Game Changers Championship Final Preview

With the long-awaited VCT Game Changers Championship in Berlin just hours away, here is the final preview of the eight teams in attendance, as well as the day-by-day format, planned coverage, and each team’s path to the championship.

Format

As previously reported, the Game Changers Championship at LEC Studios in Berlin will utilize a standard eight team double elimination bracket. Regions with two representatives (North America and EMEA) have their representatives placed on opposite sides of the bracket to avoid same-region rematches.

The eight teams will compete for the lion’s share of the reported $500,000 prize pool, with $180,000 going to the victor.

The first two days of competition (Nov 15 & 16) will consist of three matches, the first two being the upper quarterfinals, and the third match of the day being the upper semifinals between the winners of the first two matches.

Following the first two days, the third day of competition, Nov 17, will have the first elimination matches, as the lower bracket will kick off with the losers of the upper semifinals facing each other with their tournament lives on the line.

The fourth day of competition, Nov 18, will start with the second round of the lower bracket, and will conclude with the upper finals. The fifth day of competition will set the stage for the championship match, with the third round of the lower bracket and the lower finals taking place.

On the sixth and final day of competition, the final two teams will face off in the Grand Finals, with the winners being crowned the first Game Changers World Champion.

Each match will be a Best-of-3, with the exception of the Grand Finals, which will be a Best-of-5.

Days with three matches will begin at 6 am pst, while days with two or one matches will begin at 8 am pst.

Coverage

Each match will be streamed live in English on Twitch and YouTube on the main Valorant channel, with more broadcasts in other languages on regional channels. Additionally, the championship will be co-streamed by a number of creators, including Hiko, Tiffae, Tanner Metro, and StarSmitten.

Live match coverage will be provided by GC Report on Twitter, including map picks and bans, agent selections, halftime and match end scorelines, match results, and match previews.

Daily recaps will also be available on Medium with links posted to Twitter within the end of the day.

Teams

The eight teams in attendance had to fight through many other teams on their way to the championship, proving themselves as the best in their region. Teams are listed in order in which they will play.

Cloud9 White

Cloud9 White is a team synonymous with regional dominance, only losing one series in their Game Changers career. Originally formed with a roster of AnnieDro, Alexis, Jazzyk1ns, Katsumi, and meL under the free-agent moniker MAJKL, caught the eye of Cloud9 and were subsequently signed in October of 2020. They continued their dominance in Game Changers, only losing one match in the two years since.

Following the departure of AnnieDro, Cloud9 White signed Bob to fill the void of the longtime initiator. Bob fit right in, and Cloud9 White made a clean run through North America’s Series 3 to secure their spot in Berlin as the North American first seed.

Cloud9 White’s path to the championship starts against KRÜ Fem. If they win, they will face the winner of G2 Gozen and X10 Sapphire.

KRÜ Fem

Hailing from Latin America, KRÜ Fem is continuing the organization’s streak of appearing at Riot-organized international events, although they are looking to do more than just make an appearance. Much like their opening matchup, Cloud9 White, KRÜ Fem are undefeated within their region, making a clean run through the Latin American South region, and defeating the northern representative FiRePOWER 3–0 in the regional final.

KRÜ signed the roster of Kalita, Conir, Romi, Consu, Baesht, and Autumn in January of 2022, originally competing under the name F/A Team, in which they were also undefeated within the Latin American region.

KRÜ Fem’s path to the championship starts against Cloud9 White, and will face the winner of G2 Gozen and X10 Sapphire if they defeat them.

G2 Gozen

For a long time, G2 Gozen was the undeniably best team in EMEA Game Changers, starting with EMEA’s Series 3 in 2021, G2 Gozen won three straight tournaments, before losing in the Grand Finals of 2022 Series 3 to the team they had defeated in the Grand Finals thrice before, Guild X.

Before being signed by G2, the roster competed as The Originals, with an initial team of Juliano, zAAz, Petra, Mimi, and aNNja before being signed in October 2021. The roster went through some changes, releasing aNNja and losing zAAz to retirement, although they signed Glance and Mary to complete their current roster.

G2 Gozen’s championship bid begins against X10 Sapphire, and if they win, they will face the winner of Cloud9 White and KRÜ Fem.

X10 Sapphire

X10 Sapphire was not a regional juggernaut, unlike much of their competition. The 2021 APAC Elite runner-ups had a difficult start to 2022, placing second twice and fourth once in the three APAC Open tournaments before failing to qualify to APAC Elite in Open Overtime. They were able to turn their year around in the Last Chance Qualifier, winning the tournament and qualifying to APAC Elite, wherein they would run through the bracket, defeating longtime champions Alter Ego Celeste in the upper finals and Grand Finals to secure their spot in Berlin.

The roster of Poly, Muffyn, Babytz, and Alyssa competed in 2021 under the Mad Ants banner, and were joined by new signing JinNy once signed to X10 in February 2022.

Their tournament run will begin against G2 Gozen, and if they win, they will face the winner of Cloud9 White and KRÜ Fem.

Guild X

Guild X, after falling short of the EMEA championship three times, with G2 Gozen standing in their way, finally defeated their rivals in EMEA Series 3, claiming the region’s first seed in the process. Guild signed Project X in September 2021, entering Game Changers with a roster of Klaudia, Smurfette, Roxi, Glance, and Kim. They would lose Glance and Kim in early 2022, signing victoria and aNNja to replace them. Additionally, they would part ways with victoria in August and sign ness in her place before making their final push towards Berlin in October 2022.

Their bid for the Game Changers Championship will begin against Shopify Rebellion, and if they win, they will face the winner of FENNEL and Team Liquid Brazil.

Shopify Rebellion

Shopify Rebellion has long played second fiddle to Cloud9 White in North America, although they were able to hand Cloud9 their first and only defeat in North American Game Changers, they were unable to win the rematch in North America’s Series 2. They attend Berlin as the North American second seed.

Originally competing under the name Built Butter, which was signed by Shopify Rebellion in June 2021, the roster consisted of flowerful, sonder, panini, KP, it not han, and Lorri. In early 2022, the organization released it not han and panini, signing bENITA to round out the roster, and bring the roster down to five players. They placed second in all three regional tournaments in 2022, giving them enough circuit points to advance to Berlin.

Their path to the championship begins against Guild X, and if they win, they will face the winner of FENNEL and Team Liquid Brazil.

FENNEL HOTELAVA

FENNEL HOTELAVA represents not only Japan, but all of East Asia, as they not only won the Japanese Game Changers regional tournament, but would win the East Asia regional final in order to secure their spot in Berlin, taking down representatives from Korea, China, and Taiwan.

FENNEL originally signed Curumi, Len, Aika, KOHAL, and Festival in June 2022, although Aika would step down, being replaced by Suzu on loan from ZETA DIVISION. FENNEL is hoping to prove that although East Asia is the newest region to Game Changers, it is not the weakest.

They will first face off against Team Liquid Brazil, and if they win, will face the winner of Guild X and Shopify Rebellion.

Team Liquid Brazil

Team Liquid Brazil, originally competing for Gamelanders as Gamelanders Purple, were a force to be reckoned with in Protocolo: Gêneses in both 2021 and 2022, winning every Game Changers tournament in 2022 that they competed in. Originally, the roster consisted of Naxy, drn, bstrdd, daiki, and nat1, and although they went through some coaching and analyst changes, the starting roster stayed the same throughout their two years as a team. In Brazil’s Series 2, they did not lose a match, winning their twelfth Game Changers tournament in a row.

They begin their journey in Berlin against FENNEL HOTELAVA, and will face the winner of Guild X and Shopify Rebellion if they win.