EDG wins China Stage 1 with 3-2 victory over XLG

EDward Gaming EDward Gaming China Rank #1 ZmjjKK Zheng Yongkang (郑永康) nobody Wang Senxu (王森旭) CHICHOO Wan Shunzhi (万顺治) Smoggy Zhang Zhao (张钊) Jieni7 Zhang Juntai (张君泰) defeated Xi Lai Gaming Xi Lai Gaming China Rank #2 WsLeo Huang Pinwei (黄品维) Lysoar Liang Youhao (梁优好) NoMan James Man Rarga Arthur Churyumov happywei Deng Minwei (邓闵维) 3-2 in the grand final of the China Stage 1 playoffs to claim the regional trophy for the first time since Kickoff 2025.

With this win, EDG returns to the top of the China region after 470 days and earns the first seed at Masters London, guaranteeing themselves a playoff spot and leaving XLG in second place.

The five-map series played out on Fracture, Split, Breeze, Haven, and Pearl. XLG won Fracture 13-6, EDG took Split 15-13 and Breeze 13-5, XLG won Haven 13-9, and EDG closed out Pearl 13-4.

XLG's first map pick was Fracture. XLG opted for a Skye-Tejo composition, while EDG continued to lean into putting ZmjjKK on Jett on almost every map with a Neon-Jett lineup. XLG's attack overwhelmed EDG, with Rarga on Neon breaking through the enemy setups and racking up six first bloods in a 9-3 attacking half. A second pistol round win and a shutdown of EDG's Stinger force sealed the deal as XLG got up to 12-3 to win the map 13-6. Rarga ended the map with a 22/10/4 KDA and an outsized 223 ADR.

Split was the closest map by a wide margin. The Jett-Raze duo of ZmjjKK and Smoggy led the charge into the bombsites on EDG's attack side for an 8-4 lead. A double pistol win extended the lead to 10-4, as ZmjjKK became the first player in China to achieve 3,000 lifetime kills in the region in round 14.

XLG began to close the gap, starting with a 2v4 from happywei and Rarga in round 16 and following up with several successful site hits. As the score approached the limit of regulation, the rounds came down to the wire, with nobody , WsLeo , and CHICHOO all winning 1v2s to bring it to overtime. Successful site hits continued to be a theme in overtime, but EDG finally managed to shut down B to win 15-13. ZmjjKK topped the scoreboard with 28 kills and eight first bloods.

EDG kept the ball rolling on the third map of Breeze with a dominant 13-5 result. XLG could not find a way to break through EDG's defensive setups as the individuals shut down the chokepoints each time for a 9-3 half. A double pistol win spurred things along for the 13-5 win. The Harbor-Viper duo of Smoggy and CHICHOO dominated with a combined 32 kills in 18 rounds.

Haven started close with a 6-6 half. EDG initially had a 4-2 lead after a pistol win and a 1v2 from nobody in round six, but XLG found a way back in after a hero rifle 3K from Lysoar won them a thrifty round. XLG fully seized the reins in the second half with a pistol and a bonus; EDG took too long to find a response to the opponent's hits on the A and C sites as XLG climbed up to 13-9.

The final map, Pearl, saw two very different compositions, pitting EDG's Jett, Phoenix and Vyse against XLG's Tejo, KAY/O, and Chamber. Both teams exchanged thrifty rounds early on for a 3-3 start. In the end, victory favored EDG as they overwhelmed the sites in what spiraled into an 8-4 half; a Smoggy 1v2 bonus round in the second half was the final nail in the coffin for XLG as EDG ran away to a 13-4 win.

Smoggy was awarded the title of Finals MVP and a commemorative necklace to go along with it. The Flex player, mostly playing the Controller and secondary Duelist roles, dropped an outstanding 90/61/46 KDA and 1.41 rating over the course of the series.

EDG earns themselves a long break, with the playoffs of Masters London starting over a month from now on June 12. XLG will join Dragon Ranger Gaming Dragon Ranger Gaming China Rank #3 Flex1n Lo Rui (罗瑞) Life Qu Donghao (瞿东豪) vo0kashu Ilya Ushakov Akeman Zhang Haoran (张浩然) Nicc Shao Yi-qun (邵逸群) SpiritZ1 Lin Dingyu (林定宇) in the group stage starting June 6.