The 2024 VCT season was full of mixed emotions for Fnatic. While the organisation lifted both the VCT EMEA Stage 1 and Stage 2 trophies, the team achieved little success on the international stage.
The story for the 2025 season hasn’t been any different so far, as Fnatic failed to qualify for Masters Bangkok but showed significant improvement in Stage 1 that helped the team secure Masters Toronto qualification as the first seed.
When asked about winning another Masters trophy with the new roster and his expectations for Masters Toronto during the pre-event press conference, Fnatic’s IGL Jake ‘Boaster’ Howlett shared: “There’s nothing more romantic than winning a Masters with your loved one [looking towards Austin ‘crashies’ Roberts], joking!
“I’d say after last year I went into this year not really expecting to win much, I just wanted to enjoy the game.”
Boaster also noted that he is quite happy about qualifying for Masters Toronto already and wants to soak it all in and enjoy being on the stage.
“So, for me, if we were to potentially win this event, then that would just be such a cool gift. It reminds me to be grateful for the times we were pretty dominant in 2023 because since then it’s been a grind,” he added.
The European organisation parting ways with its star duelist Nikita ‘Derke’ Sirmitev raised a lot of questions, especially when he was replaced by rookie Kajetan ‘kaajak’ Haremski. However, Fnatic has gained a huge momentum with the fresh roster, particularly after Boaster switched his style of calling and started making adjustments on the fly.
If the team wins VALORANT Masters Toronto, it will set a new record for winning the most VCT international events.
