Esports organisation G2 has established a new internal research division, the G2 Performance Lab, to study professional player training methodologies and health. The project is backed by long-term sponsor Red Bull and will focus on evaluating the relationship between competitive workloads and player well-being.

Rather than keeping the data proprietary, the group plans to publish its findings publicly through academic partnerships to help inform coaching standards across the wider industry.

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The platform is led by performance coach Ismael Pedraza-Ramirez, now appointed G2 Performance Lab Director. By embedding scientist-practitioners directly within the competitive rosters, the lab aims to monitor the psychological, motor, and physiological dimensions of players to create tailored development plans.

”Elite esports competitors are incredible at what they do, yet they have the potential to go even further. Little is still known about how to properly develop them into world-class competitors, and we’re taking steps to change that with Red Bull’s support,” said Ramirez. “Through robust scientific research and practical work, we’re designing the tools and building the infrastructure to bring out the best in our competitors, while also sharing our findings with the world to support the entire esports scene.”

According to G2, operations will be structured around four core pillars: coaching and coach development, training design and delivery, player development, and performance health and support systems. The lab’s inaugural project for 2026, titled “A Space for Leaders,” focuses entirely on leadership development among G2’s staff through collaborative learning.

Global Esports Industry Week (GEIW) will return in 2026 with a bigger and bolder edition, taking place across 18–21 June in Cologne, Germany, alongside IEM Cologne. The schedule and details about ticket sales are available in this link.

G2 CEO Alban Dechelotte approached Red Bull’s participation in the project, stating that the brand “played a central role” in the vision behind G2 Performance Lab: “Red Bull’s track record of investing in athlete performance and high-performance environments speaks for itself. Across traditional sports and esports alike, they share our ambition to build something truly impactful.”

To facilitate its research projects for 2026, the lab is incorporating academic contributors from several European institutions, including the German Sport University Cologne and the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. The academic insights generated by these projects will be shared with the industry through scientific publications to support the wider esports scene.

This scientific approach to competitive operations builds upon G2’s existing history of technical partnerships, which includes an active collaboration with Logitech G dedicated to the research and development of high-performance gaming hardware.

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