Riley Yurk, Principal Strategist for VALORANT<\/em><\/a> Esports, shared insights on this upcoming change as part of broader updates to the Game Changers ecosystem: \u201cWe believe that mixed rosters are the future,\u201d Yurk said, highlighting how this new initiative will provide more opportunities for \u201cdiverse talent\u201d to shine together.<\/p>
The same year the VCT was introduced, Riot also inaugurated the Game Changers program<\/a> for women and other marginalized genders. Like in many other esports ecosystems, these tournaments were created to give marginalized genders\u2014identified in the 2024 rulebook as women and non-binary people\u2014a safe space where to compete and grow.<\/p>
And some pro players, like 2022 World Champion Anastasia “Glance” Anisimova, believe the Game Changers circuit has already made a huge impact in the esport scene, as she disclosed in an interview with Ginx.tv<\/a> recently. Glance pointed out the increasing presence of women in many of her online matchmaking games and attributed this directly to initiatives like the one fostered by Riot in VALORANT<\/em>‘s wider scene.<\/p>
There is no mention of gender in either the official VCT24 Roster Construction Rules<\/a> or the VALORANT<\/em> Official Competition Ruleset<\/a>, meaning there won\u2019t be amendments to the official rulebooks. With the changes to the Premier\u2019s Path to Pro, though, the way towards Challengers and Premiere tournaments will have additional rules to follow.<\/p>
