G2 Esports promote babybay to the starting lineup

G2 Esports has officially promoted sixth man Andrej "babybay" Francisty to their starting lineup ahead of the VCT 2026 season, replacing Jonah "JonahP" Pulice on the active lineup.

The trio, comprised of JonahP, Jacob "valyn" Batio, and Trent "trent" Cairns, spans all the way back to the start of the 2022 season. The three players all opted to stay together in the Tier-2 system in 2023 before qualifying for VCT 2024. Throughout their time together, the team has won three VCT Americas titles and multiple high-placing finishes on the international stage. However, it appears that their time together will be coming to an end, as babybay’s introduction to the active lineup, in place of JonahP, marks the end of a four-year-long tenure.

Dominant domestically but misses out on VCT international trophies

The 2025 season is one that saw G2 Esports dominate the VCT Americas league throughout the entire year. They began their torrid rampage by taking down Sentinels in the Grand Finals of the VALORANT Champions Tour 2025 - Americas Kickoff before doing that once more during the VCT 2024 - Americas Stage 1 Finals. The team didn’t slow down in VALORANT Champions Tour 2025 - Americas Stage 2 either, despite playing with substitute babybay in place of star Sentinel player Nathan "leaf" Orf. While they dropped their first series in all of VCT Americas against Sentinels, they quickly recovered in the playoffs, culminating in their third consecutive VCT Americas title.

Unfortunately, the team was never able to convert their domination of the Americas into a VCT international title. The team stood just one round away from lifting their first global trophy at VALORANT Champions Tour 2025 - Masters Bangkok 2025 before T1 upset them in a close 3-2 series win. That then led to a fourth-place finish at VALORANT Champions Tour 2025 - Masters Toronto 2025 before ultimately finishing their year with a 7th-8th place finish at VALORANT Champions Tour 2025 - Valorant Champions.

Going into the offseason, it was uncertain whether the G2 core would be staying together as everyone on the team, apart from Alexander "jawgemo" Mor, had expiring contracts. However, it has now been confirmed that a majority of the lineup will be sticking together going into the VCT 2026 season.

What does G2 Esports look like going into VCT 2026?

The team will be hoping that this roster change will help carry them to their first international VCT trophy heading into the new season. Babybay will now have an opportunity to showcase his abilities in the starting lineup throughout the 2026.

It will be interesting to see if he can maintain the momentum he gained while filling in for the team throughout Stage 2 in the Americas. Babybay will also be taking over JonahP’s role within the team, meaning he will need to make an adjustment after filling in for the Sentinel role on the team previously.

G2 Esports and babybay will be competing at Red Bull Home Ground 2025 - Main Event. The VALORANT offseason tournament will take place from November 13 to 16. G2 Esports’ first match against ZETA DIVISION will take place on November 14, 2025.

Be sure to follow THESPIKE.GG for more VALORANT offseason content like this as we move closer to the start of the VCT 2026 season.