FNATIC banishes RRQ from Toronto in 2-1 series win

In the matchup of one seeds from EMEA and Pacific, FNATIC FNATIC Europe Rank #1 crashies Austin Roberts Boaster Jake Howlett kaajak Kajetan Haremski Chronicle Timofey Khromov Alfajer Emir Ali Beder took the win in a back-and-forth 2-1 series over Rex Regum Qeon Rex Regum Qeon Asia-Pacific Rank #6 Monyet Cahya Nugraha xffero David Monangin Jemkin Maksim Batorov Kushy Bryan Carlos Setiawan crazyguy Ngô Công Anh . None of the three maps were particularly close, but RRQ were able to win a map convincingly before getting eliminated from VCT 2025 Masters: Toronto.

The series started on Lotus, with RRQ and Fnatic running similar compositions outside their Sentinel choice. RRQ decided to run Vyse, while FNATIC ran Killjoy. RRQ won the pistol round, but were unable to convert the bonus. There was a chance for RRQ to put their foot down against FNATIC, but kaajak was sneaky on the defense side to quickly regain a lead for his team.

Both teams had some comedic Odin spam battles at A Site, but FNATIC were in complete control thanks to some great rounds from crashies and Chronicle . The half fell out of RRQ's hands, as they entered the half down 9-3 and needed a pistol win to start a comeback.

FNATIC won the pistol, and despite multiple thrifties going back and forth, were able to close out the map 13-5 thanks to an amazing overall team performance.

Haven had to be a turnaround for RRQ, but they had to face the FNATIC standard double Duelist comp with Alfajer on Iso and kaajak on Yoru. RRQ chose to try and match it with a double Duelist comp of their own, with Monyet on Neon and Jemkin on Yoru.

A big brawl on A Long ended with RRQ on top, winning the first pistol on Haven, and Kushy got four kills to convert he bonus and take a commanding lead.

Putting Jemkin back on Yoru seemed to have unlocked the true potential of RRQ, as they ended the first half up 10-2. Jemkin entered the second half with an absurd statline of 18/4/1, with Monyet nearly matching him with 16/7/2.

FNATIC won the pistol thanks to a monster round from Chronicle, and nearly converted their bonus if it wasn't for a ninja defuse from crazyguy .

There were signs of a comeback, but another ninja defuse by Monyet ended those hopes as RRQ won Haven 13-6 and tied the series 1-1.

Both teams' tournament lives came down to Ascent. FNATIC decided to run double Sentinel with Alfajer on Chamber, while RRQ ran the default Ascent composition. The first pistol went to FNATIC, and they nearly converted the bonus but lost a 5v3 advantage off a great round from xffero . Even then, FNATIC started on the attack and quickly got rounds on the side that their composition is, in theory, much weaker. FNATIC looked in control on their attack half, with even some heroics from crazyguy quickly getting countered by Chronicle.

The first half ended 9-3 for FNATIC, and the three-map series was at risk of having three straight blowouts if RRQ didn't force a comeback. RRQ did what they needed to at the start of their attack by winning pistol, but were unable to convert the bonus. FNATIC still held a big lead, and an amazing round from Alfajer on round 17 was the death knell for the top seed from Pacific. FNATIC won Ascent 13-5 and the series 2-1, staying alive at Masters: Toronto.

Across all maps, crashies was the best player on FNATIC, who had a very strong team performance. He ended the series with a 1.33 rating, a +16 kill differential, and a lobby-leading 85% KAST.

With this win, FNATIC will remain in the lower bracket, with three more wins needed to reach the grand finals. As for RRQ, they exit Masters: Toronto winless as the top seed from Pacific, matching the struggles of Xi Lai Gaming earlier today.