They came in as underdogs. They’re leaving as contenders. On June 16,
Wolves Esports shocked the
VALORANT world
by defeating Gen.G 2-0 in the Upper Bracket Semifinals of the Toronto Masters. On both Split and Sunset, Wolves were trailing 8–4 at halftime, but pulled off two near-perfect second halves to win 13–11 and 13–10. Led by the Controller Liu “Spring” Chun-ting with an impressive 37/28/19 on Viper and Omen. Wolves kept their composure despite early dominance from Kim “Texture” Na-ra, who had a strong impact in the opening rounds on Split and Sunset with a huge performance on Neon.
Wolves demonstrated their prowess with well-executed plays and decisive moves as the maps progressed. This win secured their spot in the Upper Bracket Final, guaranteeing at least a top-three finish in their first-ever international appearance. Meanwhile, Gen.G drop to the Lower Bracket, where one more loss would eliminate them from the tournament.
“It was never close”: Paper Rex rolls Sentinels
In the day's second match, Paper Rex reminded the world why they’re still among the elite. They dismantled Sentinels on Split, reaching a 10–2 halftime lead and closing it out 13–3 with surgical precision. Sunset was tighter. Despite an early deficit, the Duelist Wang “Jinggg” Jing Jie delivered clutch performances on Raze with an impressive 23/18/3 on Sunset, turning fights around and maintaining pressure. PRX eventually came on top, winning the map 13–11 and securing a 2–0 victory against SEN.
They now move on to face Wolves Esports in the upper bracket final on June 20, a matchup few expected at the start of the event, but now one of the most exciting of the bracket.
Meanwhile, Sentinels have been relegated to the lower bracket. Amine "Johnqt" Ouarid’s team cannot afford to make any more mistakes.
With these defeats, GEN and SEN are relegated to the lower bracket. On June 17, 2025, there's no room for error: the South Koreans will face the Europeans from Fnatic, and Sentinels will have a fratricidal American match against G2
Header Photo Credit: Stefan Wisnoski/Riot Games
