Version1’s all-male VALORANT Champions Tour squad isn’t the organization’s only successful roster in the game. VersionX, V1’s all-women’s VALORANT team, has seen a huge glow-up during this season of North American VCT Game Changers, adding new roster members and a new coach to take their play to the next level.
In the past month or so alone, VersionX went from being ranked 130 in Game Changers to No. 26, according to VLR.gg. Beyond that, they’ve now secured a spot as one of the top eight teams competing in the 2022 NA Game Changers main event. That leap in performance is not only helping VersionX compete to prove they’re the best in North America, but also to snag a spot at the first-ever international Game Changers tournament in November.
The roster originated as the unsigned Just Breathe, which Version1 picked up after their top-four finish in last year’s Game Changers. Since then, the team’s lineup has changed significantly, but Katherine “Karra” Lee is still on board from the old days. Naomi “Naomi” Sauvola, formerly of CLG Red, joined VersionX back in September, and so far she said she feels things with the organization and new team structure have been going well.
I had 2 aces on haven…. and a nice 1v3 on fracture 😀 gg's to Misfits!! WE QUALIFIED!!!!!! #VCTGameChangers #VXVAL #NeverDone pic.twitter.com/Vd9Nwyu5OA
— Naomi (@NaomiFPS) April 4, 2022
“Version1 has gone above and beyond to provide as much support as they can to help us be as successful as possible,” she said in a press conference. “And with the addition of Anderzz and Starlight and Kat, we’ve just been doing absolutely insane. We’ve been doing really well. And I think that’s due to V1 and also our new teammates coming in and just the structure that Anderzz provides.”
After Naomi came on, Makayla “Starlight” and Kat “Katriggered” Perez joined VersionX as co-in-game leaders at the start of 2022 to change up the bones of the squad. Then, Martin “Anderzz” Schelasin, one of the former coaches for the Fnatic squad that went to VCT Champions in 2021, came on as head coach.
Though the squad members have different levels of experience in terms of receiving actual coaching, all of them agreed that Anderzz’s presence has dramatically changed how they view and play the game.
“I think I’ve always had a coach on my previous teams, but I felt like Anderzz brought a different level of structure that I was not used to before,” Naomi said. “It brought a new level to the game to me that I was able to see more different views in different ways. And things were a little opened up for me as a player, if that makes sense.”
Karra, meanwhile, said never had the opportunity to learn from someone with a coach’s perspective and that the change is a welcome one.
“I feel guided, and it’s really nice to have someone who confirms a lot of things with you and teaches you a lot of things,” Karra said. “So it feels great to having a coach for the first time.”
We 2-0 @MisfitsGG in #VCTgamechangers to qualify us for the main event! GGs to them good series. I played poorly but my teammates got me. #NaomiSupremacy #VXVAL
— Starlight 💫 (@x0Starlight) April 3, 2022
Despite the massive improvements the roster and coaching additions have made, the VX girls said they are still hungry to grow and become even better.
“I want to become the best IGL I can be,” Starlight said. “I still feel like I’m at the bottom of where my skill can be. I don’t feel like I’m at my peak yet.”
VersionX are entering the 2022 Game Changers main event in the tournament’s eighth seed, but they have their eyes on the top spot. And considering their rapid growth, claiming the win may not be out of reach. They’ll face off with Shopify Rebellion in their first match of the tournament on Wednesday.
Published: Apr 5, 2022 05:05 pm