The biannual Esports tournament brought together an inclusive gaming community to the downtown core

By Christian Malong

Amanda Le began cosplaying when she was just in high school. Costumed as Clove from the video game Valorant, she said she always enjoys becoming a character. “Everyone’s so sweet. I feel like the community here is very tight knit. So it’s been a great experience over the years and yeah, I love it here,” she added.

From June 7 to 22, Valorant Masters Toronto brought thousands of fans together like Le to downtown Toronto. People travelled from across the continent to watch 12 of the world’s top teams compete in matches against each other. To qualify for the tournament, each team had to place near the top of their region. Outside of the event grounds, people tuned in to live streams and held watch parties — including one at Toronto Metropolitan University — adding to an estimated overall viewership of 2.8 million, according to a press release.

Held in the Enercare Centre at Toronto’s Exhibition Place, the competition was also a celebration of the game’s fifth anniversary. The venue featured a gaming lounge, sets for photo ops, press conferences, official merchandise and classes on how to play. Over a dozen artists sold prints, pins, keychains and more.

“I’ve met so many of my friends and became such good friends with so many people because of Valorant,” Le said. “I love talking to people [and] just popping into a game and then going on voice chat and making friends.”

Alongside artists and cosplayers, the tournament naturally attracted a flock of content creators and streamers. Madison Sae is a Twitch streamer and TikToker who travelled to the tournament from Alberta.

“I’m glad [Valorant Masters] finally had something in Canada, I’m just happy to be here,” Sae said. Her favourite part of the event was the artist alley — a section of the venue set aside for artists to sell their Valorant-themed work. “It’s so crazy seeing so many talented people in one community all together, just in one building between these artists, creators…there’s a bunch of cool people here.”

Sarah Johnston is a Toronto-based nail tech who sold Valorant-themed press-on nails. Although video games are often seen as a “boys club,” she’s found comfort in the large community of women in the game.

“I like the community because I find that a lot of other games that I like to play, especially in [first-person shooter] games, are pretty male dominated,” she said. “And there’s a lot of girlies playing this game.”

For Johnston, gaming was also an opportunity to connect with friends during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“During [lockdown], when the game initially came out, I was playing a lot with my friends that I couldn’t see in person… It was a really good way to stay connected with them while we were physically apart.”

Priscila Queiroz, the head of publishing for Valorant in the Americas was in attendance. In an interview, she said the community the game has fostered inspires her. “The community is extremely passionate, extremely creative. They’re incredible. We always see something new coming from them.”

“For us, Esports is a way not just to celebrate the height of competitiveness, but also to celebrate the fun, the competition and the community,” Queiroz said.

She emphasized that Esports events aren’t just about competition, but about bringing people together to cheer on their favourite teams.

As teams battled on throughout the tournament, Paper Rex and FNATIC played the final match of the night. Paper Rex won three to one.