EDward Gaming defeats ON Sla2ers to claim VALORANT Champions seat
Chinese underground team EDward Gaming defeated Korean rivals On Sla2ers 3-0 (Fracture 13-4, Haven 13-11, Split 13-9) in the East Asia Last Chance Qualifier grand final. By doing so, they claimed a seat in the VALORANT Champions Tour 2022.
VALORANT is still not officially playable in China. Therefore, it will be the first time EDward Gaming competes in an international event since the game debuted two years ago.
The East Asia LCQ Grand Finals featured teams from Korea and Japan, such as On Sla2ers, REJECT, and NORTHEPTIO. Meanwhile, China had two underground representatives—EDward Gaming and KONE eSC—competing against seasoned veterans of international LAN tournaments.
EDward Gaming battled its way through the top bracket of the tournament and into the grand finals with solid performances from Haodong “Haodong” Guo, Donghao “Life” Qu, Shunzhi “CHICHOO” Wan, Senxu “nobody” Wang, and Yongkang “ZmjjKK” Zheng.
In their first match, they defeated On Sla2ers 2-0, relegating the Korean team to the lower bracket. When they faced the Japanese team REJECT, EDG dominated Map 1 on Fracture 13-3. REJECT retaliated in Game 2 but still lost 13-11.
In the upper bracket final, EDG faced tournament favorite NORTHEPTION from Japan, a team that had just returned from competing in VCT Masters 2 in Copenhagen. EDG won the first game on Ascent 13-8. In Game 2, the NORTHEPTION forced Bind into overtime, but EDG won the map 21-19.
In the end, the EDG defeated NORTHEPTION 3-0. They finished LCQ without dropping a single card.
East Asia LCQ grand final
Throughout the tournament, EDward players ranked first, second, and third on the leaderboard in terms of Kill, Assist, Survive, and Trade (KAST) percentage. In the Grand Final, the team’s kills were evenly distributed, with all five players contributing. Three of them scored more than 50 frags, while the rest scored more than 40.
Fracture was the map where the team triumphed. No team was able to fight more than four rounds against them there, including On Sla2ers.
After being annihilated 13-4 in Game 1 on Fracture, On Sla2ers nearly won Game 2 on Haven but was defeated 13-11. EDG defeated them again in Game 3 on Split with a score of 13-9.
KONE eSC, on the other hand, struggled but still conquered outstanding teams such as Korea’s Damwon Gaming before losing to On Sla2ers and finishing fourth.
VALORANT Champions Tour 2022
North America, South America, EMEA, East Asia, and APAC LCQs have now secured their spots in the VALORANT Champions Tour 2022 and completed the tournament’s sixteen-team lineup. The winner of the sixteen-team event will be crowned world champion. The championship will take place in Istanbul between September 2 and September 18.
EDward Gaming came a long way from the Huya Summer Festival in 2020 to VCT EA: LCQ 2022. For the upcoming VALORANT Champions Tour, they will play alongside DRX and Zeta Division from East Asia.
EDG’s roster in Istanbul will comprise the same squad members as in the LCQ. Coaches Shijun “Muggle” Tang and Wen-Hsin “AfteR” Lo will join them again in the campaign.
