nAts to miss Masters Toronto 2025 due to visa issues — Team Liquid to play with a stand-In

Ayaz "nAts" Akhmetshin, a player for Team Liquid , will miss at least the team’s first match—and possibly the entire Masters Toronto 2025 tournament—due to visa issues. Both the player and the organization confirmed the news on social media, also revealing who will step in as his replacement.

Team Liquid secured a spot at Masters Toronto 2025 by finishing third in VCT 2025: EMEA Stage 1, after losing the lower bracket final to Team Heretics . However, the team now faces the prospect of competing with a substitute. Ayaz "nAts" Akhmetshin shared on his X page that visa problems will prevent him from joining the squad on time:

Unfortunately due to visa issues, I will not be able to travel to the tournament with the team. There is still a chance that I will get visa but most likely not before the first match. I hope I will be able to show up to the tournament. I will keep everyone updated. No matter if I will be there or not, Team Liquid will still need your support.
Ayaz "nAts" Akhmetshin

The organization quickly announced that Erik "penny" Penny will stand in for nAts. Penny currently competes on the Tier-2 North American scene with team YFP, and this will be his debut at a top-tier international event.

Due to delays in the visa process, nAts is unable travel with the team to Toronto and will likely miss our first match. We hope to resolve this quickly and have nAts join for the following match. Penny will be standing in until nAts is able to join the roster in Toronto .
Team Liquid

Team Liquid ’s opening match at Masters Toronto 2025 will take place on June 7 against Bilibili Gaming . You can follow the match at the provided link.

Team Liquid roster for Masters Toronto 2025:

Georgio "keiko" Sanassy
Kamil "kamo" Frąckowiak
Patryk "paTiTek" Fabrowski
Maikls "SerialKiller" Zdanovs
Erik "penny" Penny