Valorant has unveiled a new women's competition called Red Bull Instalock, which will take place in London, England between April 20 and April 21.
The tournament will feature four of the best teams in the Valorant women's esports scene and will follow a unique set of rules. Keep on reading to know more about the Red Bull Instalock!
Teams
Four teams will be competing at London's Red Bull Instalock, including G2 Gozen, GIANTX, Karmine Corp, and Shopify Rebellion. Here's everything you need to know about them!
G2 Gozen
G2 Gozen is EMEA's best women's roster in the Valorant competitive scene. In 2022, G2 Gozen won the first-ever Game Changers Championship. One year later, the European roster finished in third place in the VCT 2023 Game Changers Championship after back-to-back defeats against Shopify Rebellion and Team Liquid.
In February 2024, the team made three roster changes as Michaela "mimi" Lintrup and Petra "Petra" Stoker are the only remaining players who joined G2 Gozen in October 2021, when G2 Esports decided to enter Valorant's women's esports scene. One month after the announcement, the Berlin-based organization won the VCT 2024 Game Changers EMEA Stage 1 after back-to-back flawless victories against Team Falcons.
Shopify Rebellion
Shopify Rebellion will be the only roster from outside EMEA competing at London's Red Bull Instalock.
Historically, Shopify Rebellion is the best organization in Valorant's women's professional circuit. Following the team's second-place finish at the VCT 2022 Game Changers Championship, Shopify Rebellion made the tough decision of parting ways with their previous roster after failing to qualify for the VCT 2023 Game Changers Championship and acquired Version1's squad, who had qualified for the tournament held in Brazil.
Eventually, that proved to be the right decision to make as Shopify Rebellion's new roster won the VCT 2023 Gamer Changers Championship. Recently, the team won the VCT 2024 Game Changers North America Stage 1 after two back-to-back victories against FlyQuest RED.
GIANTX
GIANTX acquired the former scoobydoomix roster shortly after the girls qualified for the VCT 2024 Game Changers EMEA Stage 1.
The former G2 Gozen player Sarah "Sarah" Ahmed is arguably the most well-known player in the team, with the backbone of the roster being the former Guild duo Yağmur "Smurfette" Gündüz and Neslişah "Ness" Demir, and the former Natus Vincere player Eylül "Miyori" Sarıoğlu. Last but not least, Tina "Joliinaa" Agéli closes the roster after having played in Europe's top flight with Ascend Rising.
In March 2024, GIANTX finished in third place in the VCT 2024 Game Changers EMEA Stage 1 after defeats against G2 Gozen and Team Falcons. As the roster is currently among the best three teams in the region, the Spanish brand hopes to qualify for the VCT 2024 Game Changers Championship.
Karmine Corp
Last but not least, Karmine Corp completes the Red Bull Instalock as the French organization will be present in London, England.
Karmine Corp initially joined the Valorant women's esports scene in February 2023. However, the team has changed drastically since then as the organization made three roster changes in February 2024.
The team's most well-known player is the Russian player Anastasiya "Glance" Anisimova, who competed for G2 Gozen from January 2022 to December 2023 and won the VCT Game Changers Champions 2022.
Unfortunately for Karmine Corp, the team didn't have a good start to the season after finishing at the bottom of the standings of the VCT 2024 Game Changers EMEA Stage 1, a run that included a 1-2 defeat against GIANTX.
Format and where to watch
The format used in the Red Bull Instalock will be completely different from anything seen before as teams will be required to play with three Duelists to encourage aggressive plays.
Considering there will only be two days of action, we expect the teams to be put in a single-elimination bracket with the semifinals being played on April 20 and the grand finals on April 21.
Additionally, a showmatch will be celebrated on April 21 including multiple Valorant content creators.
The games will be broadcast on Red Bulls' official Twitch and YouTube channels.
Talent
The Red Bull Instalock's host will be Yinsu "Yinsu" Collins, who previously hosted multiple regional and international tournaments including every edition of the VCT Champions played to date.
The talent pool is completed with Kieran “Kairo” Tulloch, Billie “BillieIDK” Purdie, Matt “Twiggy” Twigg, and Harry “Hazza” Chapman.
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