In what will go down as one of the most competitive finals in the history of the VALORANT Champions Tour, EDward Gaming brought the trophy home by winning the first Champions trophy for China and defeating the European representatives, Team Heretics, by a 3-2 scoreline, courtesy of a record-breaking performance.
KangKang, the star sniper and duelist for EDward Gaming broke the existing player kill record (111) in any best-of-five VCT tournament in VALORANT history to power his team through the challenges Team Heretics put in their path by using his signature picks of Neon, Raze, and Jett. According to VLR.gg, KangKang averaged 22.2 eliminations in each match, a bombastic performance and presence that earned him the MVP award of VALORANT Champions 2024 as well.
It wasn’t smooth sailing throughout for EDward Gaming: They lost the first map as TH’s Benjyfishy reminded the crowd of his evergreen Cypher plays and crisp aim. However, the Chinese representatives proved their mettle by equalizing the series on Sunset by dominating the map and ending it on a scoreline of 13-4. They carried the momentum to Lotus, and after a close map, they came up on top and went for the title on Bind.
It was another close affair between the two teams, but Team Heretics were barely able to push the series to a decider after a 13-11 win. Despite being so close yet so far from victory on map four, EDward Gaming started strong on Abyss, only to lose the tempo in the midgame where Team Heretics looked to regain momentum and go for the final push. However, the Chinese squad ultimately rallied forth to win the final two rounds and crown themselves as the champions.
“Last year at LA [VALORANT] Champions, I was there as an audience, and that moment gave me power. We worked day and night every day. Using that power and the teammates we get here,” said Muggle, coach for EDward Gaming, in the post-match interview.
Interestingly, the only Taiwanese player in the Chinese team, S1Mon joined the team just a month ago and is already a VALORANT Champions trophy winner, marking a fairytale start to his professional career.
“We’re more than this, this is just the beginning,” KangKang said to his crying teammate after receiving the MVP award during the post-match interview. If we had to go by the example of Riot’s other title, League of Legends, and its international esports history, this could be the start of Asian teams dominating yet another esports through stellar international performances.
