White

It was a more hectic path than usual for Cloud9 White to reach VCT 2022 Game Changers Series 2’s main event. First, they made a roster change with Bob "Bob" Tran joining the roster as Annie "Annie" Roberts switched over to streaming. Second, Cloud9 White dropped down to the lower bracket of a VCT Game Changer’s event for the first time, albeit not because of their performance.

Nonetheless, the four-time VCT NA Game Changers champions had to play three best-of-three series. They beat both Zero MarksMen White and top contender Gen.G. Black 2-0. C9 White had their backs against the wall against Misfits Black after losing the first map on Fracture before reverse sweeping their way to their fifth consecutive VCT Game Changers main event.

Now, Cloud9 White will have their opportunity at vengeance against Immortals in the upper bracket quarterfinals. Will they be able to win their fifth consecutive Game Changers tournament?

Immortals

Immortals qualified through the upper bracket after their controversial default victory against Cloud9 White during qualifiers. Nonetheless, even with their first-round pass, Immortals showcased a strong 2-0 victory over Sanri-O’s, who are also at this event. Now, they enter the main stage of Game Changers looking to prove themselves as a top team in women’s VALORANT. They will have a rematch against Cloud9 White in the first round of VCT NA Game Changers Series 2.

dart monkeys

The orgless VALORANT squad is back for their second consecutive VCT NA Game Changers event after taking down XSET Female in the lower bracket. Once viewed as a surprise qualification, the dart monkeys made waves during the Game Changers Series 1 main stage event when they nearly took down CLG Red in a close 2-1 series loss. Now, the underdogs are in their second Game Changers event looking to build on their 7th-8th place finish at the previous tournament.

Will their experience from past tournaments help this group of friends achieve new heights in VALORANT? Their first test will be a rematch against TSM X, whom they lost to 2-0 in the last Game Changers event. However, after more time to practice as a five-person core, this could be their chance to overcome their past loss and begin their deep run.

Benita is back with a new team. Photo credit: Dreamhack

Shopify Rebellion GC

Shopify Rebellion has quickly become the definitive second-best women’s team in North American VALORANT. They finished in third place at their first event, the 2021 VCT NA Game Changers Series 2. They finished second in all subsequent Game Changers events and became the first team to ever take a map off of Cloud9 White in Game Changers. However, like other teams not named Cloud9 White, a championship title at Game Changers continues to allude to them.

Ahead of Series 2, the team acquired longtime CLG Red captain Benita "bENITA" Novshadian, and now, they enter Series 2 sharper than ever as they look to be the primary contenders to dethrone Cloud9 White and prevent them from a fifth consecutive victory. Their path to victory begins with a match against Ariana Grande’s Perfume.

TSM X

TSM X is back at a VCT NA Game Changers event as the longstanding VALORANT squad looks to make this their breakout event. Since Series 1, TSM X swapped out Leah "LeahPanda" Nemchin-Cossman for former CLG Red’s April "bungee" Haight who quickly made an impact on the team to qualify for the tournament. After multiple 5th-6th place finishes, will this be the event where TSM X breaks through for a better result? For now, TSM X will prepare for a rematch against Dart Monkeys as they look to repeat their success against the orgless team.

Dignitas have been very consistent across all Game Changers tournaments. Photo credit: Dreamhack

Dignitas

Dignitas comes back for their fifth consecutive VCT NA Game Chame Changers event after taking down Misfits Black 2-1 in the upper bracket qualifiers. In Series 1, Dignitas finished in third place after losing to Shopify Rebellion in a close 2-1 series loss in the lower bracket final. Now, they look to finally break past their 3rd-4th place curse as the consistent squad looks to reach their very first VCT Game Changers final.

Unlike Shopify Rebellion and Cloud9 White, Dignitas have made zero changes to their lineup which could be an advantage this time around. Only time will tell if the team cohesion of Dignitas will overcome the star power of Cloud9 White at this event. Their journey toward breaking past the 3rd-4th place curse will begin with Sanri-O’s.

Sanri-O’s

Sanri-O’s are another surprise entrance at VCT NA Game Changers that qualified for the main event after their upset victory over Gen.G Black in the first round of the qualifiers. Afterward, they fell to Immortals in a decisive 0-2 loss before taking down Team Mystic Venus in a close 2-1 series. The underdogs of the tournament, Sanri-O’s will have their first challenge against Dignitas in the first round of the tournament where they will look to pull off a major upset against the VCT Game Changers veterans.

Ariana Grande’s Perfume

One of the biggest surprises of the VCT NA Game Changers qualifiers was when Ariana Grande’s Perfume took down Complexity GX3 for a spot in the main event of this tournament. After losing their first closed qualifier match, Ariana Grande’s Perfume dropped to the lower bracket where many people assumed they would drop out in the first round. Instead, they became one of the biggest surprises of the Game Changers qualifiers when they took down Complexity GX3 for a spot in the main event of this tournament.

Ariana Grande’s Perfume is a dark horse for this tournament. They proved in their matches that they have strong aim, evident by their strong play on Icebox throughout the qualifiers. Now, this orgless team will look to shock more teams with their firepower as they attempt to make a deep run at the main event. If there is a team that can challenge the VCT Game Changers staples, it would be this team.

Lead photo credit: Cloud9