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) defeated 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) 3-1 in the VCT 2025 China Kickoff grand final, as EDG continued their regional dominance.

Trace had already defeated EDG in their run to the finals, sending the champs down to the lower bracket in a one-sided 2-0 sweep. Since then, EDG rebounded in form, with the most notable accomplishment being the team's 32-round win streak including two 13-0 map victories over different teams.

The finals began with Lotus, which Trace got to pick after banning two maps due to the team's upper-bracket run. Kai moved back to Vyse, which he played throughout the team's tournament run, while EDG stuck to their Clove composition with ZmjjKK on Neon. EDG won the first pistol round, and it took a close round for Trace to prevent a bonus round conversion. Where EDG struggled on both sides of Lotus in their last matchup, the changes to the overall strategy worked wonders for the former world champions. Their postplants were much more coordinated, and it helped that ZmjjKK showed up early.

ZmjjKK gets an aggressive 3k with the Outlaw to close out a round against Trace.

Trace still showed off their set plays on the defense side, notably their Viper's Pit combined with the Vyse Razorvine to kill anyone who tries to run through. EDG ended the half barely up 7-5 but were only one round win away from matching the total round wins they had in their previous matchup against Trace. Trace took the second pistol by reading the EDG aggressive push out C long and picking off all who peeked. Kai was crucial in Trace converting the bonus round, taking their first lead of the series.

As soon as EDG moved onto the defense side, Trace was reminding all watching why they swept EDG earlier in the week. Off some great rounds from Biank and FengF , Trace quickly reached their 11th round win, until a flawless C hold got EDG their first defensive-round win on Lotus. Just like Trace did on their defense, the rounds got more intense as the half went on, finally culminating in EDG scraping their way into overtime. Trace won a retake on the first round in OT, and an early CHICHOO death proved costly as Trace won Lotus 14-12.

Bind began with Trace returning to their signature Vyse/Deadlock composition, starting hot with a flawless pistol on their defense side. A bonus round conversion put Trace in a comfortable position to start the second map, with Biank remaining as the star player across both teams on Fade. The lead only grew as heybay started to get in the mix with outstanding Deadlock utility to stop EDG from planting the spike. EDG did manage to win rounds off of multiple tense 1v1 moments, with S1Mon shining in those clutch moments, and that helped a recovery where Trace fell from a 6-0 lead to a 7-5 half.

EDG won their defense side pistol to even up the game at 7-7, showing off its updated Bind composition with CHICHOO on the Vyse. An aggressive push down B long ended up with EDG converting their bonus round and taking an 8-7 lead. Then, some great Tejo utility from nobody helped EDG extend that lead.

nobody clears out the post-plant with Tejo.

Soon after, ZmjjKK got a 4k to end the chances of a Trace win and EDG ended the map 13-11 to tie the series at 1-1. ZmjjKK was the star in the second map, ending with 23 kills and 274 ACS.

Next up was Abyss, and Trace won the pistol but quickly lost the antieco to EDG. Both teams ran the same composition, but EDG's familiarity with the map from their Champions win in 2024 showed. Out of all the EDG players helping keep an 8-4 lead heading into the half, it was the shot-caller nobody who had 17 kills heading into halftime.

The second half began with Trace winning the pistol round, but the team wasn't able to convert the bonus round. It seemed in the bag for EDG, but Trace fought to reach overtime for the second time in the series, with LuoK1ng rising to the challenge on Astra. In the third overtime, CHICHOO and nobody converted a 2v4 scenario, followed up by nobody doing a replay of his highlight Champions play on Abyss. Once again, the IGL won a dangerous scenario holding A main where he was tagged by an opposing Sova dart. EDG won Abyss 16-14 and was on series point.

nobody holds an A main exec all by himself.

For Abyss, nobody finished with a standout 37 kills and 345 ACS, carrying his team to Fracture with a 2-1 series lead.

Fracture marked the return of Kai on Vyse, while EDG ran Fade and Killjoy. The first pistol was a little chaotic on B site, but Smoggy won the 1v1 to give EDG a strong start. ZmjjKK was on fire with Neon, getting 11 kills in the first seven rounds. The site reclears both pre-plant and post-plant were too clean for EDG, as everyone started to get in the action on the scoreboard. EDG reached the half up 10-2, and Trace needed a stalwart defense to start a needed comeback. Yet, a lost pistol forced Trace to buy on their eco round, and losing that round was it for the China Kickoff finals.

EDG dominantly won Fracture, 13-2, and won their seventh straight regional title to earn the top seed for China heading into Masters Bangkok. Despite keeping the first three maps close, Trace lost the finals and will be the second seed for the region.

As for a series MVP, it's hard not to choose ZmjjKK, who had the highest ACS at 235. Arguably, nobody was another strong candidate for his performance on Abyss alone, along with leading all players in the series with 72 kills and a +22 plus/minus. However, he finished with an ACS of 234, which was a hair behind the focal point of the team and Champions MVP.