Inclusive Valorant Challenge Tour Game Changer set to launch in South East Asia
Published: Jun 22, 2021
If you live in South East Asia (SEA) and are female, or an under-represented gender, then the great news for the best Valorant players in these under-represented groups in esports, is that the Valorant Challenge Tour Game Changer series (VCT) is set to expand into the SEA region.
The first VCT launched in North America earlier on this year, but Riot Games always felt that the competition should have a global platform. The company is making good on that promise by following up that successful first tournament with this second one in South East Asia.
What is the Valorant Challenge Tour Game Changer Series?
The initiative, which was announced back in February, was designed to supplement the Valorant Champions Tour by offering a chance for women and other marginalised genders to compete in one of the rare esports events designed specifically for people within these groups.
With top-level esports gaming still very much a male preserve, perhaps to its detriment, the VCT Game Changer series has been designed to foster “an inclusive environment for competition” and to “create safe opportunities” for women and other under-represented genders to compete without having to worry about abuse or harassment because of their gender or identity.
As with the North American launch, the aim of the competition in South East Asia is to raise the profile of Valorant within this part of the world, as well as to offer opportunities for those in marginalised groups to play games to a highly competitive level.
In doing so, the aim is to produce inclusivity amongst the Valorant esports community as a whole for groups of people that may otherwise feel disenfranchised.
How will the tournament be organised?
To facilitate the competition, Riot Games have set up the circuit with the assistance of the Female Esports League (FSL), and the tournament is designed across the format of a monthly series.
The first tournament will be based online and there will be a monthly prize pool set at $5,000. However, if you can qualify for the grand final through one of the monthly events, then the prize pool for the finals is set at $25,000.
The tournament will be organised into four stages, each of increasing difficulty which will allow only the best Valorant players to progress through the tournament.
The monthly FSL Open will be a group stage tournament which will see teams compete for the top spots in the FSL Open Leaderboard. At the end of this tournament, the top three teams will qualify for the FSL Elite.
There is also the FSL Open Overtime tournament, which will take place in September, which will see the teams finishing 4th to 19th on the leaderboard battling it out for three more qualifying spots in the FSL Elite.
In addition, the FSL Wildcard events will be held later in September into October, with any team not qualified for the Elite, or teams new to the circuit able to battle it out for one of two qualifying spots.
Finally, the ESL Elite tournament will be played over two weekends in October, with these top eight teams competing for a $25,000 prize pool and the winners being heralded as the inaugural VCT Game Changers Southeast Asian Champions.
Registrations for the monthly tournaments are open now for July’s event.
Since: August 10, 2015
