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The biggest plays and plot-twists at Red Bull Home Ground 2025
G2 Esports took the Red Bull Home Ground 2025 title in New York City following a serious show of strength, but that wasn't the only highlight of the event. Here are our four top picks from this year.
Following the end of this year's VALORANT Champions Tour season, Red Bull Home Ground came back for another annual event, this time even bigger than before and right in the heart of New York City. The competition was heated, as NRG, Cubert Academy, T1, Sentinels, Fnatic, Cloud9, G2 Esports and Zeta Division took to the stage to battle it out for the Red Bull Home Ground trophy over two days at the Hammerstein Ballroom in Manhattan, but only one could emerge victorious.
G2 Esports took the top prize on US soil, beating reigning VALORANT Champions winners NRG in an epic grand final. That wasn't the only highlight from the competition, however – these were the standout moments from this year's Red Bull Home Ground.
It means a lot to make the haters eat their words by coming out and winning this
Watch the final in full:
01
Zeta Division upset Fnatic and G2 Esports
The local crowd brought the energy
© Colin Young-Wolff/Red Bull Content Pool
Despite three temporary players playing in Zeta Division's roster, the Japanese team almost went the distance, having to settle for third place in the end. In their first quarter-final match-up, Zeta Division managed to pull off a best-of-one upset over G2, taking a 13-7 win on Haven, dropping their opponents into the lower bracket.
Next up on the dock was Fnatic, fresh from a runner-up place at VALORANT Champions, yet Zeta Division were able to push forward with a dominant offence and pull a 13-1 upset on Bind. With just one round to their names in this match, Fnatic looked out of their element, as Zeta's Yeom 'eKo' Wang-ryong racked up 18 kills in quick succession.
Their best-of-three upper bracket final would not yield the same results, however, as NRG picked up two successive 13-6 victories to send Zeta down to the lower-bracket final, and G2 got their revenge in a dominant manner in their match-up. 13-4 and 13-3 scorelines definitely sent a message, as Zeta packed their bags with third place secured, and G2 had their sights set on the trophy.
02
G2 Esports' epic lower-bracket run
G2 had a gruelling lower-bracket run to contend with
© Colin Young-Wolff/Red Bull Content Pool
G2 Esports could have had a less stressful route to the grand final, but this is one team that loves pressure. With a quarter-final loss to Zeta Division, G2 found themselves running through the lower bracket, and had multiple top teams to topple along the way. They first found themselves up against Cloud9, who'd been dropped by Fnatic, and put on a tight fight on Haven. Cloud9 played valiantly, picking up the majority of the game's first kills, but it was G2 who held on, taking the Bo1 game 13-11 in their favour.
Sentinels were next on G2's radar, and as both teams descended on Split, it was G2 who would take the win. Each team traded rounds, but it was G2 who would find the momentum, and were able to take the win, with even a cheeky knife kill to seal a round along the way.
G2's match-up against Fnatic on Abyss was their closest encounter of the tournament, as it turned into a decider in overtime. Alexander 'jawgemo' Mor continued to show just why he's one of G2's top players, dropping 34 kills to avoid elimination, and putting on a masterclass in offence. With Fnatic conquered, G2 made quick work of Zeta Division in their best-of-three matchup in the Lower-Bracket Final, to earn their place in the Grand Final.
03
Team Ludwig vs Team TenZ showmatch upped the ante
TenZ and Ludwig put on a show
© Colin Young-Wolff/Red Bull Content Pool
Tyson 'TenZ' Ngo took to the stage alongside the likes of Max 'Demon1' Mazanov, Timmy 'iiTzTimmy' An, Gustavo 'Sacy' Rossi and Emir 'Alfajer' Beder for a showmatch against Ludwig Ahgren and his team, including Francis 'OXY' Hoang, Austin 'crashies' Roberts, Tarik 'tarik' Celik, and Victor 'v1c' Truong – and it was an epic entertaining showcase with frags galore.
Alfajer has his moment:
Team TenZ took the W with a 13-7 scoreline on Haven, with Demon1 picking up a hefty 24 kills throughout the game. Both teams put on a showcase for the show match, and while Ludwig and his team couldn't pick up the momentum, it was definitely a moment to remember.
04
G2's 3-0 grand final sweep
Reigning VCT Champions winners NRG looked tough to beat
© Colin Young-Wolff/Red Bull Content Pool
As the reigning VALORANT Champions winners, NRG headed into Red Bull Home Ground as one of the favourites to take the top prize, and with lofty expectations given they lifted the VCT Champions trophy in Paris just last month. And with an almost flawless, dominant display throughout the tournament to earn their place in the grand final, they met a scrappy G2 who had nothing to lose after emerging from the lower bracket.
Despite NRG essentially owning Corrode, sealing many teams' fate on this map, G2 managed to turn the tide and held on to a closely contested 13-10 win. NRG pushed forward to take a 8-1 lead, but G2 managed to severely damage NRG's momentum in round 10 as Trent 'trent' Cairns and jawgemo held on to secure their Spike plant. The next round went similarly down to the wire, as NRG were unable to clear the Spike site, as G2 rallied the crowd on their side. Eight rounds in a row then went in their favour, as NRG were barely able to respond on attack, and G2 sewed up the first map to the thunderous roars of the audience.
G2 took the lead early into the second map, taking the first five rounds on Split. NRG were able to pull back a few rounds, and just as it looked like the reigning world champions were almost able to turn those rounds into some much needed energy, jawgemo denied NRG's Brock 'brawk' Somerhalder a heroic clutch to put their stamp on the round. NRG tried to pull things back once again, but G2 were just too strong, and wrapped things up with a 13-4 win.
G2's lower-bracket momentum carried them to victory
© Colin Young-Wolff/Red Bull Content Pool
G2 headed into the third map with aplomb, seeing as they were on game point. NRG would have to reverse sweep, and win the next three maps to take the title – but G2 had plenty of momentum. The lower-bracket winners took the first two rounds before NRG could respond, and then a further three. NRG, however, found their footing and were able to drum up three rounds in a row with some impressive counterplay.
Both teams continued to trade rounds, but it was round 17 that signified a shift for NRG: a brutal knife from G2's leaf was sure to be humiliating, and a tactical timeout was called following the conclusion of that round, at 10-7 to G2. Following that, trent locked things up with a triple to inch G2 closer in round 18, before a messy defence from NRG gave G2 another round. With round 20 marked as must-win for NRG, it unfortunately did not go down the way they had hoped. An unlucky and messy teamkill added insult to injury, before Nathan 'leaf' Orf and Andrej 'babybay' Francisty cleared up the map to shut it down 13-7, and the series 3-0.
"This win is the first piece of the puzzle, and I think we just proved that we are made for this. It means a lot to make the haters eat their words by coming out and winning this. It's not anything we want to finish on, we want to keep going, and we have bigger aspirations," said Jacob 'valyn' Batio, following the final.
With Red Bull Home Ground 2025 under their belts, G2 Esports will be looking to go even bigger in 2026 – just how far will they go?
