VCT Masters Tokyo Team Introductions: China edition

When the West falters, the East will surely rise.

VCT Masters: Tokyo is coming up in less than a week and will be the second international Valorant tournament of 2023. A total of 12 teams will be attending the tournament- including 2 from China. There’ll also be representatives from the other regions, but we’ll be focusing on the up and coming China region representatives. They’ll be looking to finally make a definitive mark on the international stage, and the West had better be prepared to answer.

We’ve not seen a whole lot of China in recent tournaments. Valorant was only officially approved by the Chinese government fairly recently, and since then, the region has been looking to catch up to other regional competition. Their representatives have only attended 2 international Valorant tournaments, but already they have generated a large amount of interest. In 2022, EDward Gaming attended Champions 2022 and in 2023, EDward Gaming and FunPlus Phoenix attended VCT LOCK//IN. However, Masters Tokyo will mark the first definitive introduction of China as the fourth major region, with the teams qualifying through their own qualifiers.

With that setting the stage, let us now meet the team:

EDward Gaming

Credit: Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games

EDward Gaming now enter their third international Valorant tournament, making them the most battle-tested team from their region. Despite having not made deep runs thus far, they are far better poised this tournament to do well, having now gained incredible experience from their prior runs. Moreover, they have impressed many at their previous two showings, displaying a high caliber of talent and proficiency for tactics.

Highest Winrate Map: Split (100% over 5 games)

Since the formation of the newest iteration of this roster, they have gone undefeated on Split, making it their best performing map statistically. However, most crucially, because of the small sample size, it is perhaps their lower performing maps that can deliver a more telling story.

Bind, Ascent, and Haven are their next best maps in the active pool. With a 78% winrate across 9 games, Bind offers an intriguing lens into their unique approach to the map. One of the few times to run “Gekko” on it, their performance on Bind against other teams will be crucial on the Tokyo stage, with many teams vying to ‘figure out’ this new iteration of the map.  Ascent and Haven are even more incredible, with a 77% winrate across 13 games for the former and 71% winrate across 14 games for the latter, it displays a pattern of consistency that suggests a robust map pool in Bo3s especially.

Strengths and Weaknesses (Potential Concerns)

EDG’s struggles in the past has been rooted in their inexperience in long drawn out series, where the opposing teams’ proficiency in map pool can come more into play. Moreover, EDG has displayed a strong reliance on ‘pocket strats’ from their previous showings at international events to throw opponents off-guard. This could make them more susceptible to anti-stratting coming into this event, where they may be forced to play more traditional Valorant against far more experienced teams.

In terms of strength, Zheng “ZmijKK” Yongkang has been their main cannon and threat, wielding the OP with a degree of proficiency that could strike fear into the hearts of some of the most veteran teams. Their unusual and flexible playstyle that revolves around seeking engagements, could also play into their favor with a style that not many teams will be prepared for firsthand.

Attacking Soul Esports

Credit: ASE / Valorant Esports

ASE will be entering their first international Valorant event this coming week, and they come in as an impressive team on the rise. Having won the FGC Valorant Invitational 2023 Act 1 and placed 3rd in Act 2, they are well poised to showcase some of China’s best talents on the world’s stage. Tested gunner “Life” will once more step onstage, armed with the experience from his Champions 2023 debut.

Highest Winrate Map: Lotus (71% over 7 games)

Lotus is a strong first pick map for this roster, serving them well in terms of their playstyle. They have a 67% winrate on their Attacker side, showcasing an incredible success rate when striking first.

Haven, Fracture, and Ascent are next. Haven is their next highest performing map, with a 68% winrate across a whopping 19 games played. Tried and tested, this is not a map you want to test them on. Fairly even across the board as well in terms of winrate on attack and defense. Whichever side you start, they’ll close you out on.  Fracture has a 67% winrate across 12 games and Ascent has 58% across 12 games. While their map pool isn’t as robust as EDG, they can still deal a fair bit of damage with their consistency across both sides.

Strengths and Weaknesses (Potential Concerns)

Undoubtedly, their most exciting prospect is in newest addition Qu “Life” Donghao. Previously the explosive Jett for EDG, he has now taken his talents to this roster, and they have since seized the Chinese competitive scene with their subsequent success. The highest rated member of their roster though, goes to their flex support player Wang “Monk” Haoyu, who has been a consistent rock for the roster and incredible failsafe.

The biggest concern for this roster is, aside from “Life”, this roster has not been tested outside of domestic tournaments. With the isolated and relatively new Valorant scene in China, it could very well be a shock for the ASE’ lads. However, they will have undoubtedly done their homework and their high placement even against some of China’s best, placing just behind Bilibili and EDG in the FGC Invitational Act 2 promises a decent showing at the very worst.

In our next instalment of China introductions, we’ll be introducing players to watch out for from China ahead of Masters: Tokyo. Keep an eye out!

Read all the latest Valorant news on Strafe Esports. Click here for the preview of VCT Masters: Tokyo. All stats for this article taken from vlr.gg.

Credit: VCT Masters Tokyo // Valorant Esports