eSports
Ninjas in Pyjamas wins Red Bull Home Ground open qualifier to earn a place in the Finals against the biggest VALORANT teams
Ninjas in Pyjamas mount a thrilling comeback to emerge victorious in the Red Bull Home Ground open qualifier final and seal a place at the pro VALORANT invitational in London, November 4th-7th.
Battling through a field of 64 teams across three intense days of competition, the open qualifiers culminated in an epic Thursday night showdown between London United and Ninjas in Pyjamas, with the Stockholm-based team scraping a hard-won victory that seals a place in the star-studded Red Bull Home Ground Finals.
Streamed on The Goose House’s Twitch channel and casted by Ryan “RyanCentral” Horton and Vincent “Zescht” Talmon-Gros, the Final proved a gruelling series. London United scooped the first match, before a resurgent NIP returned the favour to set up a climactic deciding third round.
Going to the wire in the best-of-three clash, fans also got to see new map Fracture in competitive action for one of the first ever times. With the stakes high and tensions higher, it was nearly impossible to separate the two teams during the early clashes in the third round, before Ninjas in Pyjamas eventually pulled away to earn an incredible comeback win, and secure a place at Red Bull Home Ground against the very best VALORANT teams in November.
Cementing the final spot for Red Bull Home Ground, Ninjas in Pyjamas completes the sixteen-team lineup that features many of the biggest VALORANT teams, including G2, Team Liquid, Gambit and Na’Vi.
The full lineup for Red Bull Home Ground is as follows:
- G2 Esports
- Team Liquid
- Vodafone GIANTS
- Tenstar
- Acend
- Futbolist
- Fnatic
- Supermassive
- Heretics
- Anubis
- FPX
- Gambit
- BIG CLAN
- BDS
- Na’Vi
- Ninjas in Pyjamas
Speaking about the team’s win, Ninjas in Pyjamas VALORANT Head Coach Emil “eMIL” Sandgren said: “The qualifier was tougher than expected, with a lot of underrated teams that deserve a lot of credit. That being said, we are happy to go through and will have to bring our A-game for the main event”
Red Bull Home Ground pitches teams in a riveting best of five battle, with the first two opening matches on each team’s chosen ‘home ground’. Added pressure is put on these opening home and away rounds, rewarding teams that can make the most of their home advantage and turn the tables on their opponent’s chosen map. If a team wins these two opening rounds they automatically win the tie, while a stalemate will then default to a best of five format.
The competition pioneers a unique Home & Away structure that delivers an exciting twist to the normal VALORANT format, placing an even greater emphasis on map knowledge and strategy and a new layer of unpredictability to map picks.
Making the competition even more of a spectacle, renowned VALORANT host Yinsu Collins will be leading a lineup of talented broadcast pros bringing the Red Bull Home Ground experience to life throughout the London Finals.
Yinsu will be joined by two iconic pairs of casters, with Lauren “Pansy” Scott and Michael “hypoc” Robins teaming up once again to reignite their rapport after the VALORANT Champions Tour Stage 3 Masters in September, while Mitch “MitchMan” McBride and Tom “Tombizz” Bissmire will pair up to and lend their charismatic expertise.
