Fnatic’s Tokyo!! Fnatic claim 2023 Red Bull Home Ground #4 Tokyo title

Valorant

6 Nov

Ganesh Jadhav

Red Bull Home Ground #4 Tokyo has to be the last of the most stacked Off//Season events of 2023. The event featured a total of eight teams. Six teams were directly invited to the event, two additional teams were invited from EMEA and Japan respectively.

Compared to the previous Red Bull Home Ground #3, the current one featured a single Round Robin group and the same Playoffs format.

Teams and Rosters Featured at the Red Bull Home Ground #4:

100 Thieves [Asuna, bang, Cryocells, Eeiu, NaturE] (VCT Americas - Invited)
Cloud9 [Curry, jakee, OXY, Vanity, Xeppa] (VCT Americas - Invited)
DRX [BuZz, Foxy9, Flashback,MaKo, Stax] (VCT Pacific - Invited)
Fnatic [Alfajer, Boasters, Chronicle, Derke, Leo] (VCT EMEA - Invited)
SCARZ [Allen, Lumo, MrTenzouEz, Tempure, Yoshi] (Challengers Japan - Invited)
FENNEL [CLZ, Derialy, Gon, Ria, SyouTa] (Japan Qualifiers)
FUT Esports [AtaKaptan, cNed, MrFaliN, qRaxs, yetujey] ( EMEA Qualifiers)

Red Bull Home Ground #4 Group Stage: The Games Begin!!

EMEA dominated the group stage of Red Bull Home Ground #4 Tokyo. Fnatic and FUT both topped the group with a 2-0 score leading to direct Semifinals seeding. On their way to the Semifinals, FUT defeated 100 Thieves and DRX. Fnatic defeated FENNEL and ZETA.

Only six teams could qualify for the Playoffs. With FENNEL and SCARZ losing both their games, they were the first to be eliminated from the competition. 100 Thieves, Cloud9, DRX and ZETA Division qualified for the playoffs.

Red Bull Home Ground #4 Quarterfinals: West Meets East

The opening game of the playoffs featured Cloud9 taking on ZETA Division. In their previous encounter, Cloud9 lost to ZETA Division. ZETA Division once again seemed to be on the right path to win the series. They took Cloud9’s pick of Ascent with a strong 13-8 scoreline.

Cloud9 almost immediately pulled it back with a dominant 13-2 Bind, forcing and winning the final map 13-7 to claim the series 2-1.

In the second quarterfinal, DRX and 100 Thieves took on each other. Both teams played with substitutes. Despite the strong resistance, the debutante 100 Thieves could not secure a map and lost the series 2-0.

Red Bull Home Ground #4 Semifinals: One Shot

In the Semifinals, Cloud9 took on FUT Esports. After introducing cNed, FUT seemed to be on a roll, with an amazing group stage showing. However, Cloud9 spoiled the undefeated party for FUT, dominating them on Sunset with a 13-4 scoreline.

FUT answered back on Lotus winning 13-9 to force a final third map. Haven was a brawl, the teams were tied in the first half, but C9’s attack pulled ahead in the second map, winning the series 2-1 to qualify for the Bo5 finals.

The second semifinals featured Fnatic taking on DRX, a familiar matchup for the year 2023. Compared to their previous encounters, the game was pretty one-sided, Fnatic only lost a total of 7 rounds on the two maps played.

Red Bull Home Ground #4 Grand Finals - Tokyo belongs to Fnatic!

Despite the hurdles in the way, Cloud9 made it to the Grand Finals. Despite the struggling games, Cloud9 prevailed. Fnatic were relatively unchallenged at this event They looked comfortable all the way through to the finals.

The game started on Bind, Cloud9 secured a substantial start. Fnatic answered back to secure a tie in the first half. In their attacking half, Fnatic displayed a masterclass leading to a dominant 13-7 map win.

On the second map, the teams once again were tied in the first half, but Fnatic could not replicate the same dominance on attack. This was the first time we saw Fnatic struggle at the event. Cloud9’s defense prevailed and they won the map 13-9.

Ascent was similar to Bind with Cloud9 securing an early lead and Fnatic re-adjusting to secure a tie. But on their attack, Fnatic struggled and lost multiple rounds to lose another map 13-9.

Cloud9 saw another strong start to the map on Lotus. This time, the readjustment from Fnatic came a tad late as Cloud9 secured a 7-5 half. Fnatic once again displayed a flawless attack, closing the map 13-8.

With both teams tied on 2-2, the final map was played for all the marbles. For the first time in the series, Fnatic was leading and secured a 7-5 score. In the second half, Fnatic’s impenetrable defense helped them convert the two-round lead to another international title.

What did we learn from Red Bull Home Ground #4 2023?

Fnatic holds strong:

Fnatic has to be one of the best if not the best team of VCT 2023. Boaster said in an interview, the team did not practice for the tournament and solely relied on their teamwork and the old strat book. The tournament was an orientation for their new coach Elmapuddy.

The squad looked comfortable. Chronicle, Leo, Alfajer, Boaster and Derke all looked extremely comfortable playing with each other. All of them seem to be developing their signature style and map, with Boaster still comfortably being the top IGL he is.

Curry and Cloud9 are amazing:

The event won’t be complete without mentioning Cloud9. The event was the squad's third Off//Season event after Red Bull Double Agent and TEN Global Invitational. Unfortunately, the squad had to find a last minute replacement for wippie. Curry, the North American ranked demon, came in to help.

With curry being the last minute replacement, the squad struggled to dominate but still continued to win their games effectively. As the games progressed, Curry and Cloud9 looked more and more comfortable. Curry delivered some amazing rounds and helped the team win some crucial games making it to the grand finals.

FUT’s new players look amazing:

Red Bull Home ground #4 was the team’s first international event. cNed has been a strong known international quantity, but the new addition in Yetujey stood up to the competition.

The youngster stood his ground against top tier competition and internationally proven players in Cloud9, DRX and 100 Thieves.

The new additions ended up being the top players for FUT and set the tone for the future of FUT Esports in VCT 2024.

100 Thieves look sloppy:

One of the biggest disappointments of the tournament was 100 Thieves, who despite the experience and the talent barely made it out of groups and only won one game in the tournament.

While this is definitely not a bad sign per se, since RBHG is an Off//Season event. However, a win here could’ve helped with the confidence of the squad. There are still two months until the first event of VCT 2024. Hopefully 100 Thieves rise to the top once again.

Conclusion and what lies ahead?

The last two T1 teams at the event were DRX and ZETA Division. ZETA Hiroronn has already adjusted to the competition and is ready to take action. But the Academy player Yuran will need to get used to the competition. DRX continues to play with Foxy9 and Flashback to prepare for the future.

The next big event featuring this level of competition for 2023 will be AfreecaTV Valorant League featuring Sentinels, Team Liquid, DRX, T1, Paper Rex and more. The AfreecaTV Valorant Invitational will likely be the last big tournament of 2023.

As the new VCT 2024 inches closer, it’d be interesting to see how the teams prepare for the upcoming season.

Featured Image Credits: Red Bull Gaming