Regardless of who won today’s EMEA VALORANT Game Changers Series Three grand final between BBL Queens and Acend Rising, it would be a historic moment for the scene, as only Guild X have previously managed to wrench a regional title away from the G2 Gozen dynasty. But it was ultimately the Turkish squad who were able to write their names in the history books on Oct. 8.
BBL Queens defeated Acend Rising 3-1 in the best-of-five grand final to not only claim the EMEA Game Changers Champions title but also to qualify for the Game Changers World Championship LAN event in São Paulo, Brazil at the end of November. With G2 Gozen having already secured their spot through accumulated circuit points, only the victors of this tournament could advance to Worlds.
Beyond adding their names to the list of teams who have taken an EMEA title, BBL Queens’ victory here is also notable for a couple of other reasons.
One that should probably make their future opponents in Brazil treat them with a bit more caution is that they managed to take this title without ever falling into the lower bracket. They did drop a couple of maps, however—two across the entire tournament. Each team member was firing on all cylinders across the event, but Gülce “Wens” Eda Sürmeli particularly stood out, finishing the last map of the grand final with a plus six K/D and an ACS of 216.
On a more sentimental note, BBL Queens are the first all-Turkish squad to make it to the global stage in Game Changers, marking a special milestone for their team as representatives of their country. Starting on November 28, they will be able to show off Turkish VALORANT to the whole world when they enter the 2023 Game Changers World Championship as EMEA’s second seed.
