Riot Games has faced criticism over the lack of spots for Brazilian teams and the cramped venue since announcing the VCT 2023 Game Changers Championship in Brazil. On March 20, Riot Games declared that the VCT Game Changers Championship would return for the women’s circuit in 2023. Eight teams will compete in the tournament in Brazil for the chance to win the championship trophy.
The Liquipedia Valorant Twitter account tweeted that Riot came under fire swiftly because they awarded only one spot to Brazil’s home region and conducted the competition in a space with a capacity of roughly 150 people, despite having the same number of teams as last year.
The 2022 championship winner Michaela “mimi” Lintrup, Melanie “meL” Capone of Version1, Benita “bENITA” Novshadian of Shopify Rebellion, and others voiced comments on the venue’s size and requested adjustments on Twitter.
Leo Faria, Global Head of Valorant esports at Riot, reacted to the venue’s detractors by stating that he thought the smaller arena was the best choice for the competition. We don’t intend for the Game Changers Championship to reach Masters and Champions levels of size. Women should compete in the Masters and Champions, Faria added.
The berths for the Game Changers Championship are criticized.
Brazilian community members also complained to Riot about the event’s lack of accommodations for their country. Also, the competition will invite eight teams, and only one team from Brazil will be among them. Only Europe and North America received multiple spots in the competition.
In addition, commentator Letcia Motta expressed surprise that their region would only have one representation given the investment made in the women’s sector by other regional organizations and well-known trainers in the Brazilian scene.
Motta even went so far as to urge that 12 teams be allowed to compete, with one additional spot each for Brazil, Europe, South East Asia, and Japan/Korea/China.
Paula “bstrdd” Naguil of Team Liquid, who came in third at the 2022 VCT Game Changers Championship, expressed her “happiness and sadness at the same time” on the news of the 2023 competition. Supporters of VCT Game Changers can stay informed about the schedule and qualified teams for the tournament by following along on social media!
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