Liquid picks up YFP's Penny as stand-in for VCT Masters Toronto

Team Liquid has been dealt a significant blow ahead of VALORANT Champions Tour 2025 - Masters Toronto 2025, as star player and in-game leader Ayaz "nAts" Akhmetshin is facing visa issues that will prevent him from traveling to Canada with the rest of the roster in time for the start of the event.

A significant loss

The team confirmed that while there remains a slim chance that nAts could secure a visa in time to play later in the tournament, he is all but ruled out for Liquid’s opening match. Speaking on the situation, nAts expressed hope that he might still make it to Toronto. This leaves Team Liquid in a difficult position just days before their first match on June 7 against China’s second seed, Bilibili Gaming.

In response to the situation, Team Liquid has signed Erik "penny" Penny as a temporary stand-in. The 22-year-old is currently competing for YFP in VCL 2025 - North America: Stage 2, where he has stood out as the best player on his team. Penny boasts a 240 average combat score, a 1.54 KDA, and averages 17.3 kills per map—numbers that make him one of the top performers in the tier-two circuit.

Penny joins as stand-in

Penny brings past experience at the international level, having previously represented Version1 at VCT 2021 - Stage 2 - Masters Reykjavík. That event marked his first and only appearance at a tier-one global event, where Version1 placed 5th-6th after a tough elimination loss to Fnatic. Now, four years later, penny has the opportunity to return to the global spotlight—and this time, he’ll be playing in front of a hometown crowd in Toronto.

Replacing a player like nAts won’t be easy. Beyond his mechanical skill, he’s also Liquid’s in-game leader and a vital piece of the team’s structure. It remains to be seen who will step up to handle IGL duties in his absence.As Liquid prepares to face off against Bilibili Gaming in the opening round, all eyes will be on how the team adjusts to the sudden roster change — and whether penny can rise to the challenge.

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