RedBull reveals third edition of VALORANT Home Ground in Manchester

This winter, the energy drinks company Red Bull is set to host an official VALORANT Champions offseason tournament in Great Britain’s Manchester. The third edition of Red Bull Home Ground will feature eight of the world’s elite VALORANT teams competing for a $100,000 prize pool.

This marks the first time Red Bull Home Ground will also welcome teams from other regions besides Europe. The event will take place from December 9 to 11 in a unique Home and Away format. 

Participants 

Among the teams that will go head-to-head at the tournament are last year’s Red Bull Home Ground champions Team Liquid, along with Team Vitality, FOKUS Clan, FUT Esports, and BIG, with more teams to be revealed soon. 

While the first three teams mentioned were invited, FUT Esports got in via the closed Turkish Qualifier back in August, and BIG secured their spot last Sunday at the EMEA Open Qualifier. In an incredibly close final, BIG went head to head with KOI, securing the win over the Spanish squad. 

Home and Away 

To bring more excitement into the competition, RedBull came up with a unique Home and Away format, that will see the two teams competing against each other select a “home ground” to play on for the open two maps. This format rewards tactical awareness, map knowledge, and wider map usage, because if a team wins both opening “home” and “away” matches, they automatically win the tie.

Schedule 

Red Bull Home Ground 2022 will kick off on December 9 with a best-of-three group stage. While the top two teams will immediately advance to the semifinals, four will pass to the quarter-finals, and the remaining two teams will be eliminated.

The next day will see another two teams get eliminated in the best-of-five quarterfinals. The competition is set to start at 4 pm CET. The remaining four teams will battle it out in the semifinals scheduled for December 11, starting at 1 pm CET. 

Talent and guests

British host Yinsu Collins will be returning as the host of the event to provide inside into the game’s dynamics alongside commentators Tom “Tombizz” Bissmire, Mitch “Mitchman” McBride, Ryan “RyanCentral” Horton, Adam “Dinko” Hawthorne, and Beatriz “kaquka” Alonso.

Furthermore, the event will feature special guest appearances from G2’s female VALORANT roster G2 Gozen and from singer Chrissy Costanza, who’s the lead vocalist of American pop-rock band Against The Current and a recent VCT desk host. 

Fans can also look forward to cosmetic content drops throughout the tournament’s gameplay. The event will be broadcast on RedBull’s Twitch and YouTube channels.

Beatriz “Kaquka” Alonso, VALORANT analyst, commentator, and content creator commented:

“Red Bull Home Ground brings together some of the world’s top teams, giving us the opportunity to see completely new match-ups and teams partnerships ahead of next year. The unique format means we’ll see teams perform and strategise in totally new ways, bringing unpredictability to one of the most anticipated tournaments for some time. I look forward to catching up with the UK VALORANT community and fans in the vibrant city of Manchester- see you there!” 

Red Bull Home Ground 2022 will take place at Manchester’s Victoria Warehouse, with the tickets available for purchase at eventbrite.co.uk. Partners include gaming monitor brand AGON by AOC, gaming peripherals brand HyperX, and processor manufacturer AMD.

Image credit: RedBull