Gen.G
Gen.G
Korea
Rank #1
Foxy9
Jung Jae-sung (정재성)
Ash
Ha Hyun-cheol (하현철)
t3xture
Kim Na-ra (김나라)
Munchkin
Byeon Sang-beom (변상범)
Suggest
Seo Jae-young (서재영)
Karon
Kim Won-tae (김원태)
has concluded the upper quarterfinal round of Masters Toronto with a thrilling 2-1 victory over
FNATIC
FNATIC
Europe
Rank #1
crashies
Austin Roberts
Boaster
Jake Howlett
kaajak
Kajetan Haremski
Chronicle
Timofey Khromov
Alfajer
Emir Ali Beder
. They will move on to face
Wolves Esports
Wolves Esports
China
Rank #3
SiuFatBB
Pong Gaa Hei (庞加曦)
Yuicaw
Huang Yung-chieh (黃湧傑)
Spring
Liu Jiunting (刘俊霆)
Lysoar
Liang Youhao (梁优好)
Juicy
Tyler James Aeria
, while FNATIC will have to fight for their tournament lives against
Rex Regum Qeon
Rex Regum Qeon
Asia-Pacific
Rank #7
Monyet
Cahya Nugraha
xffero
David Monangin
Jemkin
Maksim Batorov
Kushy
Bryan Carlos Setiawan
crazyguy
Ngô Công Anh
in the lower bracket.
These two teams' only previous matchup was one year ago at Masters Shanghai. Under nearly identical circumstances, FNATIC drew the last pick out of the first seeds for the playoff draw and were forced to select a white-hot Gen.G that went on to win the entire tournament.
Coming into this match, Gen.G dominated their games in the Swiss stage, with four of their players ranking in the top five by rating and the team as a whole dropping only 20 rounds across four maps.
“The team that will be facing us is an unlucky one,” Munchkin said in the pre-match teaser.
But as Boaster put it, “FNATIC 2025 is a bit of a different gravy.” The last bastions of EMEA would serve as Gen.G's biggest challenge yet, having lied in wait for almost a month after their undefeated regional playoff run.
The series kicked off on Gen.G's map pick of Haven, pitting their distinctive Viper composition against FNATIC's signature Yoru-Iso. FNATIC was in control throughout their defense half, going up 8-4 off the back of proactive pushes and clean retakes. kaajak showed no signs of nerves in his first international match, racking up 16 kills.
Gen.G quickly pulled the score back to 8-8 with a bonus conversion. With momentum back on their side, Munchkin had a clear read on FNATIC's movements around the map, finding multiple multikills on Viper. However, it was Ash who made the difference with a crucial 4K to bring Gen.G up 12-10, allowing them to win out the first map 13-11.
The rookie for Gen.G collects four when his team needs it the most.Next was FNATIC's pick of Split, where Gen.G surprised with a composition featuring Neon, Deadlock, and the first Tejo pick of the event following his recent nerfs. Seizing the initiative, they overwhelmed FNATIC with aggressive site hits and rock-solid postplant utility. crashies and Chronicle secured a couple of rounds through individual brilliance, but that was all FNATIC could get as Gen.G ended the half with a 9-3 lead.
Down but never out, FNATIC started the second half by handing Gen.G their first pistol round loss of the event. A 1v3 from t3xture to get Gen.G up to 12-7 appeared as though it would be the nail in the coffin. Instead, FNATIC dug in their heels, winning five rounds in a row by narrow margins to force overtime, eventually taking Split 14-12 in one of the most exciting maps of the tournament thus far. Alfajer came alive, spearheading the comeback on Raze and ending the map with 28 kills, 196 ADR, and seven first kills.
FNATIC gets every kill they need with just seconds left on the clock.Everything came down to Sunset. Both sides opted for similar compositions, the only difference being Foxy9 's Deadlock versus Alfajer's Cypher. Undeterred by the previous map, Gen.G completely outclassed FNATIC on Sunset, dropping both pistols but winning both eco rounds to close out the series with a commanding 13-6 victory.
t3xture's Operator was too much for FNATIC to handle.t3xture dominated on defense, getting 16 kills in the first half and leading Gen.G to an 8-4 lead. On the other side, Foxy9 was the headliner on attack, getting 13 kills of his own in just seven rounds. The pair ended the map tied at 21 kills apiece.
With this result, all four of the first seeds in the tournament have lost their opening matches. FNATIC will play an elimination match against RRQ tomorrow, with one of the first seeds destined to go home early.
Gen.G, who continue to look like the team to beat, will battle Wolves on Monday.
“We're going to win no matter what, and no matter who we face,” Munchkin said of Wolves in the post-match interview. “They've played some fun matches, but let's see if they can do the same thing against us.”