Valorant’s female-only Game Changers posts incredible viewer count

Valorant’s esports scene is truly thriving in 2022 as the first international VCT Game Changers becomes the second most-watched female tournament. 

In March 2021, Riot Games lifted the curtain on Valorant’s premier league for marginalized genders. It wagged many tongues, but a year later, the small circuit has blossomed into one of the biggest female tournaments in history. Besides entertaining games, the final has posted incredible numbers, prompting the Valorant movers and shakers to look at the female esports scene in a new light. 

The final between G2 Gozen and Shopify Rebellion took place on November 20, roping in more than 230K live viewers, becoming the second most-watched female esport tournament.

VCT GC 2022 final is the second-most watched female tournament

The first rank is held by the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Women’s Invitational, which peaked at 392,405. So with that calculation, VCT GC 2022 is the top most-watched female esport event on PC. The numbers are pretty surprising, considering Valorant GC is not the first female-only FPS tournament. 

Plenty of other games, including Valorant’s competitor Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, have been holding similar events for years, but nothing of GC’s caliber had taken place until now. The success of a large-scale event like Game Changers sends a positive message to the event organizers to invest in similar circuits. 

A day before the final, Riot received backlash from the community for suspending the coach of Shopify Rebellion for flipping the finger at the enemy team. Many called out the developer for having double standards, as such gestures have previously been made in the general VCT circuit. 

However, the controversy didn’t have much impact on the overall viewership. If anything, more tuned in to watch Shopify Rebellion in action against Valorant’s biggest female team G2 Gozen. 

Who won VCT Game Changers 2022? 

G2 Gozen won VCT Game Changers 2022, as many had expected. The team features the core of CSGO’s top female players, Julia “Juliano” Kiran, Petra “Petra” Stoker, and Michaela “Mimi” Lintrupmimi.