It's the end of the road for the reigning VALORANT Champions titleholders. As their 2025 season concludes, EDward Gaming must return home empty-handed, leaving behind both pride and trophy after a final 0-2 loss to Team Liquid in the group stage. With several months off ahead, Wan "CHICHOO" Shunzhi and his team will rest and regroup in preparation for the many yet-unknown challenges of the 2026 VCT. In an exclusive interview, EDG’s in-game leader (IGL) sits down with Sheep Esports to discuss his team’s elimination, the current level of Chinese competition at Champions, the unpredictability of VALORANT, and his friendship with Ayaz "nAts" Akhmetshin.

What went wrong this year? How do you feel about your performance at Champions 2025?

Wan "CHICHOO" Shunzhi: "We didn't show up on stage well this year. As an in-game leader, personally, I feel like I didn't get better at my role. I feel responsible. One of the main issues came from my performance in officials. I need to focus more in all of our games, as an IGL should.

How did you feel facing your friend Ayaz "nAts" Akhmetshin today? Are you happy that he gets to go forward despite the loss?

CHICHOO: Although we are really good friends, we are on different teams. We'll always want our respective teams to win. As I said before the match, I just hope that today's winner will go far. I got to see him after the match ended. We gave each other an appointment to exchange jerseys at the hotel later tonight.

Do you think nAts and Team Liquid can make a deep run?

CHICHOO: I see them making the final four and at least qualifying for the Accor Arena.

We saw both teams underperforming on their respective map picks. In your case, what do you think went wrong on Abyss, considering it was yours?

CHICHOO: We knew how Team Liquid wanted to play, and we didn't handle their rush on attack well. We started on defense because we know Abyss is a map favoring attackers. We couldn't get into good positions on the sides to set up strong defenses in gunfights. They kept pulling us out of position. That was our main problem.

Why do you think China has been underperforming at this event, despite better results in past events?

CHICHOO: Bilibili Gaming and ourselves are both teams with a lot of global experience, but our other two teams are very young and inexperienced when it comes to international play. Our region has adapted too slowly to the play styles of others so far. I hope that our young teams can at least gain a lot of experience from their matches and improve.

Some people say VALORANT Esports has a lot of randomness, where a team can perform really well at one event but poorly at another. Do you agree that tournament outcomes can be unpredictable in this way?

CHICHOO: Yes, I think this randomness is also why VALORANT matches are so exciting to watch as viewers. There are many underdog teams, and it's really difficult to predict tournament results. Many factors can change a tournament's outcome. Every team here has a chance. Those wild games, the patches—they impact how tournaments pan out so much. Team compositions can vary, and it’s all about which team can adapt the fastest to the current patch. You have to adapt immediately if you want to perform well. If you don't, you're done.

You had a lot of success last year, but 2025 has been tougher. Has it been mentally difficult to deal with these setbacks?

CHICHOO: What we went through this year is what many past Champions winners have gone through as well. The solutions we attempted were not the right ones, and I don't think we showed a good level individually during games. We made a lot of mistakes, and they kept happening. We struggled a lot, and now the year is over. Right now, I think the only thing to do is get good rest and reflect on what happened in 2025 so we can get a fresh start next year."