Red Bull Home Ground 2026: Schedule, Teams, Prize Pool

The year’s VALORANT competition isn’t over yet. The Red Bull Home Ground World Final 2026 will arrive to Los Angeles from December 10 to 13 and is the biggest off-season event in the game. A partnership with Riot Games also gives fans a first look at the VCT 2027 season, with live 2027 Kickoff draws.

Red Bull announced the details on October 29, 2026. Here’s a recap of everything fans need to know.

Quick FAQ:

• When is the tournament? The Red Bull Home Ground Grand Final stretches from Thursday, December 10 to Sunday, December 13.
• When are the VCT 2027 Kickoff drawings? Riot will pick the 2027 Kickoff seeds live on Saturday, December 12 and Sunday, December 13.
• Where’s the location? It takes place in the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California.
• How many teams are there? 10 teams are competing. Champions 2026 winners LOUD, Champions 2025 victors NRG, last year’s Home Ground winners G2 Esports, and EMEA powerhouse Fnatic are a few names to watch.
• What’s the prize pool? 100,000 USD

What Is Red Bull Home Ground?

Home Ground is an off-season VALORANT event run by Red Bull. It’s international, with ten top teams competing for the title. This tends to have overlap with the VCT partner pool, so expect to see big names from this year’s season, like LOUD, T1, and NRG.

Generally, the tournament is a great way to gauge where teams stand heading into VCT 2027. It also lets them settle the score after long-lasting VCT rivalries.

This year is the first time Home Ground comes to the West Coast. Riot Games is based in Los Angeles, so it’s fitting. Fan favorite participants like Sentinels, G2 Esports, and 100 Thieves also have strong ties to the city.

Which Teams Are Playing?

Red Bull Home Ground 2026 has 10 teams in total. So far, eight are confirmed:

• LOUD: The newly crowned Champions 2026 winners, and the first two-time champions in Valorant history
• 100 Thieves: Third place at Champions Shanghai
• G2 Esports: The defending Home Ground winners
• NRG: The Champions 2025 winners
• Sentinels
• T1
• ZETA DIVISION
• Fnatic
• TBD (Open slot for VCT 2027 Americas Kickoff NA Qualifiers)
• TBD (Open slot for VCT 2027 Americas Kickoff NA Qualifiers)

Since the off-season is a great time to experiment, teams might pop up with new strategies. The yearly roster shuffle is also in full swing, so expect some fresh faces.

Two slots are still open. Teams can earn them through the 2027 VCT Americas Kickoff North America Qualifiers. Those run from November 5 to December 6.

The stakes are higher than usual: Teams that win a Home Ground spot also qualify for the 2027 VCT Americas Kickoff.

Red Bull Home Ground 2026: Event Schedule

Here’s a quick glance at the event schedule. All times are in Los Angeles’ Pacific Time (PT):

Date	Location	Events
Thursday and Friday, December 10 and 11	WePlay Studios	Group Stage, with matches starting at 10 a.m.
Saturday, December 12	Shrine Auditorium	Pre-show at 1:30 p.m. Bracket play at 2 p.m. One VCT 2027 Kickoff draw show.
Sunday, December 13	Shrine Auditorium	Pre-show at 3 p.m. Showmatch at 3:30 p.m. Opening Ceremony at 4:30 p.m. Grand Final at 5 p.m. Two VCT 2027 Kickoff draw shows.

The format starts with two days of group play. Then, things move into brackets. The Grand Final on December 13 crowns the winner.

Prize Pool

The prize pool is $100,000 USD. The winner takes the Home Ground title and a share of the money, depending on their placement.

Alongside the money, a strong performance here will identify which teams to watch in the upcoming year’s VCT circuit. It’s a chance for teams to assert their strength before the next season starts.

bbno$ at the Opening Ceremony

The Opening Ceremony will feature multi-platinum artist bbno$. It takes place on Sunday, December 13, at 4:30 p.m. PT, right before the Grand Final.

bbno$ is well known for running his own gaming channel and has cast Twitch streamers in his music videos. He has notably performed at the Streamer Awards, also in LA, and his Roblox concert this summer drew 28 million viewers.

In addition to bbno$, Red Bull has invited several content creator partners: Ludwig Ahgren, iiTzTimmy, and Emiru will appear throughout the Home Ground weekend.

VCT 2027 Kickoff Draws

Home Ground will also host the draw shows for the 2027 VCT Kickoff, determining the tournament’s seeds. The draws will cover VCT Americas, EMEA, and Pacific. They will run on December 12 and 13, live in front of fans. Riot compares the style to a World Cup draw.

The draws have big implications since they decide:

• Who plays whom in each region’s first matches
• The opening matchups for the season, starting in January

The Kickoff format is simple: each region has eight partner teams, and four more teams join through open qualifiers. The top teams from Kickoff move on to Masters Seoul, the first global event of 2027.

How to Watch Red Bull Home Ground 2026

Fans at home can watch live on these channels:

• Red Bull Twitch
• Red Bull Esports on YouTube

Official co-streams will also cover, with co-streamers announced closer to the event.

Tickets and Fan Fest

World Finals tickets are on sale now for December 12 and 13 at the Shrine Auditorium. Ticket holders get a seat in the arena and a Red Bull. They also get access to exclusive player meet-and-greets.

If you can’t get a ticket, anyone is welcome to attend the Home Ground Fan Fest outside the Shrine on December 12 and 13. Entry is free. You will find team booths, official merchandise, and interactive experiences from Red Bull and event partners.

Stay tuned for more VALORANT esports news.