VCT Americas team is heading to Japan for major offseason event

100 Thieves are returning to the Red Bull Home Ground to defend their 2022 title, the tournament organizers have announced.

The North American giants have been announced as the first team that will compete at Red Bull Home Ground #4, one of the 40-plus Valorant offseason events that Riot Games has already announced.

For 100 Thieves, this means the opportunity to defend the title that they secured in Manchester last year. Brenden ‘stellar’ McGrath’s troops beat Cloud9 3-0 in the grand final of Red Bull Home Ground #3, capping off a tournament run that also included victories over VCT EMEA quartet Team Liquid, Heretics, FUT Esports, and Vitality.

100 Thieves’ VCT season came to an end on July 17 following a 2-1 loss to Sentinels in the Americas Last-Chance Qualifier. The team attended just one international LAN in 2023, VCT LOCK//IN, where they placed 5th-8th.

100 Thieves have not yet announced their 2024 roster plans beyond parting ways with General Manager Daniel ‘ddk’ Kapadia. But, according to a recent report by George Geddes, they are one of the VCT Americas organizations that will offer lower salaries to players in the future as part of cost-cutting measures.

Zander ‘thwifo’ Kim is the only player on 100 Thieves’ roster with a contract expiring at the end of this year. Derrek ‘Derrek’ Ha has a contract until the end of 2024, while the remaining players, as well as head coach ​​Michael ‘Mikes’ Hockom, have two years left on their contracts.

The Red Bull Home Ground will take place between November 3-5 at Tokyo’s iconic Ryōgoku Kokugikan Sumo arena. The tournament will feature six invited teams and two teams determined by last-chance qualifiers in Europe and Japan.

The event’s English language on-air team will include Iain Chambers as host, as well as ​​Tom ‘TOMBIZZ’ Bissmire, Mitch ‘MitchMan’ McBride, Seth ‘Achilios’ King, and Clinton ‘Paperthin’ Bader as casters and analysts. Tickets for the event can be purchased here.