After an intense VALORANT off-season, some of the top teams from the Americas and EMEA regions have gathered in Manchester to compete at the Red Bull Home Ground. In a competition that serves as a prelude to the 2023 VCT season between rival regions, expectations were flipped, with EMEA having a less-than-stellar performance while two North American rosters rose above the rest.
Fans were excited to see the newly-formed rosters compete, as this tournament is the first appearance for most of these teams and it was unclear how they would perform based on a few weeks of practice. Some of the biggest takeaways from the first day were an impressive undefeated performance from 100 Thieves, the comeback from Cloud9, Europe’s overall struggle, and KRU’s heartbreaking elimination.