A Possible Last Ride Shapes G2’s Shanghai Campaign

Declan Ferris, Senior Editor

Last Updated: 30/09/2026

BABYBAY said G2 had used a similar approach in Santiago, then made further adjustments before arriving in Shanghai a couple of days early. By the press conference, he said, the players were sleeping at appropriate times and getting enough rest, and he believed they had moved past most of the worst effects of jet lag.

The preparation mattered because Champions is a short-format pressure test: a team has little room to let travel disrupt its opening games. BABYBAY’s comments suggested G2 had treated acclimatisation as part of the work, not an afterthought once the team landed.

Opening win gave the campaign a strong start

The September 23 press conference came before the matches began. In a separate post-match interview on September 24, after G2’s opening Group C match, BABYBAY said the team had placed particular importance on getting a win because G2 had sometimes started tournaments slowly.

G2 beat TYLOO 2–0 and moved into the group’s winners’ match. BABYBAY said the team had prepared hard for the opponent and recognised the threat TYLOO posed, while also acknowledging that the match was difficult and that TYLOO fought back.

He singled out TYLOO player slowly for his speed and mechanics, describing him as one of the most impressive players. BABYBAY also credited the support he received from teammates in that matchup and said practice against LOUD, which uses the same composition on Lotus, had helped G2 prepare.

The follow-up win offered an early example of the focus BABYBAY had described before the event: G2 had identified the opener as important and arrived prepared for the opposition. It did not settle the larger questions around the lineup, but it gave the team a positive start to a tournament the players already viewed as unusually meaningful.

BABYBAY also thanked the Shanghai and Chinese fans after the match, saying he was happy to play in front of their support. Champions Shanghai runs through October 18, with G2’s Group C campaign unfolding against the uncertainty he described: one match at a time, and with the current five determined to make the most of their time together.

G2 Esports player Andrej “BABYBAY” Francisty described VALORANT Champions Shanghai as a possible final run for some of his teammates, saying the uncertainty around the roster had helped the group focus on winning for one another. He spoke at the Group C pre-event press conference on September 23, ahead of a tournament scheduled to run from September 24 to October 18.

G2 were drawn into Group C alongside TYLOO, Team Liquid and Paper Rex. With the offseason and potential partnership changes looming, BABYBAY said the possibility that the five might not play together again had changed how they approached the tournament: the outside noise mattered less, while every moment together mattered more.

The stakes were tangible before a map was played. In the wider build-up to the event, Champions Shanghai’s players to watch included names facing a major international test, with G2’s campaign beginning amid questions about what might come after the tournament.

“For some of us, it does feel like it’s the last ride,” he said. He added that knowing the event could be the final one with the same five players made the team more grateful for each remaining moment.

Uncertainty brought G2 closer

BABYBAY’s remarks were not a confirmation that the roster would break up. Instead, he described the uncertainty around the offseason and partnership changes as a reason for the team to value its time together and concentrate on the tournament in front of it.

“For some of us, it does feel like it’s the last ride”

Andrej “BABYBAY” Francisty

The practical effect, in his telling, was a tighter group that could shut out distractions. He said the players had been spending time together, enjoying one another’s company and keeping their attention on the shared goal rather than speculation about what might follow Champions.

BABYBAY said the team wanted to win for each other, making it easier to block out outside noise. That togetherness, he suggested, could make G2 a difficult opponent: the team was embracing what he called a last-chance run at a moment when the future of the lineup was uncertain.

There is a clear difference between that motivation and any guarantee about the roster’s future. BABYBAY spoke about how the possibility of a final tournament affected the team’s mindset; he did not announce a roster move or say what would happen to the lineup after Shanghai.

G2 planned around the Shanghai time difference

The team’s preparation extended beyond practice. BABYBAY said G2 had been working throughout the year to manage the time difference between its usual schedule and Shanghai, using adjustments to its routine rather than trying to shift its sleeping hours all at once.

He said G2 had been practicing throughout the year to deal with jet lag. He described the method as pre-adjustments: moving the schedule closer to the destination’s time without putting too much strain on players’ bodies.

BABYBAY said G2 had used a similar approach in Santiago, then made further adjustments before arriving in Shanghai a couple of days early. By the press conference, he said, the players were sleeping at appropriate times and getting enough rest, and he believed they had moved past most of the worst effects of jet lag.

The preparation mattered because Champions is a short-format pressure test: a team has little room to let travel disrupt its opening games. BABYBAY’s comments suggested G2 had treated acclimatisation as part of the work, not an afterthought once the team landed.

Opening win gave the campaign a strong start

The September 23 press conference came before the matches began. In a separate post-match interview on September 24, after G2’s opening Group C match, BABYBAY said the team had placed particular importance on getting a win because G2 had sometimes started tournaments slowly.

G2 beat TYLOO 2–0 and moved into the group’s winners’ match. BABYBAY said the team had prepared hard for the opponent and recognised the threat TYLOO posed, while also acknowledging that the match was difficult and that TYLOO fought back.

He singled out TYLOO player slowly for his speed and mechanics, describing him as one of the most impressive players. BABYBAY also credited the support he received from teammates in that matchup and said practice against LOUD, which uses the same composition on Lotus, had helped G2 prepare.

The follow-up win offered an early example of the focus BABYBAY had described before the event: G2 had identified the opener as important and arrived prepared for the opposition. It did not settle the larger questions around the lineup, but it gave the team a positive start to a tournament the players already viewed as unusually meaningful.

BABYBAY also thanked the Shanghai and Chinese fans after the match, saying he was happy to play in front of their support. Champions Shanghai runs through October 18, with G2’s Group C campaign unfolding against the uncertainty he described: one match at a time, and with the current five determined to make the most of their time together.

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Declan Ferris, Senior Editor

Declan Ferris grew up in Sheffield splitting his time between watching Wednesday at Hillsborough and grinding ranked queues on the family PC. That overlap between traditional sport and competitive gaming has shaped how he thinks about esports: the tactics, the team dynamics, the pressure of a big match moment. He brings a fan-first perspective to everything he covers, whether that is a major CS2 tournament final or a breakout Valorant roster making noise in the EMEA scene.

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