Riot installs new paths for VALORANT Game Changers players to reach Challengers, VCT leagues

To expand opportunities for Game Changers players to reach higher tiers in the VALORANT Champions Tour ecosystem, Riot Games has unveiled a series of new policies aimed at making it easier for GC players to reach Challengers and the international leagues.

Included in these new Riot policy changes is a more direct path for the best VALORANT Game Changers teams to qualify for their region’s Challengers circuit. Teams that qualify for the Game Changers Championship, the yearly world championship event for Game Changers, will receive an automatic invite to their region’s Challengers qualifier. This year’s Game Changers Championship will even expand from eight to 10 teams, giving two more teams an invite to their region’s Challengers qualifier.

Another of the major focal points of these new policies is allowing Game Changers players to compete in both Game Changers events as well as Premier/Challengers qualifiers without having to choose between the two. This issue was flagged by several Game Changers pros, like Shopify Rebellion’s Melanie “meL” Capone earlier this year. Game Changers players can receive access to the Invite division of Premier if they meet certain criteria, and they can also earn byes for regular season Premier matches if there’s a scheduling conflict with a Game Changers event.

For Challengers or international league-ready players, those that compete in Game Changers will be considered “universal,” meaning they can compete in any region or territory without them counting as an import. Game Changers players can also be signed to Challengers or VCT teams outside of the normal transfer windows.

A small number of VALORANT Game Changers players have already managed to reach Challengers by way of open qualifiers, though many of those players did so by taking a step away from the Game Changers ecosystem before signing with a mixed roster. With these changes, Game Changers players can continue to compete in GC events without having to sacrifice opportunities to reach Challengers.