EDward Gaming
EDward Gaming
China
Rank #1
S1Mon
Hsien Meng-Hsun (谢孟勋)
ZmjjKK
Zheng Yongkang (郑永康)
nobody
Wang Senxu (王森旭)
CHICHOO
Wan Shunzhi (万顺治)
Smoggy
Zhang Zhao (张钊)
took down
Trace Esports
Trace Esports
China
Rank #2
LuoK1ng
Zhang Zhanpeng (张展鹏)
Kai
Lu Zhinan (卢智楠)
FengF
Song Xuefeng (宋学锋)
heybay
Ho Shun Hei
Biank
Zhong Jianfei (钟剑飞)
in a 2-0 victory at the Champions quarterfinals, joining
Sentinels
Sentinels
North America
Rank #3
TenZ
Tyson Ngo
Zellsis
Jordan Montemurro
zekken
Zachary Patrone
johnqt
Mohamed Amine Ouarid
Sacy
Gustavo Rossi
in the upper semifinals.
This bout, a rematch of the China Stage 2 upper finals, kicked off a series of three regional encounters in the Champions quarterfinals. It was also where EDG claimed their fifth win in a row over Trace, a streak that has gone uninterrupted since late October, and a match EDG never even wanted.
"The reason is because we came from the same region. This kind of situation happened last year in Champions 2023,” CHICHOO said, mentioning their bout against
Bilibili Gaming
Bilibili Gaming
China
Rank #5
B3ar
Yang Zhanxiong (杨瞻雄)
whzy
Wang Haozhe (王昊哲)
Levius
Lu Yinzhong (卢胤中)
nephh
Marcus Tan
Flex1n
Lo Rui (罗瑞)
Knight
Liu Yuxiang (刘宇翔)
Yosemite
Wang Lei (王磊)
. “I didn't want this to happen again, but it happened. We're just gonna fight it."
nobody was the playmaker on Bind from start to finish. (Photo by Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games)
EDG's fighting kicked off with three consecutive 3Ks from nobody , Smoggy , and ZmjjKK on Bind. They later ended as the team's best players, as the only three of EDG to claim over 30 kills across both maps — with KangKang in particular taking down 47 — while Kai was the only Trace player able to surpass that mark.
That triple-threat start set the tone for the rest for both maps. On both Bind and Sunset, the perennial Chinese champions took a 10-2 halftime lead with strong showings from their own players.
Trace bit back in the second half on both maps, though. With great focus on teamplay, they stole back five rounds on Bind before EDG were able to close it out 13-7.
A similar story developed on Sunset, which KangKang kicked off with an ace. After their 10-2 lead, Trace bundled two streaks of four rounds to recover from an eight-round deficit to a one-round deficit at 11-10. ZmjjKK stepped up in round 22 and 23, saving his team from overtime with two 3Ks and closing out the match with a 13-10 victory.
nobody's opening 3K on Bind was just the start of his stellar performance, in which he claimed a 1.60 rating and 206 ADR across 23 kills and seven multikills. He was second only to ZmjjKK's Sunset performance, where he racked up 28 kills and 214 ADR, despite a slightly lower 1.44 rating.
Life is easier when you have KangKang on your side.Sentinels and EDG will meet at a crossroads in the upper semifinals. EDG look to go beyond the top six for the first time in their history, while Sentinels look to further their streak, solidify their best Champions run ever, and possibly achieve a second title this year.
Sentinels sit on a three-win streak. Two of those wins came against the only two Korean representatives at Champions —
Gen.G
Gen.G
Korea
Rank #1
Munchkin
Byeon Sang-beom (변상범)
t3xture
Kim Na-ra (김나라)
Meteor
Kim Tae-O (김태오)
Lakia
Kim Jong-min (김종민)
Karon
Kim Won-tae (김원태)
and
DRX
DRX
Korea
Rank #2
Flashback
Cho Min-hyuk (조민혁)
BuZz
Yu Byung-chul (유병철)
MaKo
Kim Myeong-gwan (김명관)
Foxy9
Jung Jae-sung (정재성)
BeYN
Kang Ha-bin (강하빈)
, both by way of 2-0 — and the third one over
FunPlus Phoenix
FunPlus Phoenix
China
Rank #3
Autumn
Kale Dunne
Life
Qu Donghao (瞿东豪)
AAAAY
Zhang Yang (张杨)
BerLIN
Zhang Bolin (張柏霖)
Lysoar
Liang Youhao (梁优好)
. Just like they have two wins over Korean teams, Sentinels now hold the chance to tack on a second victory against a Chinese roster.
EDG won't go down without a fight, though. North America is the only region they have not drawn blood from, and the only one to best EDG at this year's world championship. EDG look to change that against Sentinels.
EDward Gaming and Sentinels face off August 17, at 5 p.m. KST.