EDward Gaming and All Gamers win after falling to lowers

The first spherical of the VCT China 2025 Stage 2 playoff decrease bracket video games has concluded, with two groups formally eradicated from the event. Both groups that began within the decrease bracket fought arduous, however misplaced shut sequence to the groups that arrived from the higher bracket.

Earlier in Stage 2,

All Gamers

All Gamers

China
Rank #14

Shr1mp
Yang Yong (杨勇)








deLb
Delbert Tanoto








Spitfires
Xin Mingyan (辛明阳)








HanChe
Huang Jingxuan (黄敬轩)








K1ra
Huang Zhihao (黄志豪)

swept

FunPlus Phoenix

FunPlus Phoenix

China
Rank #10

BerLIN
Zhang Bolin (張柏霖)








Autumn
Kale Dunne








Life
Qu Donghao (瞿东豪)








AAAAY
Zhang Yang (张杨)








yosemite
Wang Lei (王磊)

2-0 to assist get them into the Stage 2 playoffs and maintain their Champions hopes alive after failing to get a VCT win in over a yr. Now, 9 days later, AG needed to defeat FPX as soon as once more to maintain their Champs run alive.

This sequence began on Sunset, with AG utilizing a double Controller composition to pair with Neon and Deadlock, whereas FPX opted for a double Duelist alongside Cypher. It was an ideal begin for AG on their map decide, as they received pistol and transformed the bonus to go up 4-0, highlighted by a clear ace from

Spitfires
.

Spitfires aces FPX on an eco spherical to take an early lead on Sunset. (Clip through Project Horizon)

Spitfires was the spearhead on Neon, however

Life
from FPX fought arduous to assist convey the half again by serving to win the subsequent 5 rounds in a row. Even with that sizzling begin from AG, FPX confirmed resilience to enter the half tied 6-6.

FPX received the second pistol on Sunset to retake the lead, however after failing to transform the bonus spherical, AG constructed momentum and began to win the gun rounds.

Shr1mp
was main the cost on the protection aspect, as AG received 5 rounds in a row to take a commanding lead that they’d convert, ending the map 13-10 and a 1-0 sequence lead.

While map one was perfect for AG, map two was a reminder of who they had been going through. Haven was the map decide from FPX, and each groups ran a mirror composition with Neon, double Controller, and Killjoy. FPX received the pistol spherical, received the bonus, and constructed a ton of momentum from medical post-plants. It took seven makes an attempt for AG to get their first spike defuse win, and even then, FPX simply began one other spherical profitable streak to finish the half up 11-1. It was a playground for Life and

Autumn
as they each took area and held it close to completely towards AG.

The second half was solely a formality, whilst AG received the second pistol. FPX helped stop that bonus spherical conversion, then received the subsequent to win the map 13-3 and take the sequence to map three.

After such a one-sided loss, AG wanted to maintain Icebox inside attain on the half, and it was one more solo Duelist double Controller composition mirror match to resolve all of it. FPX received the primary pistol, however AG had been fast to bounce again and get forward of the post-plant methods that tangled them up on Haven. The protection from AG regarded extra sound, as

K1ra
stepped up on Viper to offer AG a pleasant 8-4 lead on the half.

When AG received the second pistol, it was a dire state of affairs for FPX. The staff tried to construct momentum after stopping a bonus spherical win, nevertheless it was for naught as AG received two rounds quickly after and received the ultimate map 13-6, securing the 2-1 sequence win and remaining within the competitors.

Even with that powerful map two, AG pulled by means of due to Shr1mp, who led his staff to get one other large win over FPX. In this sequence, he ended it with a 1.24 match score, 49 kills, +14, and solely died 35 instances in three grueling maps.

With this win, AG will face the dropping staff from the Bilibili Gaming versus TYLOO recreation within the decrease bracket. As for FPX, this ends their VCT 2025 yr, as this confirms that they can not qualify for Champions through factors or Stage 2.

This sequence was the primary of many remaining adjustments for

EDward Gaming

EDward Gaming

China
Rank #3

ZmjjKK
Zheng Yongkang (郑永康)








no one
Wang Senxu (王森旭)








CHICHOO
Wan Shunzhi (万顺治)








Smoggy
Zhang Zhao (张钊)








Jieni7
Zhang Juntai (张君泰)

, now with their backs up towards the wall to try to at the least make it again to Champions after profitable all of it in 2024. As for

Trace Esports

Trace Esports

China
Rank #5

LuoK1ng
Zhang Zhanpeng (张展鹏)








Kai
Lu Zhinan (卢智楠)








MarT1n
Zhuo Zhengjie (卓政杰)








FengF
Song Xuefeng (宋学锋)








Biank
Zhong Jianfei (钟剑飞)

, after displaying promise internationally, their solely positives to this point in 2025 had been their group levels in each Stage 1 and Stage 2, however playoffs are a complete completely different beast now in VCT China.

Starting on Lotus, EDG caught to their weapons and ran the double Duelist with

no one
on Yoru, whereas Trace ran double Controller. EDG received the primary pistol, needing to begin sturdy on the assault aspect with their composition. They hit a roadblock after failing to transform the bonus, as Trace constructed a 5-3 lead after some convincing spherical wins. However, EDG had been capable of regain some type as they received the ultimate 4 rounds of the primary half and ended up 7-5. Not the most effective half for his or her composition, however a lead nonetheless.

Trace began the second half by profitable the pistol, changing the bonus, and staying excellent to win each spherical on their assault half to finish the map 13-7. Both

MarT1n
and

Biank
stepped up on the assault aspect, whereas EDG struggled the identical means they did towards

Dragon Ranger Gaming

Dragon Ranger Gaming

China
Rank #4

Flex1n
Lo Rui (罗瑞)








vo0kashu
Ilya Ushakov








Akeman
Zhang Haoran (张浩然)








Nicc
Shao Yi-qun (邵逸群)








SpiritZ1
Lin Dingyu (林定宇)

.

Sunset needed to be the beginning of the comeback for EDG, they usually began sturdy with their solo Neon double Initiator composition, profitable pistol and changing the bonus spherical. Once once more, the dedication from Trace confirmed by erasing an early deficit and taking a lead of their very own, however they had been capable of maintain that result in 7-5 on the half. However, Trace was working a double Sentinel composition with Deadlock and Cypher, which means their assault half would doubtless be extra of a problem.

That got here to fruition, as EDG received a pistol, misplaced their antieco, and nonetheless managed to rapidly tie the sport at 8-8. Even with just one Sentinel of their composition,

CHICHOO
was having a good time for EDG, stopping the pushes from Trace. Even as EDG went down 10-8, they received each spherical afterward to win Sunset 13-10 and produce the sequence to map three.

Ascent was the ultimate map for one in every of these two groups, and the groups determined to run considerably completely different compositions. Trace caught to double Sentinel with Yoru as their catalyst, whereas EDG ran double Initiator with

Jieni7
on KAY/O. After profitable the pistol, Trace held stout on their protection even after one other small run from EDG.

Kai
was dominant on Yoru, with 18 kills on the protection aspect alone, placing EDG down 8-4 on the half.

EDG wanted a robust second half, and that began with a pistol win to swing momentum of their favor. Even after failing to transform the bonus, it was nonetheless clear that EDG had been within the zone, with one participant specifically saving a number of rounds for them. That was no one, who went from an underwhelming Yoru towards DRG and on map one to his consolation decide on Sova, which paid dividends on this Ascent protection.

no one and Smoggy staff as much as kill all 5 Trace gamers on protection. (Clip through Project Horizon)

Even as the sport was tied at 11-11,

Smoggy
stepped as much as almost ace the ultimate spherical as EDward Gaming received the map 13-11 and the sequence 2-1.

The sequence MVP was CHICHOO, who was constant throughout the maps and notably excellent on Sunset. He ended the sequence with a 1.19 match score, 222 ACS, 53 kills, +13, and 135 ADR.

With this win, EDG stays alive and can face the loser of the Xi Lai Gaming versus Dragon Ranger Gaming matchup. As for Trace, their Stage 2 and Champions hopes finish right here.