On April 19, the Upper Bracket Semifinal of VCT 2025: China Stage 1 will take place between EDward Gaming and Xi Lai Gaming. We’ll evaluate both teams’ form, head-to-head history, map pool, and stats to make a prediction for the outcome of this match.

Current Form

EDward Gaming

EDward Gaming continues to show a high level at the start of the season. The team won VCT 2025: China Kickoff, securing a slot at Masters Bangkok 2025. Despite a poor run in the VALORANT China Evolution Series Act 1, where EDG were surprisingly eliminated in the first round, the team quickly bounced back to top form. At Masters Bangkok, EDward Gaming finished 3rd, defeating several strong teams.

In their last five matches, EDG won four, losing only to Nova Esports (0:2). Following the international event, the team made a roster change — s1mon left and was replaced by Jieni7 from the academy. The young talent quickly adapted, and management confirmed plans to continue working with him for the remainder of the season.

Xi Lai Gaming

This year marks Xi Lai Gaming’s debut in the VCT league, and so far, they’ve delivered confident performances. Despite finishing 5th–6th at China Kickoff and missing Masters, XLG regrouped and had a strong group stage at China Stage 1 — 4 wins in 5 matches. Their only loss came against the experienced Bilibili Gaming. In the playoffs, XLG comfortably defeated Nova Esports, proving they can compete with top-tier teams.

Expected Map Picks

First bans:

• EDward Gaming will likely ban Lotus
• XLG will likely ban Haven

Picks:

• EDward Gaming will likely pick Split
• XLG will likely pick Fracture

Second bans:

• EDward Gaming to remove Icebox
• XLG likely to remove Ascent

Decider:

• Pearl

Head-to-Head

The last encounter between EDward Gaming and Xi Lai Gaming happened four months ago. EDG won 2:1, though XLG managed to take a map and showed resilience. Since then, EDG have updated their roster and performed on the international stage, while XLG has steadily improved within the local scene.

Match Prediction

This match promises to be tense, as XLG are in great form, while EDward Gaming brings international experience, a deep map pool, and high individual skill. The addition of Jieni7 has revitalized EDG, and despite recent changes, they remain the favorites.

XLG can challenge EDG, especially on preferred maps, but the experience, flexibility in map selection, and overall roster strength of EDward Gaming are likely to be decisive.

Prediction: EDward Gaming wins 2:1

VCT 2025: China Stage 1 runs from March 13 to May 4 in a LAN format at the VCT CN Arena in Shanghai. Twelve partnered VCT China teams compete for 3 spots at Masters Toronto and valuable China Points needed to qualify for the upcoming Champions.