During the press conference after their 2-0 defeat to NRG in Group C, EDward Gaming players and coach shared their impressions of the first match at VALORANT Champions 2025. They spoke about adapting to the new stage, the challenges of closing rounds, and how recent buffs to Sage influenced their map strategy.

Sage pick and strategy on Abyss

Tang "Muggle" Shijun explained the reasoning behind picking Sage in Map 1, noting that the agent fits EDG’s high-tempo style:

After Sage buff, she aligns well with our team’s playstyle. We like to play at a high tempo, and for decisive executes, Sage provides more practical utility to enable that. The trade-off is flexibility, she isn’t as adaptable as other Sentinels, so certain options are more limited.

 

Asked about Abyss, Muggle highlighted that the map favors fast-paced attacks, but makes late-rounds more complicated:

Yes. Abyss feels favorable for attack, you don’t need extensive area control. You can deny vision, choose your moment, and hit a site decisively. The difficult part is holding in the late round and managing retakes. Dealing with the retake pressure from site to site is the hard part.

 

Adapting to the stage

On overall performance, Muggle admitted the main problem was composure in tight rounds:

Overall it was fine, but we lacked the ability to close the game. This was our first match on this stage; we need to adapt to the environment and rhythm. Once we settle in, we believe we can play to our level.

 

Zhang "Jieni7" Juntai, making his first international appearance abroad, echoed that sentiment:

I’m okay. We’ll review the match, draw our conclusions, and improve. We expect to perform better in the next game.

 

Zheng "ZmjjKK" Yongkang agreed that closing rounds was the key weakness:

It was generally okay, but our issue was closing out. Since it’s our first match on this stage, we need to adapt to the arena and game pace. Everything else is manageable, we just need to take that final step.

 

Facing NRG and individual form

When asked about the matchup with Adam "mada" Pampuch and the NRG roster, ZmjjKK emphasized that EDG lost because of their own mistakes: 

They’re strong, but the main reason for our loss was our own underperformance, we weren’t in our best form and started slowly. I’m looking forward to a rematch, next time we expect to show more and deliver a better performance.

 

Zhang "Smoggy" Zhao said he felt confident despite the defeat:

Mentally, I feel good. Today we missed some details, we’ll adjust our macro and tighten those small things.

  

Arena and atmosphere in Paris

Finally, Wang "nobody" Senxu spoke about the team’s first days in Paris, the arena, and the crowd energy:

Everything’s been good. Jet lag hasn’t affected us. The food is comfortable, though I’m not fully used to it. Even without a traditional raised stage, the arena’s atmosphere is excellent almost an underground vibe, and the crowd energy is lively and motivating. For the escargot no one’s tried them yet.

 

VALORANT Champions 2025 takes place from September 12 to October 5 in France. During the event, 16 teams from around the world compete for a prize pool of $2,250,000. More details about the results and schedule of upcoming matches can be found at this link.