TYLOO, JD Gaming, EDward Gaming and XLG Esports qualify for VALORANT Champions Shanghai

After a full season of competition, VCT China became the first international league to determine the four teams that will attend the VALORANT Champions Shanghai, Riot Games' world championship event. In a surprise result, TYLOO claimed the Stage 2 title and secured a direct spot at the LAN by defeating JD Gaming in the grand final, with JDG also qualifying for the Champions. Alongside this duo, EDward Gaming and XLG Esports complete the list of Chinese teams heading to Shanghai.

There will be very little travel for the four VCT China representatives at this year's VALORANT Champions, as Shanghai will host the event from September 24 to October 18. A total of 16 teams, four from each International League, will compete for the world title and attempt to succeed NRG Esports, who won the trophy in Paris in 2025. For both TYLOO and JD Gaming, this marks their first qualification to an international event, as neither team had previously attended Champions or Masters tournaments.

Positioned in the middle of the standings throughout the season, with Top 5-6 finishes at Kickoff and Stage 1, TYLOO finally found momentum during Stage 2. A key factor was the arrival of Pong "SiuFatBB" Ka Hei, one of China's biggest VALORANT stars, who had endured a particularly difficult start to the year with Wolves Esports. In addition, the organization placed its trust in Peng "xihe" Wenbo, a newcomer who debuted directly in VCT without any known competitive history beforehand and alternated with SiuFatBB during the playoffs.

TYLOO already impressed in the group stage, recording four wins and only one loss, against NOVA Esports, which was enough to secure direct qualification to the playoffs. In the postseason, the Chinese organization first defeated Titan Esports Club, the only team never to have reached the league's Top 4 in a competitive split. That victory was followed by a drop to the lower bracket after a 2-1 defeat against JD Gaming, whom they would later meet again in the grand final. In the lower bracket, TYLOO put together three consecutive wins, first against All Gamers, then by taking revenge on NOVA, before defeating Bilibili Gaming to reach the final. They eventually won 3-1 against JDG, although both teams had already secured qualification by that stage.

Usually found in the lower half of the VCT CN standings, JD Gaming also endured a difficult Stage 2, finishing the group stage with one win and four losses, unlike TYLOO despite sharing the same Alpha Group. Before reaching the playoffs, the Chinese club, well known for its League of Legends roster, had to make its way through the Play-In stage. With two victories and two defeats, JDG secured a playoff spot as the fourth and final seed, setting up an opening match against NOVA, the best team from the group stage. The outcome was unexpected, as JD Gaming swept NOVA 2-0 before defeating TYLOO and BLG, completing a flawless run through the upper bracket. Although they fell in the grand final, JDG still secured a Champions qualification, in one of the biggest surprises of the season.

Besides the two teams that qualified through the final split of the year, EDward Gaming and XLG Esports also booked their places at Champions through the VALORANT Champions Tour's Championship Points system. Having both qualified for the year's two Masters events, Santiago and London, the two organizations accumulated enough points, without much surprise, to reach Shanghai. In addition to the points earned at international events, particularly Masters London, EDG and XLG also logically dominated the domestic league.

XLG first secured second place at Kickoff, while EDward Gaming had to settle for third. During Stage 1, however, the 2024 Champions winners took first place, while XLG once again finished as runners-up. Unlike the other two qualified teams, EDG and XLG are far more experienced on the international stage, especially EDward Gaming, who have rarely missed a global event since the launch of the VCT, with Masters Toronto 2025 being the notable exception.