Who Will Win? ESI’s VALORANT Toronto Masters Playoff Pick’Ems

VALORANT Masters Toronto is heading into its final stage, with the first Playoffs matches kicking off today at 5 pm BST. Throughout a highly competitive Swiss Stage, four teams have emerged to meet the winners of VCT Stage 1 across the circuit’s four regions.

As the last hope of EMEA, Fnatic will compete against three Pacific teams, two Chinese rosters and the top two Americas squads. Eying for the prize pool of $1m as well as crucial VCT Points, these eight contestants must make it through the double-elimination Playoffs bracket to reach the best-of-five (BO5) Grand Final on June 22nd. No matter who comes out on top, VALORANT esports history will be made.

For the final Masters event of the year, Esports Insider’s VALORANT Writers Rabia Sayal and Lea Maas have gone head to head with their Masters Toronto Playoff Pick’Ems. Who will lift the trophy?

G2 vs Paper Rex (PRX) is going to be a tough matchup. Despite PRX being in incredible form, they’ve been making mistakes that have cost them crucial rounds. That’s why I’m picking G2 to take the win here. 

On the other hand, Sentinels (SEN) is a far more experienced team than XLG. While I do love an upset, SEN clearly has the upper hand against the Chinese representatives.

Though RRQ defeated Gen.G to win the VCT Pacific Stage 1 trophy, Wolves‘ firepower has shocked fans across the globe. Hence, they have a solid chance to secure their third consecutive victory in the tournament.

As for the second match of the day, I would have confidently picked Fnatic if they were up against anyone other than Gen.G. The Korean powerhouse has shown an explosive performance, and it will take A LOT from Boaster and his team to push Gen.G down to the lower bracket.

Sorry FNS, but I’m going with XLG here—I get to choose one upset, and this feels like XLG’s chance to claim their first international win.

In the Fnatic vs Wolves matchup, Fnatic has the firepower, a world-class IGL in Boaster, and some of the most consistent VALORANT players in the world. It would take nothing short of a miracle to stop EMEA’s last hope from continuing their lower bracket run.

Over the past two years, SEN and G2 have faced each other six times, with SEN winning just once. Their most recent clash was the VCT Americas Stage 1 Grand Final, where G2 took the series by 3-1 and I believe we’ll see the same result at Masters Toronto. SEN City fans who don’t agree, enough with the copium already!

In the second match of the day, unless Wolves fix their issues around team coordination, especially on defense—which is tough to do in just a few days, Gen.G will take the win to go up against G2 in the upper final.

The lower bracket will feature a rematch between Wolves and XLG, with Wolves looking to take their revenge from VCT China Stage 1. While Wolves have improved a lot throughout the tournament, my gut tells me XLG will continue with their undefeated streak against them.

On the other side, I expect Fnatic to beat SEN, especially considering the form they’re in as VCT EMEA Stage 1 champions. That said, it should be a really close battle.

The winner of G2 vs Gen.G is the hardest for me to choose, but I’m leaning towards Gen.G., who have a huge momentum on their side coming from the Swiss Stage.

Meanwhile, Fnatic will most likely eliminate Wolves, as they are overall the more experienced and polished team.

Fnatic vs G2 in the lower final will be a best-of-five filled with mind games between Boaster as Valyn. However, when it comes to making adjustments on the fly, G2 might just be the best in the world. That’s why I believe the Americas Stage 1 champions will clinch the Grand Fnal spot for a rematch with Gen.G. 

Two of the best VALORANT teams will battle to make history, and it’s going to be a thrilling showdown. While Gen.G will have the veto advantage, I believe G2 will lift their first-ever Masters trophy. 

They’re incredibly quick at adapting and fixing mistakes, plus they’ll have more VODs to study Gen.G’s game plan throughout the tournament to come in well prepared and that’s the most unbiased I can be!

In my opinion, G2 Esports has the best shot at winning VALORANT Masters Toronto. They have proven their ability to adapt to shifting metas and can run Trent ‘trent’ Cairns on his comfort pick Sova instead of Tejo. That’s why G2 will force the Paper Rex (PRX) train on a detour through the lower bracket.

In contrast, I believe XLG Esports versus Sentinels could go either way, with both teams having their strengths and weaknesses. But I trust that XLG picked the match against Sentinels with a confident game plan to secure revenge against their fellow VCT China teams.

Seemingly underestimated by many, RRQ is another strong contestant for the Masters Toronto title. Knowing Wolves Esports’ map pool weaknesses from the Swiss Stage, RRQ can pick Lotus and secure the series afterwards.

For Fnatic versus Gen.G, I will rely on in-game leader (IGL) Jake ‘Howlett’ Boaster to throw a curveball at their opponent. On top of that, Fnatic can use Swiss Stage demos to counter-strat Gen.G’s Sunset team composition.

PRX against Sentinels will be another competitive series, with both teams heavily relying on momentum throughout their Swiss Stage games. However, Sentinels hasn’t looked their best so far, which is why they will be rolled over by the PRX train in crucial gunfights.

The second series mainly comes down to Wolve’s map pool again (sorry). Gen.G hasn’t looked well-prepared on all maps they have played in the tournament so far. I believe they have the consistency and strategy to outsmart Wolves.

Faced by G2, this is unfortunately where VCT China’s last hope will be crushed. Although XLG have looked strong and uncannily methodical for a Chinese team, they are also forced to play with a stand-in after losing their excellent initiator Yip ‘YoU’ Man-ho. This won’t be enough to fight back against G2.

This next series is where I tap into my well-cultivated stash of Fnatic copium. Fnatic has done their research ahead of Masters Toronto and would thus never underestimate the likes of RRQ. Therefore, they know there is only one way for them to beat such a strong opponent — by learning how to play Pearl. Yes, I hereby predict that Fnatic will show us a decent performance on Pearl to take this series.

All trains eventually run out of fuel. In PRX’s case, their train will be stopped by a team that is well familiar with their upset potential from VCT Pacific. Not only that, but RRQ also have a level of reliability and level-headedness that PRX has lacked at times during the Swiss Stage.

Similar to XLG’s previous match, the roster has not had enough time to develop flawless team coordination with their stand-in Zhang ‘Midi’ Jiajun. Meanwhile, coordination has been one of Gen.G’s biggest strengths and will once again contribute to another victory for them.

It’s time for another upset. RRQ arguably were the strongest team in VCT Pacific Stage 1, winning a rematch against Gen.G to lift the trophy. However, Gen.G have stood out with their thorough match preparation during the Swiss Stage. Therefore, they will not let RRQ steal their victory another time.

While Fantic has shown great improvements throughout the season, they have also been inconsistent. I’m specifically uncertain whether their rookie Kajetan ‘kaajak’ Haremski can withstand the pressure of the international stage. With stakes this high, I have to admit that they will likely crash against the mountain of consistency that is G2.

The results of the Lower Bracket Final won’t be determined by consistency but by team intel. Arguably, Fnatic could only win against Gen.G once thanks to their direct Playoffs buy-in, allowing them to hide their game plan. Now that Gen.G has access to Fnatic demos, they will secure the rematch.

Gen.G has always been well-prepared, methodical and coordinated. But have they been flawless? Not at all. In fact, they were nearly brought to overtime by a scrappy PRX after a 7-0 start on Ascent. When thinking of flawless precious in the face of curveballs and challenges, one thinks of G2.

G2 has learned from the surprise loss against T1 in the Masters Bangkok Final. They won’t let another international trophy slip through their fingers.