An electric collegiate VALORANT showmatch (Red Bull Dorm Ground) between West Virginia University (WVU) and Fisher Esports took place at Red Bull Home Ground in New York City – just after NRG and ZETA DIVISION took the stage. For many attendees, it was their first time seeing college teams compete on stage.
On Saturday, November 15th, 2025, thousands of fans packed into the Hammerstein Ballroom for Red Bull Home Ground, one of VALORANT’s largest offseason invitationals featuring top teams including Sentinels, G2, T1, and the reigning 2025 World Champions, NRG.
Amid the pro competition, a special collegiate showcase – Red Bull Dorm Ground – gave rising university talent their moment in the spotlight. Red Bull Dorm Ground 2025 began as an online collegiate qualifier for schools in the Northeast region, with play-ins on November 1–2. 38 teams battled for a cut of the $10,000 prize pool and the opportunity to attend Red Bull Home Ground in NYC.
After two days of competition, the top four teams emerged:
- (#1) WVU Esports (West Virginia University)
- (#2) Fisher EU (Fisher College)
- (#3) Rutgers University
- (#4) Fisher Fishermen (Fisher College)
All four teams were invited to be VIP guests at the event, while the top two teams in the online qualifiers (WVU Esports and Fisher EU) had the opportunity to play in the stage show match in between the Winner Finals (NRG vs. ZETA DIVISION) and Loser Finals (G2 vs. ZETA DIVISION).
Although not playing in the show match, members of the Rutgers VALORANT roster spoke about their expectations and excitement heading into the weekend:
“Red Bull Home Ground is super important since it’s connected to the pro level,” shared Jason “temper” Lee. “It’s been a great opportunity.”
“I think we have to root for West Virginia. They beat us in a good fashion,” said Ruben “Cano” Roman, referring to an earlier match in the qualifier stage.
Following the Winners Final between NRG and ZETA Division, where NRG won 2-0, WVU and Fisher EU walked onto the main stage to a fully packed house. The show match featured commentary from professional VALORANT casters, Goldenboy, Sideshow, Doug, and former Sentinels player, TenZ.
Goldenboy in particular detailed the importance of this moment: “It’s always cool to see the collegiate space. This is honestly where the investment should be going. That’s the future—that’s what’s next.”
The show match was an incredibly close best-of-one on Bind, with Fisher starting on defense. By halftime, there was a 6-6 score line and huge plays on both sides.
Armin “LITSHII” Pervan, a player for Fisher EU, was described as “by far and away the most impactful player on the stage right now,” especially in late-round situations, helping Fisher navigate close-calls. WVU’s Aiden “A77” Hill delivered a massive 4k amid a dominant late tournament performance to secure the final round and close out the match 13–11 for WVU.
“We are so blessed to be here and so blessed for this opportunity. Even though we didn’t get the result we wanted we’re just so blessed for this experience,” said Joseph “Psyche” Gabriele, from Fisher College.
“We played [Fisher] last week and we kinda smoked them, so we had high confidence coming into this map. It was a little close but we had to make it interesting for the fans,” said Marco “Excite” Izrael from WVU. Fisher fell to WVU 0-2 in the Red Bull Dorm Ground Online Qualifiers, as WVU held an undefeated 6-0 run.
Collegiate Esports Leaves Its Mark on Home Ground
The collegiate influence didn’t stop at the show match. Several players in the main event had prior ties to collegiate VALORANT – including Ali “Ali” Salahedin, a current Flex Player for Winthrop University playing for Team RA’AD, and Mirel “Kyu” Hrustemovic from Sentinels (formerly with St. Clair).
For Kyu, the new IGL for Sentinels, this wasn’t his first time at a Red Bull invitational: “I did IGL with St Clair for a few years. We won here and in Istanbul [Red Bull Campus Clutch]. I am experienced enough to come to these LANs. I think collegiate in general builds a lot of skills, but you have to take it upon yourself to want to be pro.”
Kyu and Sentinels went on to place 5th-6th in the overall tournament.
Host Elisabeth Marchini, who cheered on collegiate esports when Winthrop competed in VCT Ascension, asked the audience if it was their first time watching collegiate esports. A vast majority of the crowd raised their hands.
In an on-stage interview, Andrew “Gucc107” Gutnichenko echoed the importance of collegiate to the audience: “If you guys aren’t watching collegiate, you’re missing out.”
On X, notable figures in the larger esports space, such as VALORANT caster LemonKiwi, showed their support for collegiate esports:
To many in the building, this was the most high-profile, in-person collegiate Red Bull activation since Red Bull Campus Clutch. A Red Bull representative hinted at more events in the collegiate space to come, saying the company is looking to re-engage with its collegiate network and encouraged students to join the official Red Bull Dorm Ground Discord for future announcements.
A Landmark Moment for Collegiate VALORANT – and the future?
The WVU vs. Fisher showmatch was a statement that showcased the depth of talent in the collegiate landscape, the passion of student competitors, and a visible, growing pipeline between the collegiate esports and professional esports.
The overall sentiment among many of the players was an excitement for Red Bull’s return to collegiate esports.
“I was there for the OG events where they went to Brazil,” shared Fisher’s “Psyche.” “It was sad to see Red Bull pull out, but I’m glad they’re dipping their toes back in again and they’re giving us something.”
“This is my first live event. The production team is awesome and we feel really at home here,” said Theo “Inox” Bjornsson. “The fact that we’re able to play this on stage is the best experience ever.”
When asked if they’d like to see more Red Bull Collegiate Events in the future, the entire WVU team exclaimed “HELL YEAH!” and “Shoutout Red Bull for this whole event.”
“I think I speak for everyone in the collegiate scene – Red Bull events have always been the most fun and best,” said Nicholas “Burgh” Schell. “We love going to Red Bull events and we’d love for them to bring it back. This experience was awesome but only a few schools were able to experience it. Red Bull come back, we miss you.”
Although there are no public plans for Red Bull’s return to the collegiate esports scene, the sentiment among the players seemed hopeful and grateful. As many members of the audience were made aware of collegiate esports for the very first time, there is no doubt that the impact of this event will echo throughout the entire community.
