VALORANT Masters Tokyo: Schedule, format and storylines

June 9, 2023

by Brian Bencomo

The top VALORANT teams in the world will be vying for the crown of best team in the world this weekend as Masters Tokyo begins. The two-week long tournament kicks off Sunday, June 12, at noon local time, which translates to Saturday night for those living in the Americas and early Sunday morning for those in Europe.

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As usual for VALORANT Champions Tour Masters events, 12 teams have qualified, with four from Europe (EMEA), three from the Americas, three from Asia (Pacific) and two from China. It all kicks off with Evil Geniuses facing FUT Esports in a classic North America vs. Europe matchup involving two of the most surprising qualifiers. To get you ready for Masters Tokyo, here’s a primer on the teams, schedule and format and storylines you should know.

Teams

EMEA

Team Liquid
Fnatic
FUT Esports
Natus Vincere (NAVI)

Americas

LOUD
NRG
Evil Geniuses

Pacific

Paper Rex
DRX
T1

China

Attacking Soul Esports
EDward Gaming (EDG)

Schedule and format

Masters Tokyo will be divided into two stages: the group stage and the playoff stage. The group stage begins Saturday, June 11, at 8 p.m. PT. The teams have been divided into four groups of four, with NRG, NAVI, EDG and T1 in Group A and Evil Geniuses, FUT Esports, DRX and Attacking Soul Esports in Group B. All matches will be best-of-three. The four initial matchups will all be highly intriguing interregional matchups between EMEA vs. Americas teams and Pacific vs. Chinese teams:

NRG vs. NAVI
Evil Geniuses vs. FUT Esports
DRX vs. Attacking Soul Esports
T1 vs. EDG

Following the initial predetermined matchups, each group will follow a double elimination format with the results of the initial two matchups in each group leading to a winner’s match or elimination match and decider match. Two teams from each group will advance to the playoff stage.

The playoff stage begins Thursday, June 15, at 8 p.m. PT. The playoff stage will consist of an eight-team double-elimination bracket involving four teams from the group stage and four that have directly qualified (Team Liquid, Fnatic, LOUD and Paper Rex). All matches are best-of-three except the lower final and grand final which are both best-of-five. The grand final will take place Saturday, June 24, at 8 p.m. PT.

Storylines

Will Fnatic go back-to-back?

Photo credit: Colin Young-Wolff / Riot Games

History says Fnatic won’t win this tournament as no team has won back-to-back global VCT events. However, somebody might eventually break this streak, and Fnatic look as primed as any team to be the first to do so. Fnatic have only lost once this year, and it was against Team Liquid in the VCT EMEA grand final. Prior to that Fnatic looked nearly unbeatable. Credit to TL, but one loss is hardly reason to doubt that Fnatic can win Masters. Fnatic have five of the best players in the world in Jake "Boaster" Howlett, Nikita "Derke" Sirmitev, Emir "Alfajer" Beder, Leo "Leo" Jannesson and Timofey "Chronicle" Khromov. This team is talented and tested, and after their comeback against LOUD at LOCK//IN, they won't crumble under the pressure.

Can LOUD win their second VCT global tournament?

Not only has no team won back-to-back tournaments, but no team has won multiple global VCT events. LOUD nearly pulled off both the two-time and back-to-back feat at VCT LOCK//IN. LOUD were two rounds away from beating Fnatic in the LOCK//IN grand final, but Fnatic came storming back and the rest is history. LOUD clearly didn’t let that loss faze them as they only lost once en route to the top record in the VCT Americas league and then won the Americas championship. They’ve appeared in three straight major finals and their losses have been few and far between since forming last year. This is still the LOUD era unless Fnatic go back-to-back.

Will an Asian team win Masters for the first time?

Photo credit: Paper Rex

Thus far in VALORANT esports history, it has always been a team from Europe or the Americas winning Masters and Champions. No team from Asia has won any of these events, so it would be fitting if the first to do so happens at Masters Tokyo, the first Masters or Champions event held in Asia. There are two teams that could realistically pull off this feat, Paper Rex and DRX. Paper Rex are the only Asian team to reach a grand final -- at Masters Copenhagen last year. They haven’t been nearly as good at the last two VCT global events, but seemed to have turned things around in the VCT Pacific league. After a slow start, the team added Russian star Ilya "something" Petrov and beat DRX twice in the playoffs to win the Pacific championship. The grand finals win over DRX was an impressive reverse sweep after going down 0-2.

As for DRX, they have been the top team in Asia since VALORANT’s release in 2020 when they were known as Vision Strikers. They have always done well at global events and finally broke through for a top four finish at Champions last year. Their two losses to Paper Rex in the Pacific league playoffs put a damper on expectations for this team, but they are fully capable of making a run to the Masters final and perhaps winning it.

Which rookie players should you keep an eye on?

There are two rookie players to keep an eye on in particular, Ilya "something" Petrov and Max "Demon1" Mazanov. Both Russians jump started their respective team’s success this season. Something had been tearing it up in the Japanese Tier 2 scene before Paper Rex signed him in March. He was one of the best players in the VCT Pacific league this year as he had the best rating and K/D and fifth-best ACS.

Similarly, Demon1 had been grinding in the North American Tier 2 and 3 scenes before trying out for EG. His impact wasn’t immediately evident during the Americas season, but he had the third-best ACS and K/D in the playoffs as EG pulled off back-to-back upsets to qualify for Masters. For a while it seemed like Demon1 wouldn’t be able to travel to Tokyo because he didn’t have a passport or visa, but EG and Demon1 recently confirmed that he made the trip. Something’s visa status is still up in the air as of this publication. His inclusion on the roster is critical to Paper Rex’s success.

Which dark horse teams might make a run?

Photo credit: Stefan Wisnoski / Riot Games

Fnatic, LOUD, Team Liquid, NRG, Paper Rex and DRX are the favorites at this tournament. The two Chinese teams are extremely unlikely to make a run, and NAVI and FUT aren’t exactly favorites, but it also wouldn’t be super surprising for them to make a run given the strength of the EMEA region. That leaves Evil Geniuses and T1 as two teams that fit the Cinderella story best if they go on a run.

We already saw EG do that in the VCT Americas playoffs, and with Demon1 making the trip to Tokyo, they’ll be at full strength. They probably won't beat DRX, but it wouldn’t be surprising if EG beat FUT Esports and Attacking Soul Esports. As for T1, despite this being the organization’s first Masters appearance, they have experienced players on the roster who have been to events of this tier. They’re in a tougher group, but if they can beat EDG in their initial matchup, then they’d be one win away from at least reaching the bracket stage. The lack of expectations for this team will likely work in their favor as they look to make a name for T1 in VALORANT.

Lead photo credit: Hara Amoros / Riot Games