Valorant Game Changers Expands to Japan

Valorant Champions Tour’s women’s circuit - ‘Game Changers’ is expanding to Japan this year. The expansion was announced during a recent Valorant Champions Tour (VCT) Japan Challengers event. The regional circuit will begin sometime in Summer 2022 and it will conclude along with the other competing regions.

Japan’s women’s teams will get to compete in the world championship

In addition to the regional circuit, Japanese teams will also be able to compete in the first-ever women’s world championship later this year. The Game Changers world championship is expected to take place sometime around Valorant Champions in Q3 2022.

The format for the Japanese Game Changers circuit is yet to be revealed and fans in the region will be eager to see the best women teams compete for a spot at the world championship. More information about the Japanese circuit will be available at a later date.

Riot Games also launched its Game Changers Academy program

In addition to the regional expansion, Riot Games is also launching a Game Changers Academy Program. This mentorship program is a VCT exclusive, on-the-ground training program that provides coaching and development to aspiring pros and talent. This year, there will be two mentorship programs covering player and talent mentorship. The Player Mentorship Program is open to women and other marginalized communities or individuals looking to learn and gain experience as competitive players.

Selected mentees can expect to learn and hone their skills in various aspects of the game, which include fundamentals of the game, reviewing gameplay videos and replays, improving communication and more. The mentors will guide and coach players through monthly coaching sessions and workshops. The first set of players will be selected from March to June 2022 and the second set of players will be selected by the mentors from August to October 2022.

In addition to the player mentorship program, there is also a talent mentorship program in the works. The program is designed for aspiring broadcast talent looking to learn and hone their skills. This year’s intake is now closed with a total of 10 talent mentees confirmed to participate in the program.

This year’s talent mentees will be guided by their mentors through monthly coaching sessions and will have the opportunity to appear as an on-air talent for the monthly VCT APAC (Asia Pacific) Game Changers Academy tournaments. The mentees can expect to learn fundamentals of commentary such as creating narratives, researching, vocal depth and range, preparing for a broadcast, creating a portfolio and casting reel, and more.