G2 Gozen wins the Game Changers EMEA Series 1 - VCT 2023

It's done! G2 Gozen won the Game Changers EMEA Series 1, claiming their fourth title as the region's best players in the process. However, the current World Champions were almost dethroned by the BBL Queens, a team that we'll absolutely need to keep an eye on this year.

G2 Gozen's exceptional track record

The G2 Gozen adventure begins in October 2021, when the organisation unveiled its very first female roster. At the time, the European behemoth signed Counter Strike legends Mimi, ZAZ, Juliano, Petra and ANja. During their first appearance in a Game Changers tournament, they reached the third place of the podium, an encouraging result for the future.

And what followed was simply exceptional! That same year, with Cille as a replacement of ANNja, the team reached the first place of the Game Changers EMEA Series 3. Despite a new change in the roster, Glance instead of Cille, the teamplay is maintained and the Gozen domination starts. The five players thus emerged victorious from the first two competitions of the 2022 season.

Unfortunately, one of the leading figures in this team, zAAz, decided to end her professional career. It is Mary, a young FPS prodigy is given the tough task of replacing the star of the shooting games. If the new roster doesn't make it against Guild X in the following tournament, the team is still the most successful in the region... and even in the world!

A little over a month after this defeat, Mary, mimi, Petra, Glance and juliano took part in the Changes Changers Championship, THE competition of the women's circuit. After an epic final against Shopify Rebellion GC, they lifted the trophy and became the first World Champions in the history of Valorant. The structure was right to recruit Mary. At 16 years old, she is already one of the best, and even won the title of MVP during the evening.

This competition marked the end of a great story, but also the beginning of a new chapter for the structure. Last March, juliano announced to join another project, namely G2 OYA, a CS:GO team set up by G2. To complete its Valorant team and to maintain itself at the TOP level, the organisation therefore called on roxi.

If we had not yet had the opportunity to see mimi, roxi, petra, Glance and Mary evolve together, it is now done!

First victory of the 2023 season

Not surprisingly, the G2 Gozen have been invited to participate in the first VCT 2023 women's tournament. Between the other structures that received an invitation and those that qualified for the tournament, 16 teams took part in the Game Changers EMEA Series 1.

On the way to the playoffs

The reigning World Champions joined Group A, alongside BBL Queens, CBA, Rebels Velvet, Alliance.coven, UNtapped, NaVi Celestials and Fokus Sakura. As expected, they reached the playoffs without too much difficulty, finishing the regular season with six wins and one loss.

If G2 Gozen missed out on the perfect, it was because, against all odds, another team took pole position in the group. The BBL Queens were amazingly effective; even against the G2s, they did not give up, winning the duel by two maps to one. The two teams didn't know it yet, but this clash was the beginning of a budding rivalry...

Will G2 Gozen be dethroned?

Having missed out on direct qualification for the semi-finals, Mary and her teammates have already had to battle against Guild X, they won the match handily. They then crushed Acend Rising, the best team in Group B, to join BBL Queens in the upper final. If some people would have wanted to say that they were lucky when the BBLs beat G2 the first time, they would have been wrong. After losing on map 1, they came out victorious in the next two. Once again, they defeated the favourites, earning themselves a place in the Grand Final in the process.

Petra, Mary and mimi were not prepared to give up another title, so that they have eliminated Acend Rising once and for all in the loser bracket final. If there was any doubt in the hearts of the fans, or even the players, they quickly dispelled it by flying through the match. What better way to prove their talent than by winning all three maps 13-5, 13-2 and 13-3?

It's time for a rematch!

However, there was still one more important step before they could confirm their domination of the region: defeating BBL Queens. The story could have been good for the latter, but fate had other plans. It was a tough game, but G2 Gozen won!

Determined to finally bring their new rivals to their knees, the G2 Gozen quickly concluded Pearl, 13 to 5, before taking Ascent, 15 to 13. Between her multiple double-kills, two triples, a quadra and an ace, Vania has clearly imposed her style on Lotus. In doing so, the Turkish woman contributed greatly to the victory of BBL Queens on this third map, won 13-9. More than that, she was once again brilliant on Split, map that the BBL won 13-5 without too many problems. At this stage, the two teams are perfectly even.

G2 Gozen victory

It all came down to Fracture, field of the last match. The pressure was on and the determination of the ten players was high. The pressure was on, as was the determination of the ten players. Clutches, triples, quadra-kills and other crazy individual actions punctuated the first half. After twelve rounds, neither team had really taken the lead, with G2 Gozen only leading by two points. The tension was more than palpable!

Seven rounds later, however, G2 Gozen took the lead. They were only one point short of winning the final. Despite the efforts of alkyia and her raze, BBL Queens eventually lost 9-13. It's done. G2 Gozen have just won their fourth Game Changers EMEA tournament!

In any case, they all put on an incredible show for the thousands of spectators. This new rivalry between G2 Gozen and BBL Queens bodes well for the rest of the women's competition in EMEA, and we can't wait for the next Game Changers tournament.