The 2023 iteration of Valorant's Game Changers Circuit in North America will be hosted by Knights Arena, instead of Nerd Street Gamers. Riot has also announced AnyKey is stepping into Galorants' place as a gender verification service.
Here's everything you need to know about the 2023 season of @Verizon VCT Game Changers:
The change of organizer is one of the larger announcements for 2023's Game Changers. While the information was first revealed in November, the move was made clearer earlier this month. The Esports Advocate reported Nerd Street Gamers is plagued with financial issues, which has left several casters and players without pay.
When it comes to Game Changers itself, the series' format remains largely unchanged. Knights Arena will forego last year's closed qualifier in favor of a single-qualifier system, which will keep the preexisting GSL group format. The rank requirement has also been increased from Platinum to Ascendant, based on player feedback.
Besides that, the three regular season tournaments will keep the Bo3 double-elimination brackets with Bo5 grand finals, as well as the $50,000 USD prize tag.
Each Game Changer Series will distribute 410 points for the top 16 teams. The distribution is as follows:
- 1st place - 20 percent or 80 points
- 2nd place - 15 percent or 60 points
- 3rd place - 12 percent or 50 points
- 4th place - 10 percent or 40 points
- 5th-6th place - 7 percent or 30 points
- 7th-8th place - 5 percent or 20 points
- 9th-16th place - 2 percent or 10 points
Riot has partnered with AnyKey, a "non-profit organization that advocates for diversity, inclusion, and equity in gaming & live streaming," in order to provide a verification service. The organization is mostly known by its GLHF pledge, but will now take a prominent role alongside Riot in verifying players' identity in the interest of competitive integrity, while maintaining the inclusion principle it was born out of.
To participate in Game Changers, any and all players will have to fill out a form and select one of several options to prove their identity. The options provided include a photo ID with gender/sex marker, an affirming doctor's note, or a "well-established social media account with a public track record of that player's identity." Finally, players will also be able to verify their identity through a voice chat with AnyKey staff.
Game Changers Academy is also making a comeback in 2023, now in the form of Knights' Sakura Cups, of which there were ten last year despite no affiliation to the GC circuit. These bi-monthly Academy tournaments boast prize pools upwards of $10,000.
Finally, Riot has also handed out dates for every Game Changers Series this year. The three events' dates are as follows:
- Game Changers Series I
- Open qualifier: April 4 to 6
- Main event: April 11 to 14
- Game Changers Series II
- Open qualifier: July 13 to 16
- Main event: July 26 to 30
- Game Changers Series III
- Open qualifier: Sept. 28 to Oct. 1
- Main event: Oct. 4 to 8
Discord