nAts receives visa for Masters Toronto

Team Liquid’s in-game leader Ayaz “nAts” Akhmetshin has received a visa to travel to Canada and compete in the ongoing Masters Toronto.

Visa secured

NAts revealed the good news in a concise post on X, simply stating “got visa” to his 322k followers. Later, he followed up with a selfie taken on his flight to Canada, with “I am coming” as the caption.

The news comes after delays in receiving his visa meant that the former Gambit player was forced to stay home while the rest of his side travelled to the event. At the time, nAts insisted that there was “still a chance” that he would reach the tournament, though he all but ruled out playing in their opening against Bilibili Gaming.

Captain’s presence needed

It’s no secret that Team Liquid’s fate is hugely dependent on nAts. As IGL, he’s not only the shot caller but also the team captain, and he has a massive role in preparing his side mentally through his well-publicised speeches. Additionally, he’s mechanically one of the best shooters on the team, effectively leaving Team Liquid with two roles to fill as a result of the omission of one single player.

Former G2 player Erik “penny” Penny was brought in as a temporary replacement with plenty of tier one experience as well as one global appearance under his belt, having played at Masters Reykjavík 2021 with Version1. But he’s had enormous shoes to fill.

Team Liquid already facing elimination

Despite nAts’ absence, Team Liquid put up a valiant effort in the tournament opener against China’s Bilibili Gaming. Despite BLG being considered one of the weaker sides at the tournament, TL’s chances of a victory were mostly written off without their main man.

But the series against Bilibili was well fought. The side had an early lead in the opening mapon Icebox, at one point 7-3 up, though a second-half comeback saw BLG win 13-10. Then, on Haven, fans were treated to a 30-round back-and-forth on which newcomer penny led Team Liquid to victory, finishing with a 30/18/15 score. The third map, Sunset, was again close, this time Bilibili coming out victorious with a 13-10 victory to secure the overall series win.

Masters Toronto’s Swiss stage sees teams eliminated after two defeats, meaning another loss for Team Liquid will secure their exit. NAts’ arrival needs to bring with it immediate wins.