The inaugural League of Legends Game Changers Rising has kicked into gear at last. After months of anticipation, the competition opened this past weekend with its first phase—the Open Qualifiers—where Zerance Bloom, a French organization fresh off the Equal Esports Cup, and Eterna, a transatlantic newcomer roster, fought their way to the two coveted spots. They now join six pre-qualified teams in the race for a share of the €10,000 prize pool and a shot at the grand finals at Paris Games Week 2025. With the group stage set to begin on September 13, Sheep Esports spoke with both squads to reflect on their road through qualifiers and what comes next.

Zerance Bloom: Flourishing in the Fall

Though their spot is now secured, Zerance’s road to Game Changers was anything but smooth. One of the youngest squads in the scene, they blasted off their season by qualifying for the Equal Esports Cup with just a single game loss, then finished the group stage 7–3, clinching third place. But challenges quickly piled up: Zerance fell 1–2 to both Nexus Reapers and Galions Pearl, finishing playoffs in last place and narrowly missing a Game Changers invite. “There was a lot of disappointment after playoffs. We had the games in our hands, and it really took a toll on the team’s morale and mindset,” explained team captain Velouria “Viki” Baty.

Since that defeat, the French squad has been hard at work. In the two weeks that followed, they went back to the drawing board. “We worked on the things that cost us games. We were biting off more than we could chew, and that caused us to throw,” Viki said. But a shift in mindset wasn’t the only change — the team also made a surprise roster move, bringing new firepower to their bot lane with rookie support Axelle “Yseï” Da Costa. “It wasn’t a voluntary change — our support wasn’t motivated to play competitively anymore and chose to step away. We had the choice between a veteran and a rookie. We chose Yseï because of her commitment to the project and to stay true to our goal of developing players and helping them shine on stage,” Viki added.

Zerance gave fans a few scares, but their run in this weekend’s Game Changers Open Qualifier went largely as expected. They finished the Swiss stage 5–1, their only blemish a loss to Eterna, ending day 1 in second place — though a few games were nail-biters. Day 2 saw the squad hit the bracket stage guns blazing. Toplaner Mimi “Owpi” Effraimidi delivered a pentakill in their opening match against Void Blossom, sweeping them 2–0. Their real test came against ThisIsFine, featuring former world champions Park “Jisoo” Ji-soo and Jeon “CandleHerb” Su-jin. After dropping the first game, Zerance fought back to take the series 2–1, punching their ticket to Game Changers. “When each player commits personally, you can see the difference. We can’t just show up and hope to make a difference mechanically against full-time teams. It has to come from every player,” Viki concluded.

The next chapter for this young roster is theirs to write, and expectations remain high. “Reaching the semifinals would already be a huge success,” the team captain said. “It would show that our roster of rookies can rise among the top teams, most of which are veterans.”

Eterna: Rising to the Throne

Newcomers to the scene, Eterna took Europe by storm during the Open Qualifiers. “We don’t have an organization backing us — we’re mostly just a bunch of friends. Our staff supports us because they believe in the players,” explained recently role-swapped AD Carry Nova “Sea” Jenčáková, fresh off her first stint as a midlaner with Supernova Comets in the Equal Esports Cup. Despite limited resources, the transatlantic team went nearly undefeated all weekend, dropping only one game to Zerance in a best-of-three seeding match — which they ultimately won.

“For a while, I’ve considered myself the best female toplaner in North America. I never got the chance to compete in Game Changers locally, and since its disappearance, there’s been almost no opportunity in the past two years to prove it,” explained Ivy “Starrie” Starr, one of the team’s two imports. With few opportunities in other regions, LoL Game Changers has become the perfect stage to showcase talent — as seen with ThisIsFine, a squad with two Korean imports that narrowly missed qualification. These performances highlight the urgent need for a global circuit, as many players are willing to compete on high ping just to prove themselves, given the scarcity of opportunities in their home countries.

Playing from North America came with unique challenges for Skylar “Virtuosa” Hew, the team’s support and second import. “Some champions, mostly melee engagers, are easy to play on ping, but many rely on ranged mechanics, which are harder to execute consistently. My playstyle involves flexing and outplays, but I won’t blame ping — there are plenty of in-game factors I can improve,” she explained. Timing was another hurdle: “Matches at 13:00 CEST are 5 AM for me, which means waking up at 4 AM — always a tough adjustment.” Still, she saw benefits: “Much of our staff is based in NA too, and having a perspective from a different scene sparked interesting discussions about gameplay and culture.”

“We knew who our competition was, and we knew we were the stronger team,” said Virtuosa. “Our goal is to go as far as possible. Reaching the top 4 without an organization would be huge, but I believe we’re capable of top 2 — or even winning it all. Every team in this league is experienced, and our main challenge is that we’ve had less time together than others, but we’re ready to overcome that.”

Only time will tell if Eterna can live up to their own expectations, though their Open Qualifier run suggests they have the tools to make a serious impact on Europe’s hierarchy.