It wouldn’t be Team Liquid at a Valorant international if there wasn’t something a little silly going on, but Masters Toronto so far has been sillier than most. Due to delays with IGL and star player nAts’ visa, Team Liquid Valorant announced that for at least their first match of the tournament, they would be playing with a substitute: homegrown Canadian talent by the name of penny.

Penny, who is currently a mainstay of the North American Challengers scene, last played at an international tournament in 2021, representing Version1 at Masters Reykjavík. He stepped in for Team Liquid in their opening match against Bilibili Gaming, where he played Omen and Phoenix. Unfortunately, the team lost 1-2, but penny’s spectacular Phoenix gameplay on Map 2 was a huge part of why they managed to stay in the series. 

He went on to put on a similarly impressive performance as Jett in the first map of Team Liquid’s next match against MIBR. After the team’s 2-0 victory over the Brazilian squad, we caught up with penny to talk about subbing in on short notice, playing in front of a home crowd, and finally returning to the international stage.

How does it feel to be playing at an international again after all this time?

It feels normal. It feels like I belong here, and I think that’s what I’ve been trying to work on in the last year and a half, just trying to get back here. So it’s nice, especially playing in front of a home crowd where there are a lot of fans.

What was the prep leading up to that first match like? It seemed like such a whirlwind process.

For the map I played today, there was 0 practice. We literally changed the comp after last night, after our scrims. We have zero scrims with this comp, zero scrims with me playing Jett on Icebox, and I've only played one scrim with nAts. We’re just glad it worked out, because the coaches had a good game plan, and nAts is back.

Can you talk a little bit more about going back to what you’re most comfortable with and playing Jett?

It’s a comfort pick, so I already know how to play it. I know all the micro decisions, what I need to do at almost every moment of the game, so… yeah, I played well. I think it also has to do with nAts’ calling, because everything he said, I was really confident I was gonna get a kill doing it.

What was it like to play a character that you’re so comfortable on, not just in front of a crowd, but a home crowd?

It felt normal, like I said. But I kind of wish I got to do that as well in the Bilibili series, because I think that would have gone better for us. I was a little bit uncomfortable, especially on the third map, and I think everyone who knows Valorant could tell that, because it’s pretty hard to play Omen on that map. So it’s just nice to be back on a comfort pick where I’m super confident.

On Saturday, you did have a really good Game 2, on Phoenix. Was there any preparation for that?

We did play one scrim on Phoenix on that map, but one scrim is really nothing. Basically the whole tournament, we’re having zero preparation, and it’s all what we can do in the moment.

What was the energy like during that particular map?

First of all, the crowd that day, since it was the first day, was massive. I didn’t really notice during the game, but after the game, when I took my headset off and stood up, the whole stage was shaking. That was a pretty surreal feeling, just hugging all my teammates… I was definitely proud of that performance.

I was in the crowd during that game, and when you had that clutch in [Round 20], I noticed this couple near me, and the lady stood up and started cheering so loud. And I thought to myself, “that’s definitely his parents.”

The only old people in the crowd, yeah.

They were telling me about how they didn’t get to watch you play in Reykjavík. Did it feel special to be able to play in front of them for the first time?

Yeah, I would say so. If I’m being honest, I think it’s more special for them than it is for me, because they’ve always followed me and they’re proud of me. I’m just doing what I’ve done for the past five years, and I think it’s just nice for them to be able to experience it with me.

Are they generally supportive of you when it comes to pursuing this path?

I would say so, because the moment that I started playing video games [professionally], I got salaried pretty quickly, so they understood that it was something that you could make money on, so I think from then on it was full support. So, yeah, I’m grateful.

What was their reaction when you told them about joining the roster?

There was another team before that asked me to come fill for this event because they had visa issues, so [my parents] were already aware of that. That team ended up getting their visa — I’m not gonna say which team it is — but [my parents] were already kind of expecting it. Then I told them “I’m gonna come play with Team Liquid,” and they were happy. 

It was an easy option for me. If I had to choose between the two, I would always choose to come play for Liquid.