On June 15, all four top-seeded teams from their respective regions — G2 Esports (Americas), XLG Esports (China), Rex Regum Qeon (Pacific), and Fnatic (EMEA) — were eliminated in their first upper bracket matches at VALORANT Masters Toronto . This meant every regional champion was sent to the lower bracket without securing a single upper bracket win. The backlash was voiced publicly on X, where coaches openly questioned whether skipping the group stage truly benefits top seeds.

G2 Esports head coach Josh " JoshRT " Lee was among the first to publicly question the decision to let top seeds skip the group stage entirely:

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.
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He emphasized the importance of tournament momentum and expressed a clear preference for a more competitive entry point:

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.
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JoshRT acknowledged the constraints organizers face:

I get that Riot only has limited venue days, so I don’t have a clear solution here.
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Fnatic ’s assistant coach Connor "CoJo" Morrison responded in agreement, calling on Riot to reconsider the format:

Also yeah please stop nerfing first seeds. The stats have to be telling Riot that it isn’t an advantage by this point. But maybe just sour grapes? Who knows.
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VALORANT Masters Toronto 2025 continues to unfold in Canada from June 7 to June 22, featuring 12 teams from around the world. The $1,000,000 prize pool and VCT circuit points are on the line, with the champion earning 7 points and $350,000.