Prepare yourselves, Valorant fans, because Red Bull Home Ground 2022 is right around the corner, giving some of the top professional teams from Europe and North America the chance to face off one final time this year. With a unique tournament format and a wide array of talented players coming together to square off against one another, this is sure to be an exciting end to the Valorant season.
Eight teams will meet in Manchester’s Victoria Warehouse from December 9-11 for a series of gruelling matches in front of a live audience, all of which will be streamed online via YouTube and Twitch. This will be the last chance for Valorant teams to prove their might over each other this year, so expect some seriously explosive matches.
And for the first time ever at Red Bull Home Ground, teams from NA will be flying overseas to battle it out with European squads. Valorant teams only get a small handful of matches against overseas squads each, so expect sparks to fly when the different styles of play clash on the field.
Need to know more? Here’s everything you can expect from Red Bull Home Ground 2022, and the teams you can expect to see at the event.
What is Red Bull Home Ground?
Red Bull Home Ground is the last major Valorant event of the season, giving teams one last chance to prove themselves. The 2022 edition will see NA teams joining for the first time, flying over to England to face off against European teams on their home ground.
The tournament kicks off with a Group Stage on December 9, with the eight squads separated into two groups. Each team will take part in three best-of-three matches, with the winner of the group immediately progressing to the semifinals while those in fourth place will be eliminated.
December 10 will see the second and third-place teams face off in the quarterfinals, with the day ending with the first semifinal match. Finally, December 11 will feature the last of the semifinals, and finish with the Grand Final itself, an epic best-of-five competition to determine the overall winner.
Which teams are taking part?
The main team to watch out for will be Team Liquid, who are the returning Red Bull Home Ground champions from 2021. They also recently took part in Valorant Champions 2022 and made it all the way to the quarterfinals, so they’re not a squad to be trifled with.
Several teams will be gunning for revenge against them, however. FUT Esports faced off against Liquid at Red Bull Home Ground 2021 and were dominated, only winning two rounds during the entire match – expect FUT to come out swinging if they face Liquid this time around. Expect the same from both Team Vitality – who Liquid most recently beat at Valorant Champions Tour 2021: Europe Stage 3 Challengers 2 – and KRÜ Esports, who have yet to win a single game against Team Liquid in their history of encounters.
Not everyone will be seeking revenge on Liquid, however. Team Heretics beat Liquid back in 2020, but most recently lost to Vitality at the Valorant Champions Tour 2021 Europe Stage 3 Challengers 2 – Closed Qualifier, so expect that rematch to be a tense one. Meanwhile, relative newcomers FOKUS have yet to compete against any of the other teams at Red Bull Home Ground – could this squad upset the entire competition?
And what of the NA teams? 100 Thieves and Cloud9 have faced off against each other, with 100 Thieves knocking C9 out of the VCT 2022: North America Last Chance Qualifier this year, but 100 Thieves have yet to face any of the European squads present. C9 will also be looking to get revenge against Team Liquid – it seems like Liquid have made more enemies than friends in the world of Valorant for all the winning they keep doing.
Where can I watch Red Bull Home Ground?
- Red Bull Home Ground will be streamed live on December 9-11 on the Red Bull Gaming Twitch and YouTube channels. Tune in and catch all the action from the exciting end to the Valorant season!