NA Game Changers is back: Format, Organizer, Rules, Schedule, and more

The long wait is finally over. Valorant has released information on what the North American Game Changers competition for female and non-binary players will look like this year.

Format

This year's NA VCT Game Changers will feature three regular season tournaments, each with an open qualifier leading into a Main Event. For the Open Qualifier, teams will battle in a GSL Group format to determine the top eight remaining teams. These top eight teams from the Open Qualifier will advance to the Main Event, which will be a double-elimination bracket with all matches being best-of-three. The Main Event finals will be a best-of-five matchup.

The teams will compete for $50,000 in each of the tournaments and can also earn points towards the 2023 Game Changers World Championship qualification.

There is set to be a total of 410 points available for the top sixteen placed teams throughout each Game Changer Series. The point distribution will be as follows:

• 1st Place: 20% or 80 points
• 2nd Place: 15% or 60 points
• 3rd Place: 12% or 50 points
• 4th Place: 10% or 40 points
• 5th - 6th Place: 7% or 30 points
• 7th - 8th Place: 5% or 20 points
• 9th - 16th Place: 2% or 10 points

New Organizer

A huge change to this year's Game Changers tournaments is the event organizer. Replacing Nerd Street Gamers will be Knights Arena, the event division of the Pittsburgh Knights. Knights Arena has worked many successful Valorant tournaments in the past.

Rules Update

There has been a slight rule update to this year's NA VCT Game Changers, as the minimum rank to compete has been changed from Platinum to Ascendant based on player feedback. This will ensure stiffer regional competition.

Verification System

Another huge change this year for NA Game Changers will be adding the non-profit organization AnyKey as a partner. They will replace Galorants as the verification resource for players.

Players will be able to verify themselves by filling out a form that allows them to select from several different options to provide evidence of their identity. Options will include providing a photo ID with a gender/sex marker, an affirming doctor’s note, or a well-established social media account with a public track record of that player’s identity. Alternatively, players can also choose to verify themselves through a voice chat with a member of the AnyKey staff team.

This will apply to all players, regardless of whether they've competed in past Game Changers tournaments.  

Schedule

The registration period for the first Game Changers event of the year will start on March 21st.

Series 1:

• Open Qualifier: April 4 to 6
• Main Event: April 7, April 11 to 14

Series 2:

• Open Qualifier: July 13 to 16
• Main Event: July 26 to July 30

Series 3:

• Open Qualifier: September 28 to October 1
• Main Event: October 4 to 8

VCT Game Changers Academy / Knight's Sakura Cup

There have also been changes to VCT Game Changers Academy, which will now be called the Knight's Sakura Cup. This tournament series will take place bi-monthly and will allow players to showcase their skills and compete for prizes upwards of $10,000.

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