VCT Game Changers just wrapped up, but the event’s impact lives on. Check out the betting activity we’ve gathered following this groundbreaking event.
Game Changers started three years ago as a platform for women and people of other marginalised genders to play VALORANT in a highly competitive environment and at a high level in a safe space. Esports organisations worldwide signed all-female VALORANT teams to participate in the circuit, and it’s been thriving ever since.
“For women and people of other marginalised genders, Game Changers provides a platform which will ultimately help develop talent and empower many players who have historically felt discouraged from participating due to issues such as toxicity, underrepresentation, delegitimization, or other side effects of masculine hegemony in esports,” a VALORANT Competitive mod explained.
While women and nonbinary individuals can compete in the VALORANT Champions Tour, this can often be intimidating or even unwelcoming. VCT Game Changers has become the largest all-female esports event, hoping to integrate women and other genders into the main circuit over time.
Structure, Winner and Prize Pool
Ten teams competed in the VCT Game Changers Championship for $500K. The tournament was structured as a Knockout with a double elimination bracket, meaning teams that lost went to the Lower Bracket for a second chance to stay in. All matches were best-of-three except for the Lower Bracket and Grand Finals, which were best-of-five.
- 1st: Shopify Rebellion: $180K
- 2nd: MIBR GC: $100K
- 3rd: G2 Gozen: $70K
- 4th: Xipto Esports: $50K
- 4-6th: KRU Blaze and ZETA DIVISION GC: $25K each
- 7-8th: GIANTX GC and Falcons Vega: $15K each
- 9-10th: Ambitious Legend Gaming GC and FlyQuest RED: $10K each
Viewership
The $500K prize pool may seem low compared to the VCT Champions, which had $2.25 million on the line this year. But for a women-only event, it is relatively high—especially compared to a similar tournament in Counter-Strike 2, ESL Impact, which features a $123,000 prize pool in its 6th season.
According to Esports Charts, the VCT Champions had a peak viewership of just above 1,4 million fans watching this year, while the VCT Game Changers Championship peaked at 460,000. Still, this is the most-watched Game Changers event, showing that it’s continuing to grow.
Betting Insights
Like any large esports event, Game Changers was full of betting activity. The majority (54%) occurred live during matches. This means bettors followed the action closely and made bets based on performances and results throughout the event.
The most bet-on teams were MIBR GC and Shopify Rebellion, the top two teams. While Shopify Rebellion won the entire event, MIBR GC was bet on more often.
The most bet-on matchups
- Xipto Esports vs. KRU Blaze
- Shopify Rebellion vs. MIBR GC
- G2 Gozen vs. Shopify Rebellion
- KRU Blaze vs. GIANTX GC
G2 Gozen ended up in third, but the team is one of the most popular in the Game Changers scene. It makes sense that fans kept tuning in to watch them compete, likely hoping they’d have a better performance.
While the Finals was interestingly not the most bet-on matchup, this fight was definitely an interesting one. The performances were so incredible that many fans commented that players like Florescent, meL, Alexis, and more should be in the main VCT circuit.
