VALORANT player Petra ‘Petra’ Stoker has been benched after nearly four years of competition with G2 Gozen. The organization announced the decision following disappointing results in Game Changers EMEA Stage 1 earlier this year, marking a significant change for one of the team’s founding members.
From Dominant Force to Strategic Rebuild
G2 Gozen, the Game Changers division of global esports organization G2 Esports, was established in 2021 following Riot Games’ creation of the VALORANT Game Changers ecosystem for women and other marginalized genders in esports. As part of the founding roster, former Counter-Strike competitor Petra helped establish G2 Gozen as a dominant presence in the Game Changers scene, consistently ranking at the top of regional tournaments.
The team reached its competitive peak by winning the inaugural Game Changers Championship in 2022, an achievement that made Petra, Michaela ‘mimi’ Lintrup, and Julia ‘juliano’ Kiran the first women to secure World Championships in two different games.
Recent Performance Challenges Prompt Change
While G2 Gozen maintained competitive relevance with third-place finishes at both the 2023 and 2024 Championships, 2025 marked the first time the team failed to maintain regional dominance. Despite leading the EMEA Stage 1 Group Stage with an impressive 8-1 match record, G2 Gozen stumbled in the Playoffs bracket, falling to Karmine Corp GC (0-2) before losing a rematch against GIANTX GC (1-3), resulting in just a third-place finish.
Role Conflict Behind Benching Decision
G2 Gozen’s Team Manager, Thibault ‘Tibalt’ Pulcini, provided context regarding Petra’s move to the bench. He explained that the team was implementing role changes to improve competitive results, with smokes player Aleyna ‘Vania’ Keskin returning to her original role while Petra would need to transition to duelist.
Tibalt noted that Petra lacked prior duelist experience in competitive play and was scheduled for trial runs in this new position ahead of Game Changers Stage 2. According to the team manager, Petra opted not to participate in these trials.
Addressing potential criticism, Tibalt explained that while some might view the decision to put Petra on trials as an injustice considering her nearly four years of service to the team, their responsibility is ensuring the team performs at the highest level consistently, which sometimes necessitates difficult decisions.
Emotional Reactions from Team Veterans
Following the announcement, Petra shared her thoughts on X, expressing that while there was pain in her heart, she can look back on great memories and is curious about what the future holds.
With Petra’s departure to the bench, in-game leader mimi remains the only active member from G2 Gozen’s original roster. As Petra’s longest-standing teammate, mimi posted an emotional statement on social media acknowledging their five years of friendship, laughter, and growth, describing this as the hardest decision she’s ever participated in. She emphasized that team decisions sometimes require considering the bigger picture even when painful, and wished Petra success in her future endeavors.