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VCT Commissioner Shuts Down International Format Change Criticism at Valorant Masters Toronto

Leo Faria, Global Head of Valorant esports and VCT Commissioner, says there are no plans to change the international format despite the first seed blunders at Masters Toronto.

Danny Appleford

Image via Riot Games

Masters Toronto has been a tournament for the books, as all four top seeds from different regions were eliminated by their chosen opponents in the first round of playoffs.

With all four top seeds falling into the lower bracket early in the tournament, the Valorant community began to question whether the advantage of being the first seed is truly beneficial or if it even exists at all.

To make matters worse, this is by far the worst performance of first seeds at an international event. Top teams like RRQ, Fnatic, G2 Esports, and XLG all fell to their opening opponents.

Their seeding advantage also allowed them to choose their opponents in the playoffs, but this "advantage" turned out to be yet another disappointment for these teams, who seemingly picked their way into a trip to the lower bracket.

Backlash from Fans Over the Masters Toronto Format

After the final nail in the coffin came with RRQ losing to Wolves and Gen.G losing to Fnatic, sealing the fate of the first seeds, fans started flocking to social media for changes to the format.

"Valorant needs to change its competitive format. It’s clear that being the 1st seed with a bye is actually a disadvantage. We need to get rid of byes," said one X user.

But fans weren’t the only ones complaining about the seeding and the advantage or disadvantage it had on the teams. Coaches from Americas’ team, G2 Esports, another first seed that was sent down early, openly spoke about not having an automatic placement in the playoffs as the first seed.

“For the second Masters, is there a format where 1st seeds still play the group stage? Skipping straight to playoffs doesn’t feel like much of an advantage in a tournament like this, and I’m sure most 1st seeds would rather play groups," said G2 head coach JoshRT. “Tournament momentum is real. Now that I’ve experienced both sides, I’d rather play group stage and take the Champ Points and trophy as the real reward for winning our region.”

Some community members suggested that Riot Games should change the tournament format to feature a different number of teams. Masters Toronto included a total of 12 teams, with three teams from each of the four major regions.

However, some proposed expanding the format to include 16 teams, similar to the Valorant Champions event at the end of the year. Others suggested reducing the number of teams to just eight and eliminating the Swiss stage.

“Hot take: Masters should go back to 8 teams,” said G2 Grozen’s head coach on X. “It’s hard to fix the issues of a 12-team format without significantly increasing the number of event days, so if that’s the main limitation for Riot, just go back to 8.”

Former Valorant Champion and current member of the Americas’ team Leviatan, C0M, argued against both 12 and 8, instead suggesting 16 to accommodate more teams and additional playtime.

“I just think 16-team tournaments are the best overall 12 is weird for sure; eight obviously is good, but I feel losing spots whenever there are more and more teams in the leagues every year kinda doesn’t make much sense to me,” said C0M.

VCT Commissioner Takes Stance Against Format Change

On June 16, the day after the top seeds from China and the Pacific were eliminated, Leo Faria addressed concerns about the current format on social media.

He acknowledges that the idea of international formats is “discussed regularly” within the team. However, he states that they still believe first seeds have a rightful advantage going into global events.

“That said, tournament momentum is real, and we’ve seen a number of awesome lower bracket runs that are, at least in part, influenced by good morale of a winning streak and getting comfortable on stage,” said Faria. “There are also other factors, like changes in the meta, that affect all teams, not just 1st seeds. That has its pros and cons, but it’s an equal playing field and keeps events more dynamic and less predictable, which we think is good for fans.”

Despite Faria’s belief that the format does not require any further adjustments, the comments beneath the post are filled with contradictions. Some users argue that the issues arose due to a significant meta-shift before the tournament, while others suggest that the format needs to be entirely rebuilt from the ground up.

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Danny Appleford
DANNY APPLEFORD

Danny Appleford is a freelance journalist with over four years of experience and a degree in strategic communication. His work has been featured on outlets such as Upcomer, Dot Esports, and Dexerto. He specializes in covering top-tier esports titles including Call of Duty, CS2, League of Legends, Valorant, and more.

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