VALORANT history
VALORANT Masters: the mid-season titles and what they proved
Masters events sit inside the season rather than closing it, and historically they have been where a new regional power announces itself. Several of the most famous VALORANT line-ups never won Champions but are remembered entirely for a Masters run.
Because Masters happens more than once a year, these are the events most likely to catch you out in a line-up round: the same organisation can appear twice in twelve months with different players.
Sentinels 2021: the line-up everyone knows
The first international VALORANT event was won by a North American roster that had just signed TenZ on loan, and it went undefeated. That five — TenZ, ShahZaM, SicK, dapr, zombs — is probably the most recognisable line-up in the game, and it never won anything of that size again, which makes it a perfect quiz answer: famous, precisely dated, and impossible to confuse with a later Sentinels team.
Fnatic's 2023 double
Fnatic won both the season opener in São Paulo and Tokyo with an unchanged five, the only team to take two Masters in a single year. Boaster and Derke have anchored the organisation since 2021, so a Fnatic round is usually decided by which of Alfajer, Chronicle, Leo, Mistic or Magnum sits alongside them.
Asia's decade
Gen.G's win in Shanghai in 2024 was Korea's first global title and Paper Rex's in Toronto in 2025 finally converted years of near-misses for Southeast Asia — the organisation had reached a Champions final and multiple Masters podiums before it won one. Between them, those two results moved the balance of the game away from the Americas.
VALORANT Masters winners
| Year | Event | Champion | Winning five |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Reykjavík | Sentinels | TenZ, ShahZaM, SicK, dapr, zombs |
| 2021 | Berlin | Gambit Esports | nAts, Chronicle, sheydos, d3ffo, Redgar |
| 2022 | Reykjavík | OpTic Gaming | yay, FNS, crashies, Victor, Marved |
| 2022 | Copenhagen | FunPlus Phoenix | ANGE1, Zyppan, SUYGETSU, ardiis, Shao |
| 2023 | São Paulo (LOCK//IN) | Fnatic | Boaster, Derke, Alfajer, Chronicle, Leo |
| 2023 | Tokyo | Fnatic | Boaster, Derke, Alfajer, Chronicle, Leo |
| 2024 | Madrid | Sentinels | TenZ, zekken, johnqt, Sacy, pANcada |
| 2024 | Shanghai | Gen.G | t3xture, Meteor, Karon, Lakia, Munchkin |
| 2025 | Bangkok | G2 Esports | leaf, trent, valyn, JonahP, jawgemo |
| 2025 | Toronto | Paper Rex | f0rsakeN, something, Jinggg, mindfreak, d4v41 |
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Compiled from public tournament and roster records. Last reviewed: September 2026.