Five players to watch at VALORANT Masters Toronto

VALORANT’s second international Tier 1 tournament, Masters Toronto, is right around the corner, promising to deliver highly competitive matches between the 12 competing top teams.

Last-minute roster changes and underdog qualifications have set the stage for an unpredictable event from June 7^th-22^nd. However, some players may reach the height of their careers in Toronto.  

To give fans a glimpse into the upcoming action, Esports Insider has selected the top five Masters Toronto players that deserve extra scrutiny, whether that is due to high expectations from the VALORANT community or their potential to defy those expectations.

Fnatic has a long-standing legacy within VALORANT esports, being among the few teams to have won two international VCT trophies with LOCK//IN and Masters Tokyo in 2023. After an underwhelming season last year, the esports organisation faced yet another challenge: finding a replacement for its star duelist Nikita ‘Derke’ Sirmitev, who had not renewed his contract with Fnatic.

In typical Fnatic fashion, the team took a risk with a promising rookie hailing from VALORANT’s Tier 2 scene. Kajetan ‘kaajak’ Haremski had just won VCT Ascension 2024 with Apeks, making a mark with his outstanding combat stats.

While the young duelist has become a major contributor to Fnatic’s victorious EMEA Stage 1 run since then, he has also been inconsistent at times. Seemingly struggling to adjust to the high-pressure environment in Tier 1, kaajak only came close to his Tier 2 performance stats in the latter half of EMEA Stage 2.

With his first international Tier 1 appearance approaching, Fnatic fans will hope that kaajak can finally unlock his full potential when it matters most.

VCT fans might wonder, “Who is Erik ‘penny’ Penny?” That’s because penny did not play for the organisation during Stage 1 and was not officially signed ahead of Masters Toronto. Still, the player will likely compete in Toronto as an interim replacement for Liquid’s in-game leader (IGL) Ayaz ‘nAts’ Akhmetshin.

On May 29th, nAts revealed that he will probably miss his first matches at Masters Toronto due to visa issues. Penny was selected as a substitute on loan from his current organisation, YFP. Although the Challengers competitor is unlikely to take on the position of IGL, penny must try his best to fill the gap left by Liquid’s longest-standing member and one of the most creative strategic minds in VALORANT esports.

Still, penny brings four years of professional VALORANT experience and attended Masters Reykjavík 2021 with Version1. This might give Liquid fans hope for the last-minute stand-in to help the team reach Playoffs.

Zhang ‘Midi’ Jiajun is in a similar position to penny. The Chinese player officially joined XLG Esports only three days ago as a permanent replacement for the team’s initiator, Yip ‘YoU’ Man-ho. Following the VCT Ascension team’s surprising victory at Stage 1, YoU was suspended by XLG after facing several allegations about his character and competitive integrity.

Meanwhile, Midi last competed for fellow Chinese team Trace Esports where he achieved moderate results. His roster placed sixth during VCT Stage 1 and fifth in the Asian Champions League. While Midi showed a solid performance on Tejo, with a 0.88 KDA and 164.4 average combat score (ACS), his preferred agent has faded into obscurity in VALORANT’s current meta.

All of this makes Midi an unknown variable at Masters Toronto, who still has the opportunity to prove himself worthy of representing one of China’s strongest organisations.

N4RRATE is a young VALORANT player who quickly established himself at the top of the game’s esports scene. In his tier-1 debut year, he won VCT 2024: EMEA Kickoff with French organisation Karmine Corp. For this year’s competitive season, N4RRATE signed with Sentinels alongside Sean ‘bang’ Bezerra following the retirement of star players Gustavo ‘Sacy’ Ross and Tyson ‘TenZ’ Ngo.

Both newcomers had massive shoes to fill, but N4RRATE faced especially high expectations due to his explosive start in EMEA. However, the young star seemed to struggle under this pressure in the beginning of the year. Despite qualifying for Masters Bangkok in February, Sentinels lost both Swiss Stage matches and was eliminated early.

In another unexpected turn of events, N4RRATE and his team returned to VCT Americas with improved team synergy and consistent strength. Sentinel could only be stopped by Stage 1 winner G2 Esports and is now looking to claim its third Masters trophy. With the stakes higher than ever for the American player, N4RRATE might show us his best form yet.

Trent ‘trent’ Cairns has faced many hurdles since the beginning of his VALORANT career. Throughout the early stages of VALORANT esports, he was part of The Guard alongside his current G2 teammates Jonah ‘JonahP’ Pulice and Jacob ‘valyn’ Batio. The roster won Ascension 2023 yet nearly missed their shot at Tier 1 due to The Guard’s failure to comply with Riot deadlines.

The tragedy was prevented by G2 Esports, which picked up the roster for the 2024 VCT season. Despite promising performances, the team failed to secure another trophy, coming in 3rd at Masters Shanghai. Similarly, this season, G2 lost to T1 in the Grand Final at Masters Bangkok after winning VCT Kickoff.

Trent, in particular, has been a top performer among his already-staked team. With a 1.31 KDA and 223.3 ACS, he led G2 to another regional trophy during Stage 1. Now, G2 fans will look forward to finding out whether trent can continue his outstanding performance in a new meta and on the Masters Toronto stage.

As of now, nAts will most likely miss Liquid’s first match at Masters Toronto, which will take place on June 7th against Bilibili Gaming. However, both Liquid and nAts stated that the IGL is still trying to obtain a Visa to join his team’s later matches.

Most professional VALORANT teams consist of five players who take on the following roles:

·         Duelist

·         Sentinel

·         Smokes player

·         Initiator player

·         Second initiator/flex player

However, with shifting metas, these positions have become less strict. For instance, VCT Pacific’s T1 heavily favoured team compositions with two duelists during 2025 Kickoff.

IGLs usually guide their team’s calling and decision-making during matches, while the coaches are not allowed to communicate with the players. They direct which tactics and decisions their team should pursue based on the prepared strategies as well as each round’s individual context.

Given the importance of mental attitude and perseverance in esports, IGLs often also take on an emotional leadership role.

Teams typically have one IGL. However, some rosters prefer a less hierarchical structure and have no official IGL or two players making calls before or during a round, respectively.

While such questions are always difficult to answer, two Masters Toronto competitors have received particular praise from the VALORANT community and professionals in the field.

Legendary duelist player Erick ‘aspas’ Santos is heading to Toronto with MIBR. In addition to his incredible mechanical skill, the Brazilian athlete has also proven his adaptability under three different organisations (LOUD, Leviatán, MIBR). Aspas has already won one international title with Champions 2022, but has yet to claim a Masters trophy.

Meanwhile, Fnatic’s Jake ‘Boaster’ Howlett has impressed the VALORANT esports scene with his impact as an IGL. Since 2021, the British player has reliably maintained his team among the best in the world inspite of shifting game metas and roster iterations. Victory at Masters Toronto would deliver his third international trophy.