Valorant Masters Toronto e-sports tournament ‘surreal' experience for fans

Globe and Mail

6 days ago

For traditional sports fans, the Valorant Masters Toronto e-sports tournament could be a culture shock.
At Sunday's final, there was no field, rink or court. Instead, at game time, two groups of mostly 20-somethings sat behind computer monitors at a long desk atop a platform, trying to virtually eliminate their opponents as fans watched on a jumbotron above. Occasionally, strobe lights punctuated big moments.
Attendees described it as a mix of a music festival and a sports game. For fans of the multibillion-dollar world of e-sports, it was an electric environment.
'It's bringing a community together that's been loving games all their lives,' said Matthew Ragoonath, near a crowd of people.
'Especially with events like this, everyone gets to come out, and it's just a surreal experience.'
Valorant, a first-person shooter game centred around heroic characters called agents, exploded in popularity quickly after its debut in June, 2020. Tracker Network, which follows statistics, player population and leaderboards for popular online games, tracked nearly 850,000 Valorant players in its first month; that number grew more than five-fold in the next month.
In May, 2025, Tracker Network tracked about 18.2 million players of the game.
Valorant Masters Toronto arrived in the middle of the city's Video Games Month. The tournament was expected to have a $40-million economic impact, according to a City of Toronto news release at the beginning of June.
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Sunday marked the culmination of two weeks of tournament gameplay. The arena was set up as if for a boxing or wrestling match, with the audience surrounding a raised platform at the centre. But instead of punches, the players exchanged gunfire with quick flicks of the wrist and deliberate mouse clicks.
Just before the final began, players walked through an arch with flashing lights, taking time to brush the hands of fans who stretched over the metal barriers along the entranceway.
A jumbotron hung above the players where spectators could watch the action as it was happening in the simulated war zone. The battle would shift from quiet footsteps and tactical moves to dramatic firefights in an instant.
Fans would cheer and jeer at the sight of a fallen agent on-screen, not unlike the sound of an arena when a hockey puck slides dangerously close to the goal line, or a spectacular save from a soccer goaltender.
The team winner of the final, Paper Rex, won a trophy and US$350,000, the largest cut of a US$1-million purse that's split between the top eight. Teams also garner circuit points on their way to the championship in Paris.
In Sunday's crowd, some showed their support for Fnatic, the opponent team. Bri Sison was in the crowd wearing the flag of the eventual champions. She travelled from San Francisco for the tournament.
'The plot with their games are always just so unpredictable, you never know what's going to happen next,' she said of Paper Rex.
Some people The Globe and Mail spoke with at the event say they formed connections in lineups to the event or, in one case, at a restaurant after noticing another person wearing an e-sport jersey. In a group of five, two had come solo, meeting the rest in lineups.
'My whole group actually cancelled on me, so I'm the only person who came, and every single day I've been with people, I've found groups, people have adopted me in,' Maria Liong said.
She said that, despite the reputation the online game has for being toxic, events such as the e-sports tournament show a more inclusive community.
Members of the group paid varying costs for their tickets. Some pre-sale buyers got tickets for $115, while another who bought their ticket later paid the Canadian equivalent of about $395.
Tickets for the final available on Stubhub Saturday evening ranged from about $429 to more than $1,700 at the peak.
Before game time on Sunday, hundreds of fans shuffled through a sign-making area, markering slogans or artful creations to hold in the sky. Others crowded into lines for merchandise, games or photo opportunities.
Some attendees chose to dress up as characters in the game, not unlike patrons at comic or gaming conventions, in what's known as cosplay.
Cai Zhao had an elaborate costume that resembled the character Jett.
'I can't actually play the game, I'm really bad, so I can dress up as one,' she laughed.
She watches Valorant's fast-paced gameplay often, but said the energy of an in-person viewing adds to the excitement.
For tournament host Toronto, the 'gaming industry reflects the best of our city. It is creative, diverse and forward-thinking,' Mayor Olivia Chow said ahead of this month's competition.
'Video Game Month is an invitation to celebrate this growing sector and the talented people behind it and to discover how gaming connects with art, innovation and our local communities.'