GC Update #2: Road to Champs 2023

In the second ever GC Update, we compiled recaps on a few regions to get you updated as the world’s best get ready to do battle in São Paulo tomorrow.

North America

As Version1 (now Shopify Rebellion) had all but locked in their spot in Brazil heading into NA Series 3, the question of who would represent the region alongside the NA powerhouse was up in the air, with no definite second team set.

As the field narrowed to eight in the main event, Version1 had officially punched their ticket through to São Paulo. However, Game Changers Drama struck once again, as Noot Noot was flagged for a competitive integrity violation in the lower quarterfinals.

The field was whittled down over the days, with FlyQuest RED and DSG exiting first, followed by noot noot and Wingman Patrol, then Complexity GX3, a team many saw as threatening the top spot in the region.

The final three teams: Version1, Shopify Rebellion, and Evil Geniuses set up an interesting set of circumstances heading into the final few days of competition.

As Version1 advanced to the grand final, all eyes were on the lower final, and with Evil Geniuses advancing past Shopify Rebellion, Evil Geniuses needed to win Series III in order to qualify for the Game Changers Championship.

After taking a surprise 3–1 victory in a hard-fought grand finals, Evil Geniuses punched their ticket to Brazil as North America’s first seed, with Version1 qualifying as the second seed.

Shortly after the tournament, keenc was removed from the team due to inappropriate conduct, with their spot on the roster being filled by new signing Nora, also known as scaryshark32.

After the tournament concluded, Version1 players caused a stir by each posting that they had joined a different team, ultimately teasing at a transfer to Shopify Rebellion, who had shortly before released their storied roster.

The transfer of the Version1 team comes amidst reports that G2 Esports is finalizing its acquisition of Version1, which could cause a conflict of interest at the world championships, as G2 Gozen will also be in attendance.

Latin America

After the Regular Seasons and Last Chance Qualifiers of the two LATAM divisions the teams who emerged victorious fought tooth and nail in the Playoff Stage for a spot in the glorious Grand Final, which would give them a chance to play for the coveted championship spot.

In a double-elimination bracket where every matchup is a best of five, there was quite a tall task to be accomplished. However, by beating Skull Cracker Quartz 3–0 (13–10 Split, 14–12 Bind, 13–4 Lotus) FiRePOWER and Skull Cracker Quartz, after defeating FUSION X 3–2 (8–13 Fracture, 13–5 Ascent, 10–13 Pearl, 13–6 Split, 13–4 Lotus) both advanced to the LAN Final for a second clash.

FiRePOWER showed why they are contenders for the crown with an astonishing performance, once again beating SCQ 3–1 (14–12 Lotus, 13–8 Split, 8–13 Haven, 13–10 Bind) as they move onto the Regional Final.

Their opponent would soon be decided, as the LAS Playoffs were occurring simultaneously — there KRU Blaze, who had had a spotless 9–0 series record defeated Globant Emerald Team 3–1 (13–9 Lotus, 9–13 Split, 13–6 Bind, 13–11 Ascent) and 9Z Team Female, one of the teams who qualified by the Last Chance Qualifier conquered Globant Emerald Team 3–1 (9–13 Pearl, 13–11 Ascent, 17–15 Lotus, 13–11 Haven) to face in the LAS Grand Final.

KRU, the winner of last year’s Regional Final, exhibited top-tier performances once more, winning 3–0 over 9Z (13–4 Bind, 13–5 Fracture, 13–9 Lotus). With that they earned a rematch with FiRePOWER from last year’s championship-deciding match, motivated to defend their title as the LATAM GC titans.

In the Regional Finals KRU were nothing short of impressive, and although FIRE played to their strengths, the former were the victors, winning 3–0 (13–5 Split, 13–3 Bind, 13–3 Ascent) and once again getting to represent their region at the Game Changers Championship in Sao Paulo.

EMEA

EMEA, one of two regions afforded two slots in the Game Changers Championship, revamped their format for the 2023 season, introducing a contenders league alongside the main series to encourage a stronger field of competitors.

The field had definitely caught up, as last year’s EMEA powerhouse G2 Gozen suffered losses in each series, despite winning series I and II.

In Series III, however, BBL Queens, who had established themselves as a strong contender for the top slot in the region during series I, once again challenged for the throne, putting together a flawless group stage on their way to the Series III title.

They would subsequently receive the EMEA first seed, while a fourth place finish in Series III gave G2 Gozen enough circuit points to secure the second seed.

G2 Gozen look to repeat their run from last year, with the championship core of Petra, Glance, and mimi still intact. Their first step is against Brazilian mainstay Team Liquid.

BBL Queens hope that their hot end to the Game Changers year continues as they will face off against LATAM Champions KRU BLAZE in their opening match.

East Asia

After numerous tests and challenges the top 8 teams of East Asia found themselves in a battle against one another to see who will be the victor to qualify for the world championship.

It all started in the Quarterfinals, where the win was crucial — the winning teams would advance, but the vanquished would be eliminated from the tournament. In the end ZETA DIVISION GC, Chao Hui EDG, FENNEL Female and Chosen Clique GC advanced, as CVA, Nuclear GC, DFM GC, and ASE GC were defeated respectively.

On the one hand in the Upper Bracket Semifinals we had the powerhouses EDG and ZETA match head-on in an intense battle. The matchup was a complete nail biter, however in the end EDG secured a spot in the top three in two very close maps (17–15 Haven, 14–12 Ascent). With that ZETA GC was knocked down to the lower bracket, where they would meet their opponent the very next day.

On the other hand of said semifinals was a very interesting matchup between FENNEL and CCG. With FENNEL being last year’s East Asia champions, there were expectations to be met when it came to their performance. Even so, CCG managed to create the biggest upset of East Asia by conquering FENNEL in a hardly fought 2–1 series (7–13 Haven, 14–12 Sunset, 13–5 Breeze).

Before jumping into the lower bracket we had one last match to decide who would be going into the Grand Final, two chinese powerhouses — CCG vs EDG. Last time they met was at the chinese qualifier, where CCG was triumphant. Regardless of history, EDG showed up and played the game of their lives, taking their revenge by defeating CCG 2–1 (6–13 Haven, 13–6 Lotus, 13–3 Ascent) and advancing to the final battle for the crown.

Next up, the Lower Bracket Semifinals between FENNEL and ZETA commenced. This match was rather one-sided, as ZETA showed they are the titans of japanese Game Changers, winning 2–0 (13–4 Bind, 13–5 Split) and advancing to meet their next opponent, CCG. Their matchup was more intense, but with the momentum in their hands ZETA conquered yet again with another 2–0 win (13–8 Bind, 13–6 Sunset) to advance and finish their cinderella run against EDG.

Ultimately, The Grand Finals between ZETA, the fan favourites that climbed their way up through the lower bracket and EDG, the dark horse that exceeded everyone’s expectations. Map one went to EDG — they outwitted and outplayed ZETA in a 13–9 win on Sunset. Map two went their way as well, dominating in a 13–4 Split. Map three however turned into ZETA’s hands, where they won in a very close 13–11 Ascent. The fourth and final map went to EDG in a very close 13–11 Lotus and with that they became the first chinese team to win an international Game Changers tournament and advanced to the Game Changers Championship in Sao Paulo.

Brazil

Brazil, only having one slot in the Game Changers Championship, had fierce competition all year with teams like LOUD GC, Cleiteam, and MiBR Female making runs towards the title held last year by Team Liquid Brazil.

In 2022, Team Liquid had an iron grip on the Brazilian scene, winning every series held. However, following their third place finish at the 2022 championship, naxy, nat1, and drn left, with nat1 and drn joining rival MiBR.

Team Liquid would bring in joojina and isaa in from Gamelanders Purple and bizerra from TBK Female to round out their new roster alongside current members daiki and bstrdd.

In the qualifying steps up to series I, Team Liquid would not lose a series, securing them the first seed in Series I. In Series I, they would continue their regional dominance, winning all their matches on their way to a nearly spotless first place run.

Alongside Team Liquid, LOUD GC would put together a strong run, only losing to Team Liquid, making their claim as a top-two team in the region.

However, in Series II, Team Liquid would not lose a series on their way to the grand finals, as LOUD bounced back from their upper finals defeat against Team Liquid in the lower finals, defeating Legacy GC in a nail-biter 3–2 victory.

The grand finals would continue Team Liquid’s dominance, as they secured their spot as the home field representative in the Game Changers Championship with a 3–1 victory.

Bottom Line

The Game Changers Championship kicks off with the home team, Team Liquid against the defending champions, G2 Gozen at 9 AM PST.

You can watch on Twitch at twitch.tv/VALORANT, or on YouTube at youtube.com/@ValorantEsports