Riot Games has announced a major new feature for the upcoming 2025 VALORANT Game Changers Championship, introducing Pick’Ems powered by AWS for the first time in tournament history. Starting November 13 at 9 AM PT, the prediction challenge gives fans a chance to test their esports knowledge before the championship starts in Seoul on November 20.
The Pick’Ems system lets fans predict the outcome of every match in this double-elimination tournament, while competing with friends for bragging rights and climbing the daily leaderboards. Picks lock 20 minutes before the very first match of the tournament, at approximately 12:20 AM PT on November 20, adding a sense of urgency to those last-minute strategies.
Rewards Structure
Riot has designed a tiered rewards system to incentivize participation. Just making one pick earns players the “Aura Farming” title, while finishing in the top 50% of participants unlocks the Pocket Killjoy buddy charm. More competitive players who manage to reach the top 20% also get the upgraded Golden Pocket Killjoy buddy. The ultimate achievement of predicting every match correctly allows participants to have the exclusive “100%” title.
The championship itself boasts 10 elite teams competing from six major regions: North America, EMEA, Brazil, LATAM, Pacific, and China. Two-time defending champions Shopify Rebellion Gold lead a stacked field featuring G2 Gozen, Karmine Corp GC, Team Liquid Brazil, and Korean representatives Ninetails, who will compete in front of their home crowd.
Predictions can be made on the VALORANT Esports website or through the in-game Esports Hub. For Riot, this is one more way of investing in fan engagement, turning passive viewership into active participation with real, in-game rewards pegged to the accuracy of their predictions.