EDward Gaming, the most decorated Chinese team in Valorant to date, shows complete domination on the domestic front but encounters a multitude of difficulties in achieving significant success internationally. In this article, we will examine the team's successes domestically and globally, and unravel what prevents EDward Gaming from dominating international tournaments as they do in Chinese competitions.
Domination on the Chinese domestic scene
Despite the struggles of EDward Gaming on the international stage, which we will discuss in the next section, this team is the undisputed leader on the domestic scene. From 2022 to the present, the team has won 11 titles out of a possible 15 in Chinese tournaments, with other competitions usually ending in second place. Thus, their ability to dominate opponents domestically is unquestionable, making them one of the most successful teams in China. However, at global tournaments, where the best teams from around the world compete, they face greater challenges.
EDward Gaming’s achievements on the global stage
EDward Gaming (EDG) is one of the most well-known organizations in esports, not just in Valorant. Despite numerous trophies at home, which include significant victories and dozens of second places, the team's results on the global stage are not as impressive as fans of the Chinese scene and EDG overall would like.
Throughout its existence, EDward Gaming has participated in many international tournaments, including major ones - the Valorant Champions Tour (VCT), easily qualifying for them thanks to their dominance in China. However, their results at these competitions often do not meet high expectations. Despite efforts and a talented roster, they often exit early in the playoffs, unable to compete with the world's strongest teams.
For instance, at the Valorant Champions Tour 2024: Masters Shanghai, where the team received an invitation to the playoff stage by winning the Valorant Champions Tour 2024: China Stage 1, they failed to win a single map in two matches and exited the tournament in 7th-8th place, earning only $35,000 for their achievement.
Reasons for failures on the global stage
Weakness of the Chinese region
One of the main reasons why EDward Gaming cannot achieve great success internationally is the relative weakness of the Chinese region compared to others. While the Chinese league attracts a lot of attention from viewers and teams demonstrate a decent level of play, the competition often does not match the level of other leading regions such as the Americas, EMEA, or Pacific. This leads to Chinese teams, including EDG, facing serious difficulties when competing against the strongest teams in the world.
Lack of practice with teams from other regions
Besides the fact that the Chinese region is considered the weakest for several reasons, there is another problem: EDward Gaming does not have the opportunity to practice with teams from other regions. As a result, their developments and tactics, which perform well against Chinese teams, may prove to be insufficiently effective against teams from other regions, who have rich experience and strong developments thanks to playing among themselves.
Why is the Chinese region so weak?
The Chinese region is considered relatively weak due to several key factors. First, although the Chinese scene is large and growing rapidly, the Valorant Champions Tour was only established this year, which is quite late compared to other regions. This means that Chinese teams need more time to achieve stability, as it is necessary not only to form a stable roster but also to ensure training and time for team cohesion.
Second, there are relatively few strong teams in the Chinese region. Despite the presence of several top teams, such as EDward Gaming and FunPlus Phoenix, the overall level of teams in the region may not be as high as in other leading leagues. This limits opportunities for constant development and improvement, which in turn negatively affects results at international tournaments.
What awaits the Chinese scene in the future?
Over the past year, the Chinese scene has shown rapid growth, triggered by several factors. Firstly, the game was officially released in China. Secondly, Riot Games launched the official Valorant Champions Tour league, which previously existed only in three regions: EMEA, Americas, and Pacific. This has led to the emergence of many new organizations in the region, ready to invest money in forming and maintaining a Valorant roster.
All this indicates that the Chinese scene is developing and will continue to develop in the future. Academic rosters are being formed to develop young Chinese players, and organizations are trying to attract players from other parts of the world to the region, although this remains a major challenge as all teams have Chinese players in their lineup. This complicates communication with foreigners who do not speak Chinese, but even with such difficulties, the team Dragon Ranger Gaming managed to qualify for the VALORANT Champions Tour 2024: Masters Shanghai.
Conclusion
EDward Gaming remains one of the most titled and successful teams in China in Valorant, but their achievements on the global stage leave much to be desired. Despite a large number of domestic trophies, the team has not won any at international tournaments. The reasons for this lie in the relative weakness of the Chinese region, which limits opportunities for development and preparation for international competitions. With time and further development of the Chinese scene, we may see more significant successes not only from EDward Gaming but also from other teams in the Chinese VCT league.
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