Riot Games has announced the expansion of its VCT Game Changers program to the EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa) region. Three new Valorant tournaments will take place in Europe over the next three months.
Game Changers, the Valorant initiative for marginalized groups, was launched earlier this year in North America to provide an opportunity for women and marginalized groups to compete in a professional, high stakes setting generally limited to pro teams composed entirely of male competitors. Riot also recently announced that the program would expand to include League of Legends, albeit in a more limited capacity.
Earlier this year, Riot Games hosted the first Valorant Game Changers tournament. The tournament was for North American players only, but now Riot has announced that it is expanding the Game Changers series to the EMEA region.
For this expansion, Riot is hosting three tournaments over the autumn, with the first two set to also include open qualifiers that will feature up to 64 teams of women. Both of these events will have a €20,000 prize pool, with the third tournament that Riot will reveal more details on in the future set to feature a €50,000 prize pool.
Here are the dates for the three events:
- September 27 – October 3, 2021
- October 25 – October 31, 2021
- November 15 – November 21, 2021
The esports industry is suffering from a severe lack of female representation at the pro level. To inspire more women to pursue their esports dreams, direct actions need to be taken to make these games more accessible. The VCT Game Changers EMEA might be a stepping stone for women.
