What to expect from VALORANT Masters Shanghai: The Storylines

Valorant

21 May

Ganesh Jadhav

The second global VALORANT event of the year is just two days away. Starting 23rd May, twelve teams will take on each other for the VCT Masters Shanghai title.

The fortnight long festival will feature top prospects worldwide vying for an extensive $1M prizepool and 3 championship points, helping them secure VALORANT Champions 2024 spot.

Let’s see what the tournament has in store for us!

New Location, Bigger Venue

Following the immense success of Masters Madrid, VALORANT Champions Tour visits Shanghai for the second global event of the year.

Masters Madrid saw record numbers for VCT, setting records for peak viewership and engagement. With Fnatic returning to the international stage, Shanghai might be another big tournament in terms of engagement.

Furthermore, in terms of capacity, the Mercedes-Benz arena in Shanghai is the biggest VCT venue till date.

The tournament definitely has a making of another successful global VALORANT event. Unfortunately, the timings might hinder the viewership, but as seen with MSI that concluded recently, that might not be the case.

Return of Swiss Stage with the twist

VCT Masters Shanghai will see a return to the Swiss Stage. Eight teams will take on each other in the exhilarating format until four teams qualify for the Playoffs.

The higher seeded teams from each region will get a chance to choose their opponents for the opening rounds of the Playoffs.

New Map

Similar to Madrid, Masters Shanghai will also be a reveal for the upcoming map.

With the patch 8.11, VALORANT introduces map pool rotations and a new map added to the game.

This new map will be showcased in a Showmatch preceding the VCT Masters Shanghai Finals.

Along with Haven, the new map will replace Split and Breeze in the current map pool.

Follow VALORANT on X (formerly Twitter) for the teasers of the new map.

Paper Rex Jinggg

One of the biggest storyline of Masters Shanghai has to be the return of Jinggg. The Paper Rex star had to retire on the grounds of mandatory military training but has returned to active competition.

The prodigal duelist talent competed with the Paper Rex squad during VCT Pacific Split 1 and helped them secure the trophy.

Coming into Shanghai, Jinggg and Paper Rex will be the biggest contenders for the trophy. We’d have to see how the team fares on the stage and if they finally lift the trophy.

Boosto’s Midas touch

100 Thieves has had a resurgence during VCT Americas 2024 Split 1 and the biggest reason according to the players atleast is Kelden "Boostio" Pupello, the team’s captain.

The former VALORANT Champion IGL previously helped Evil Geniuses make a Cinderella run, winning the biggest tournament of the year.

After the team broke apart, Boostio joined with 100 Thieves along with former M80 member Eeiu. With the changes, 100 Thieves won the VCT Americas Split 1, making Boostio the best alumni of the 2023 EG roster.

If Boostio can replicate what he achieved with his former squad, he’d solidify himself as the best IGL prospect of VCT Americas.

Fnatic’s triumphant return to Global stage

Biggest storyline from EMEA has to be Fnatic’s run to win the VCT EMEA Split 1. The best team of 2023 suffered from stagnation during Kickoff. They came alive during the Split 1 playoffs, defeating the top teams in EMEA to claim the top spot.

Despite the team’s only recent resurgence, if they can replicate their strongest form, Fnatic has a solid chance to win it all at Shanghai.

VCT Masters Shanghai will kick off on May 23rd with Swiss Stage. Find all the information on the tournament here.

Stay tuned on Strafe YouTube for exclusive interviews, press conferences and more. You can also follow the tournament on Strafe.

Featured Image Credits: VALORANT Esports / Riot Games

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