Masters Toronto is now on the horizon, marking the first time Canada will host a top-tier VCT event. Some of the most notable players in VCT's history are Canadians, including TenZ and FiNESSE , but only one active Canadian player will be there.

In front of friends and family, G2 Esports G2 Esports North America Rank #1 jawgemo Alexander Mor trent Trent Cairns valyn Jacob Batio JonahP Jonah Pulice leaf Nathan Orf is paradoxically fighting for their lives while trying to hold their title as one of the best teams in the world. JonahP has never been the standout player on G2, but his role in the roster has been crucial as a supporter for the star shooters. From Sayaplayer and trent on the original The Guard The Guard Inactive JonahP Jonah Pulice trent Trent Cairns neT Michael Bernet valyn Jacob Batio tex Ian Botsch roster, to leaf and icy in 2024, and jawgemo in 2025, all those rosters had free kills delivered to them thanks to the utility from JonahP.

“Over the years, the more firepower we get, the less I need to personally focus on fragging,” JonahP said. “I've been on Breach all of this year, and having a player like jawgemo who can capitalize on my utility, I can just play support. I couldn't care less about my stats at the end of the day, I just care about assists.”

Since the formation of the G2 core in the prehistoric times of late 2021, JonahP had a much different role on the team than what he does now. He played mostly the same group of agents, with the added flexibility to adapt to what stars like trent and valyn wanted, but his role as a communicator and teammate grew as the years went on.

“Socially, I stepped up a lot by keeping the vibes good this year, which I wasn't doing before,” JonahP said. “I'm one of the older ones on the team, and I've seen how we all built a stronger mental resilience.”

That focus on helping his teammates has always been crucial to G2's success. Back in their Ascension-winning run, JonahP finished just above valyn in match rating, and was second in assists per round with 0.48, only behind M80's NiSMO with 0.5. Even if JonahP does have to move back to a role where he has to take more duels, G2 is confident in their star heading into his local event.

JonahP on The Guard A younger JonahP on The Guard. (Image via JonahP)

“I think JonahP has been our most consistent player in the server over the past year,” assistant coach Peter " shhhack " Belej said. “It's insane how fast he can support his teammates, make calls if needed, and be communicative. Even if the meta changes and he moves off Breach, he'll be able to frag more.”

JonahP has been stapled to Breach ever since VCT 2025 began, with 65 percent of his maps on the agent over the past three months. Most of that has to do with the meta revolving around Tejo, a relatively new Initiator that combines well with Breach. So, whenever trent has been on Tejo, fans could predict with confidence that JonahP would be on Breach too.

Now, heading into Masters Toronto, Tejo will be weaker due to the latest patch joining VCT. That means that trent will likely move off Tejo, which could be a cause for concern. Even with that knowledge, JonahP disagrees with the idea that trent is only good this year due to Tejo.

“Everyone had to adapt to that meta, and I think everyone is forgetting how trent is the best Sova in the world; he didn't make a name for himself just because he's a great Tejo,” JonahP said. “Seeing those comments makes me laugh. Trent can play anything. You can put him on any role, so going into Toronto, none of us are worried or less confident since Tejo is gone. We can always adapt; it's just another step.”

JonahP and G2 Esports The 2025 G2 Esports Valorant team. (Photo via G2 Esports)

Those steps come in various ways, and for G2, their two regional titles so far this year couldn't have been more different. On paper, G2 are the champs for both Americas Kickoff and Stage 1. Still, they earned their first title in 2025 through the upper bracket, and then barely qualified for Toronto in the lower bracket against Evil Geniuses Evil Geniuses North America Rank #12 Derrek Derrek Ha NaturE Nicholas Garrison supamen Phat Le icy Jacob Lange yay Jaccob Whiteaker , only to defeat every team and earn their second title.

The team learned a lot in that short timeframe, and their performance at Bangkok against T1 T1 Korea Rank #4 stax Kim Gu-taek (김구택) Meteor Kim Tae-oh (김태오) Sylvan Go Young-sup (고영섭) BuZz Yu Byeong-cheol (유병철) DH Kang Dong-ho (강동호) iZu Ham Woo-ju (함우주) still stings, adding extra motivation to try and get that international trophy win.

“Bangkok, losing the final like that, [was] probably the worst feeling of my life,” JonahP said, “but that doesn't mean that an international win will never happen. We have to stay positive and focus on the future, not the past. Plus, through every extra match we played in Stage 1, we needed to be exposed and be tested to learn our mistakes. Even with the many series we won 2-1, it always helps us, and there was no doubt even after losing to Sentinels Sentinels North America Rank #2 N4RRATE Marshall Massey bang Sean Bezerra Zellsis Jordan Montemurro zekken Zachary Patrone johnqt Mohamed Amine Ouarid that we wouldn't qualify.”

G2 is one of the best teams so far in VCT 2025, winning their domestic trophy twice and finishing second at Masters Bangkok. Their expectations from a fan perspective are to compete for international titles, and yet, the organization is still currently a passenger in the franchising system. Until G2 officially qualifies for Champions in Paris, they haven't yet secured their participation in VCT for 2026. They know what this means, considering the issues they faced when they won Ascension and nearly didn't get into tier one due to their former organization The Guard dropping out of esports completely.

The team has already earned 16 Champions points from their regional dominance, but that still isn't enough to guarantee that slot in Paris.

JonahP kisses Americas trophy JonahP kissing the Americas Stage 1 trophy. (Photo via G2 Esports)

“Making Champs is required for us to extend our stay in VCT, but we've been in this spot before,” JonahP said. “When we were in that Ascension final, we knew that if we lost, we could split up as a team, and that was the most pressure we ever felt. Since we got through that, we can handle anything, and I won't sit here and say that we can't miss Champs. It's nice to have that lead, but you can't be comfortable until it's confirmed. Thankfully, we all think that way in G2, and that's why our chemistry is so high. Those 16 points mean nothing until we're confirmed at Champs.”

The best team in Americas so far is leading the pack, yet still needs to play with the desperation of a team fighting for their VCT lives. Those alone are two of the biggest sources of pressure a team can face, and facing both in one season is unique, to say the least.

“We just need to focus tournament by tournament, match by match,” shhhack said. “Doing well in those tournaments and matches will get us the points we need anyway.”

This core is familiar with unique scenarios, from how fast they skyrocketed into tier one, going back down to tier two, winning Ascension, nearly losing their tier one positions due to their organization crumbling, and instantly fitting back into tier one like a team that never left.

The only Canadian playing in Masters Toronto has a lot of weight on his shoulders, and almost none of it has to do with playing only a train ride from his hometown. Thankfully, JonahP, shhhack, and the rest of G2 are nothing if not confident in what they can achieve.

This article was written before Team Liquid Team Liquid Europe Rank #9 penny Erik Penny paTiTek Patryk Fabrowski nAts Ayaz Akhmetshin Keiko Georgio Sanassy kamo Kamil Frąckowiak Serial Maikls Zdanovs had to substitute nAts with Canadian player penny .