April 4, 2025
As the most successful all-women event of 2024, VCT Game Changers broke records. But behind that success were the tournament admins, like Blue, who kept everything running smoothly.
The shooter genre is brimming with talent across the globe, and while many esports-focused games have made efforts to push marginalized talent into the spotlight, none have been as successful as Riot with its VCT Game Changers initiative. For the 2024 season, Riot partnered with Raidiant to oversee the events, a collaboration that ultimately led to a record-breaking peak viewership of 460,000.
VCT Game Changers has grown into a staple annual event, but 2024 stood out for several key reasons. This year, the tournament not only shattered records but also marked a significant milestone for Raidiant, a production team that has long supported aspiring professional players in the esports scene. After years of working behind the scenes with smaller events and nurturing up-and-coming talent, Raidiant finally had the opportunity to showcase its expertise on a larger stage.
From managing complex tournament logistics to creating an inclusive and fair environment for players of marginalized genders, admins work tirelessly to ensure every Game Changers event runs smoothly and delivers on its mission. This year, Blue served on the head admin panel for VCT Game Changers, and there’s no one better to break down what made the 2024 event such a standout success.
Interview with Game Changers 2024 tournament admin Blue
Raidiant had the chance to sit down with Blue and talk about her experience working with VCT Game Changers 2024.
This year’s Game Changers was statistically the second most popular women’s esports tournament ever. What do you think was different this year in terms of tournament organization, production quality, or community engagement that may have contributed to this success?
Blue: I think the community engagement is truly what drove the success of Game Changers 2024, which is one of the most positive, welcoming, and safe spaces for marginalized genders I have the privilege of being a part of. The community’s support for the players throughout the year was very impactful. Not to mention, though, the amazing TO Aloe, the TA’s and the fantastic production team made every single event spectacular and memorable. The synergy of the production team absolutely shows and each broadcast just keeps getting better every time. Finally, the grand finals in Berlin were truly spectacular to watch, both in production quality and the talent of the players, which definitely contributed to the success of the event.
What does being a Head Tournament Admin entail, and how does it differ in the context of a program like Game Changers?
Blue: Being a Head Tournament Admin involves taking on full responsibility for the player’s experience and the admin team, ensuring flawless synergy with the production team, and, ultimately, responsibility for the smooth running and success of the tournament itself. In Game Changers, being a Head Tournament Admin means not only making the event runs smoothly from the technical side, but also that the players feel comfortable in their matches and with the tournament system and doing everything necessary to keep the environment a safe space for everyone in the tournament and taking in feedback to make the next one even better.
Working a large-scale tournament like Game Changers must come with its own unique challenges. What are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced in organizing and managing Game Changers tournaments, and how did you overcome them?
Blue: One of the biggest challenges is definitely the scale of the tournament as there are so many more players, teams, and matches going on simultaneously compared to a smaller scale tournament and making sure all those matches run smoothly, on time, and fixing the many technical issues that inevitably occur is a challenge. Luckily, our admin team is pro at executing this all flawlessly. I think the biggest challenge I personally have faced is executing match medics, which is when a technical issue causes the game to stop mid-game, and you have to essentially rebuild the team’s economy. It’s always a scare when it happens, but the best way to fix it efficiently is to split it up into tasks that each admin can perform and work together. Game Changers overcomes challenges so well because it understands that all challenges are best solved as a team, and that teamwork is really important in running a successful event, which we do well.
Can you share a specific moment or event during your time as Head Admin that made you particularly proud?
Blue: Following my previous answer, we had a game where one of the teams accidentally forfeited mid-match when trying to initiate a tactical timeout, and my admins had never experienced a match-med situation before. After I explained what we needed to do, the team executed it flawlessly, and the game resumed in a shorter time than anticipated. I am so proud of how our admins took the sudden and new challenge in their stride and how smoothly the event went, with the teams happy as well, which is the main goal!
Inclusivity is a core focus of Game Changers. How do you ensure a welcoming and fair environment for all participants?
Blue: Being part of a team that is responsible for the well-being of the community means you have to be an active listener, as it’s important that players always feel heard, and so that we can take feedback to continuously improve the event. Supporting them with kindness and compassion regarding any questions and concerns they have is essential to ensure a safe environment for players and the community. As our participants are all of the marginalized genders and with many of the staff being marginalized genders themselves, fostering an inclusive environment where everyone feels comfortable to be themselves and providing a safe, competitive space where players can showcase their amazing skills is the most important part of what we do.
What skills or lessons have you gained from your experience in this role that you didn’t expect?
Blue: The biggest lesson I have learned is in leadership. I’ve led many projects before, but I never expected to have the opportunity to lead one as big as this and the amount of responsibility to ensure an amazing event for the players, the staff, the production team, and even the viewers of our broadcast is something I had never experienced before this. Successfully pulling off an event and hearing positive feedback from players is so rewarding and has definitely boosted my skills and confidence in leadership.
What advice would you give to someone aspiring to take on a role like yours in esports, particularly within programs that champion diversity?
Blue: I would say approach it with confidence, compassion, and an openness to learn. Use your network and keep expanding it as the best opportunities come from you being proactive. And again, with all tournaments but especially programs that champion diversity and inclusion, make sure you are creating a space where you are making the community and players feel welcome, listened to, and supported.
Thank you, Blue, for taking the time to share your experience being a Game Changers admin, and being a part of Raidiant’s story!