The first major tournament of the Chinese region in 2025 within the VCT framework has concluded, delivering plenty of emotions, surprises, and bright moments for both players and fans. Let’s summarize the results, highlight the teams that surprised, those that fell short of expectations, and recognize consistently strong participants.
In this article:
Key Surprises
The main surprise was XLG Esports, for whom this was a debut tournament within the VCT framework. The team placed 5th-6th, eliminating two partner teams. Their journey ended in a match against the world champions, EDward Gaming. This team, which was competing on the Tier-2 scene last year, made roster changes following their victory at Ascension due to league rules and surprised everyone with a strong performance.
Another surprise is Dragon Racer Gaming, who won Ascension in 2023 and have been consistently showing high results for the second year in a row. These two teams will compete against each other throughout this season, and in the end, one of them will return to the Tier-2 scene. Their motivation and drive to win are clear to everyone, as competing in the VCT offers significantly higher earnings than the Tier-2 scene.
Fell Short of Expectations
VCT 2025: China Kickoff did not feature any major upsets, making it difficult to identify a team that truly fell short of expectations, as most teams finished the event in the position that was predicted before it started. However, it is worth mentioning Wolves Esports, who faced relatively weaker opponents — XLG Esports and Nova Esports — in their first two matches, where they were the favorites. However, signing a two-time Champions participant, Lysoar, and the young Singaporean talent, juicy, has yet to yield any results. Perhaps in the next tournament, the team will show a better performance.
Consistently High Results
EDward Gaming, the most consistent team in the Chinese region, continues to live up to their status. Once again, the team has qualified for an international LAN. This streak has been ongoing since the Champions in Istanbul in 2022, and the team has not missed a single international tournament from the regular season.
The same can be said for Trace Esports. Although the team was of a consistently average level last year, the end of 2024 and the beginning of 2025 demonstrate that the roster, remaining unchanged in Valorant for a long time, has reaped the benefits of stability. They are currently the second team in China, surpassing FunPlus Phoenix and proving that they can challenge the strongest team in the Chinese region — EDward Gaming.
Tournament Summary
In the end, the main rewards went to EDward Gaming and Trace Esports in the form of tickets to Masters Bangkok, where the eight best teams from around the world (two from each competitive region) will compete for $500,000 USD and additional VCT points needed to qualify for Champions. Here is the final standings of VCT 2025: China Kickoff:
VCT 2025: China Kickoff was a strong start for the new Chinese season. The tournament showed that new teams from Ascension — XLG Esports and Dragon Racer Gaming — are ready to challenge partner teams and take their slots at Masters and Champions. The tournament was held from January 11 to 25 in a LAN format at the VCT CN Arena in Shanghai. Twelve teams competed for two spots at Masters Bangkok, which were claimed by Trace Esports and EDward Gaming.
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