The collapse is now complete. After just eight days of competition, the four teams occupying the bottom spots in the
VALORANT Champions standings are all from the
VCT China region. The region has never managed to showcase its potential on home soil and has already been eliminated, without even getting the opportunity to play decisive matches in their respective groups.
First up,
EDward Gaming were looking to bounce back after their heavy defeat to LOUD a few days ago. Facing
Global Esports, the 2024 World Champions were once again overwhelmed and comfortably beaten despite the usual efforts from Zheng "
ZmjjKK" Yongkang. EDG were once again defeated 2-0, managing to win just 11 rounds across the two maps.
On the other side, the Pacific region's first seed looked solid and disciplined, carried by the talent of Duelist Go "UdoTan" Kyung-won despite the player appearing to be unwell. EDG's preparation has raised questions, particularly after coach Yoon "Autumn" Eu-teum revealed during the press conference that they had only had four days to prepare for Summit, yet still allowed their opponents to pick the map.
China's last hope just minutes later,
JD Gaming suffered the same fate, falling to
T1. The VCT China Stage 2 finalists fought tooth and nail, pushing T1 to their limits on Lotus (11-13) despite a poorly managed end to the map. The Chinese side then responded on Abyss, thoroughly dominating the Korean team (13-3), notably thanks to the performance of rookie Niu "
zhe" Zhe. Unfortunately for the Chinese team, everything fell apart on Haven, where nothing seemed to go their way as they concluded their run with a heavy 13-5 defeat.
As China exits the tournament, the two winners from today have earned another opportunity to reach the playoffs. On Sunday, T1 will face FUT Esports in Group A, with both teams having previously lost to 100 Thieves in the same group. The same scenario will unfold in Group B, where Global Esports will face LOUD after both teams suffered defeats to Team Vitality.
