FunPlus Phoenix FunPlus Phoenix China Rank #5 Autumn Kale Dunne Life Qu Donghao (瞿东豪) AAAAY Zhang Yang (张杨) BerLIN Zhang Bolin (張柏霖) yosemite Wang Lei (王磊) have transferred over Tang "nizhaoTZH" Zehao (唐哲昊) to Dragon Ranger Gaming Dragon Ranger Gaming China Rank #13 nizhaoTZH Tang Zehao (唐哲昊) vo0kashu Ilya Ushakov Shion7 Zhang Haozhe (张昊泽) Cangshu Zheng Yujun (手郑宇峻) Nicc Shao Yi-qun (邵逸群) TvirusLuke Chen Cheng-ching SpiritZ1 Lin Dingyu (林定宇) ahead of the VCT 2024 China Kickoff, marking the end of his one year tenure with the Chinese organization.
Onboarded just over a year ago, nizhaoTZH made his international debut on São Paolo's stage at 2023's LOCK//IN alongside one of the two Chinese squads invited to Brazil. Although his team managed to raise eyebrows by taking a map off Karmine Corp Karmine Corp Europe Rank #31 saadhak Matias Delipetro Avez Hazem Khaled Elite Efe Teber SUYGETSU Dmitry Ilyushin marteen Martin Pátek in their opening series, they were quickly sent home by the French representatives without a win.
After missing out on Masters Tokyo following a fourth-place finish in the FGC Valorant Invitational 2023: Act 1, FPX secured a reappearance on the world stage by placing third at the Champions China Qualifier.
Thrown into the villains' lair straight off the bat, FPX were eliminated by T1 T1 Korea Rank #3 stax Kim Gu-taek (김구택) Meteor Kim Tae-O (김태오) Sylvan Ko Young-sub (고영섭) BuZz Yu Byung-chul (유병철) iZu Ham Woo-ju (함우주) and Evil Geniuses Evil Geniuses North America Rank #20 Derrek Derrek Ha NaturE Nicholas Garrison supamen Phat Le , who would later go on to take the trophy on home ground. With the important portion of their 2023 season behind them, FPX made one roster change before being revealed as one of the 10 partnered teams within the Chinese League and transferring nizhaoTZH.
DRG were not favored to win China's Ascension. Entering the tournament behind Rare Atom Rare Atom China Rank #7 Yueluo Yi Zhiwei (尹志炜) zhe Niu Zhe (牛哲) Satoshi Fei Zhixian (费郅贤) Midnight Wang Yingjie (王英杰) and Attacking Soul Esports Attacking Soul Esports Inactive monk Wang Haoyu (王浩宇) Yuicaw Huang Yung-chieh (黃湧傑) YHchen Chen Yuhan (陳昱瀚) Zero1 Meng Zhen Ren (任梦真) , the roster narrowly avoided elimination in the group stage and qualified to playoffs with a win over Four Angry Men Four Angry Men Inactive suyjing Wang Sicheng (王斯澄) XuAN Zhang Luxuan (张陆轩) WsLeo Huang Pinwei (黄品维) .
Despite losing their opening match to fan-favorites Rare Atom, the team recovered quickly and eliminated Ninjas In Pyjamas Ninjas In Pyjamas Inactive Uta Eren Yang Zhengwei (杨曾威) JayH Wong Jia Heng SiuFatBB Pong Gaa Hei (庞加曦) before enacting their revenge on ASE in a five-map series. Against all odds, DRG upset Rare Atom in the grand final 3-1 and claimed their rightful spot in the Chinese League.
The transfer of nizhaoTZH is one of the many roster changes expected to shake up the Chinese scene ahead of Kickoff as organizations look to finalize their squads.
Dragon Ranger Gaming Dragon Ranger Gaming China Rank #13 nizhaoTZH Tang Zehao (唐哲昊) vo0kashu Ilya Ushakov Shion7 Zhang Haozhe (张昊泽) Cangshu Zheng Yujun (手郑宇峻) Nicc Shao Yi-qun (邵逸群) TvirusLuke Chen Cheng-ching SpiritZ1 Lin Dingyu (林定宇) 's seven-man roster is now: