This Sunday, September 6,
Red Bull unveiled its Home Ground 2026, the brand’s home
VALORANT event, which the beverage company has been organizing every year since 2021. For its seventh edition, Los Angeles, following New York, is set to host the competition from December 10 to 13, with 10 teams from almost every region of the world competing in a LAN event. The tournament will take place at the Shrine Auditorium, which has a capacity of 6,300.
Winners of the previous edition, G2 Esports will be back this year, alongside runners-up NRG and Sentinels, completing the trio of invited teams from VCT Americas. In
Europe, Fnatic is currently the only club confirmed to attend, while T1 and ZETA DIVISION will represent VCT Pacific. Two additional slots for invited organizations are still pending, while the final two spots will be decided through “Regional Qualifiers,” the exact nature of which is not yet known.
In terms of the format, the 10 teams will likely be split into groups and face each other over the first two days (December 10 and 11) in a group stage, according to the provisional schedule currently listed on the official website. From December 12 onward, the first playoff matches will be played, with the grand final taking place on December 13. Tickets for spectators for December 12 and 13 are already on sale.
It is worth noting that the competition is expected to clash with the launch of the new format planned by Riot Games for 2027. The VALORANT Champions Tour is set to become more open next season, and teams that are not partnered with Riot Games across the four major regions (EMEA, Americas, CN and Pacific) will have to go through qualifiers to reach the Cups, which will themselves provide access to Masters and Champions. As a result, these first open qualifiers could take place between December 2026 and January 2027, making this a point to watch for all participating teams. At present, none of them are guaranteed to remain partnered.
