Riot announces new EMEA VCT Game Changers format for 2023

Riot Games has announced format changes for EMEA VCT Game Changes coming in 2023 that will feature a new league and regional events.

The new EMEA VCT Game Changers circuit will feature a 16-team league. Teams will qualify for the league based on their performance in regional events that will place them into the Game Changers EMEA: Contenders series. The series will also have an open qualifier portion, and the top team will earn a spot in the main league.

The top four teams from 2022 will get a direct invite to the Game Changers EMEA league. The top teams from the EMEA league will then get the chance to represent the region at the Game Changer World Championship, which will continue in 2023.

Riot also announced more initiatives in the Game Changers space under the Contenders series and main league. The developer is launching VCT Game Changers EMEA: Emergents, which is an in-house competitive Discord community that will feature leaderboards and rewards for female players.

In addition, Riot is also launching an academy system for emerging players in Game Changers. The initiative will “provide educational content from personalities that we know and love,” instead of actual competition like the academy league in North America.

The developer described the new systems as a pathway to pro play for those in the Game Changers community beyond competing at the highest level in the region.

“The objective is to give the Game Changers community a chance to learn more about careers within the VALORANT ecosystem,” the announcement said.

EMEA won the Game Changers World Championship with G2 Gozen taking the crown over Shopify Rebellion 3-2 in the first iteration of the event. No other details, like tournament dates or the format of the league, have been revealed by Riot Games at the time of writing.