G2 can break their curse at EWC VALORANT, but they’re not alone

Paper Rex’s long-awaited global title at Masters Toronto showed that unwanted records can be broken. Now, at the first-ever EWC VALORANT event, back-to-back Americas winners G2 are the next side that’ll hope — maybe expect — to break their international curse. But they’ll have company.

G2 desperate for a global win

The nature of G2’s VCT Americas Kickoff win made them the favourites heading into Masters Bangkok. Their eventual second-place finish would’ve been a disappointment, but hardly a disaster. After all, they took T1 to five maps in the grand final and showed clearly that they were one of the world’s best.

That was followed up by more regional success with a Stage 1 victory. Though there was a thought that their form had dipped slightly from Kickoff, they once again went to Masters with the hopes of going for a title. To then only come away from the tournament with a single win, albeit against a then-impressive Gen.G, was less than ideal.

The team is still searching for its first global title, and while VALORANT’s inaugural Esports World Cup event doesn’t bring with it the same gravitas as a Masters title, it’s a global event nonetheless. In fact, the lessened stature may even help to calm the nerves and get that first international title over the line with less pressure, setting G2 up for an easier ride at VALORANT Champions later in the year.

Team Heretics looking for a pick-me-up, EWC VALORANT event could do the job

Like G2, Team Heretics is another side looking to break a curse at the EWC. Unlike G2, however, Los Niños’ woes are not restricted to global competition.

Team Heretics’ famous grand final-losing curse that saw them defeated at the final hurdle four times in 2024 alone has continued into 2025, convincingly losing the EMEA Stage 1 final to Fnatic. What’s perhaps more worrying about that most recent disappointment is that the side still appears damaged by the loss.

The mental anguish was visible after that loss, but TH had followed up such losses with more strong runs last year. But this time around, the team looked a shadow of themselves at Masters Toronto, losing their opening two series to crash out winless.

While the grand finals curse is still ongoing and the potential to put an end to the run will be welcomed, Heretics’ more pressing concern is the team’s ability to get back to winning ways at all. A victory in Riyadh would do both, giving them a springboard to shoot for more titles during the remainder of the season and beyond.

Fnatic close to a returning to global success

Fnatic are victims of their own success. Their unprecedented back-to-back Masters victories in 2023 set the barometer for the organisation, and now anything they achieve is invariably compared back to that era.

The team’s two EMEA titles in 2024 would’ve been a huge success were they named something other than ‘Fnatic’. The side’s failure to achieve any global success last year meant that the season was overall subpar, despite the regional silverware.

The departure of Nikita “Derke” Sirmitev this year and the ongoing absence of Leo “Leo” Jannesson mean that the roster is now the most different it’s been since those glory days. They were one series away from winning Masters Toronto — a victory that would’ve finally seen the org move on from 2023 and indicate that a new era was beginning.

The Esports World Cup is another chance. A new international win would go a long way to moving out from under their 2023 shadow and will give the team confidence that they’ve the chance to compete at Champs in September.

Sentinels still looking for post-TenZ title

One of the VALORANT Champions Tour’s most notable teams, Sentinels’ current legacy is intimately tied to that of their former superstar Tyson “TenZ” Ngo. He was with the side when they won the inaugural Masters event in Reykjavík in 2021 and he was there when they won their long-awaited second in Madrid in 2024.

Despite his retirement from pro play last year and his official separation from the organisation in May, it’s impossible to think of Sentinels without TenZ coming to mind. He is still very much the face of the org. A global title — maybe a title of any kind — would go some way to seeing Sentinels begin a new legacy in VALORANT, one that doesn’t have TenZ at the front of it.

While the organisation were never regarded as serial winners, their two biggest achievements were both still made with TenZ on the lineup. It’s difficult to imagine the org’s image moving on from TenZ until they’re able to carry out a huge achievement without him.