The VCT China 2024 regular season is over. The end of Stage 2 marks which teams can compete in the regional playoffs and fight for the three remaining China slots at Champions 2024. Six teams will start their playoff journey on July 16, including regional favorites EDward Gaming EDward Gaming China Rank #1 ZmjjKK Zheng Yongkang (郑永康) zjc Zhang Juncheng (张峻程) nobody Wang Senxu (王森旭) CHICHOO Wan Shunzhi (万顺治) Smoggy Zhang Zhao (张钊) and FunPlus Phoenix FunPlus Phoenix China Rank #6 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) alongside Bilibili Gaming Bilibili Gaming China Rank #4 whzy Wang Haozhe (王昊哲) Levius Lu Yinzhong (卢胤中) rushia Wang Xiaojie (王晓杰) nephh Marcus Tan Knight Liu Yuxiang (刘宇翔) , JDG Esports JDG Esports China Rank #19 kklin Zhang Ziling (张梓凌) stew Park Young-chan (박영찬) jkuro Yong Haochong (杨浩聪) Babyblue Geng Haoran (耿浩然) Z1yan Liu Zihan (刘紫涵) , 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) , and All Gamers All Gamers China Rank #26 Shr1mp Yang Yong (杨勇) XiYiJi Luo Sen (罗森) deLb Delbert Tanoto Spitfires Xin Mingyan (辛明阳) K1ra Huang Zhihao (黄志豪) . Though they aren't in the playoffs, Dragon Ranger Gaming Dragon Ranger Gaming China Rank #7 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) still have a chance to qualify via points if specific outcomes are met, mainly if Trace beats AG and if JDG ends in fourth place.

In Stage 2, EDG and FPX underperformed while Bilibili Gaming and JDG Esports rose to the top. Both EDG and FPX still qualified for playoffs due to their regular season, but none of the Chinese teams that returned from Masters Shanghai did well in Stage 2. Bilibili Gaming finished at the top of Group Alpha over EDG, while JDG Esports and Trace Esports finished ahead of FPX in Group Omega.

A Bilibili Gaming win over Nova Esports highlighted Stage 2

Across the games in Stage 2, the series between Nova Esports and Bilibili Gaming stood out as a close battle for two potential playoff teams.

Nova made it to the knockouts of the Stage 1 playoffs but lost in the knockout round to Dragon Ranger Gaming, who eventually placed third and qualified for Masters Shanghai. Bilibili Gaming, despite their upset wins over NRG at Champions in 2023, started slowly in 2024 and missed out on both Masters Madrid and Shanghai. Bilibili came out the gates hot in Stage 2 by sweeping Wolves Esports but then had to face a tougher opponent in Nova to solidify their playoff chances.

Bilibili were gaining new form thanks to some additions to the roster. Picking up both former BLEED player Marcus "nephh" Tan and former TYLOO player Lo "Flex1n" Rui (罗瑞) made Bilibili a more well-rounded squad. Nova were continuing to improve from Stage 1, with their players all stepping up statistically heading into this series.

Map one was a wildly entertaining nailbiter that went in favor of Nova, while maps two and three showed great resilience from a Bilibili team looking to redeem their season. This win was crucial for Bilibili to qualify for the Stage 2 playoffs, while Nova lost and missed out.

Outstanding players from VCT China 2024 Stage 2

Three players across Stage 2 had a significant impact on their team performance in the final stretch of the season. The first is one everyone is familiar with: Zheng "ZmjjKK" Yongkang (郑永康).

ZmjjKK in VCT China Stage 2 ZmjjKK posing after a victory in VCT China 2024 Stage 2. (Image via Riot Games)

After returning from Masters Shanghai, EDG stumbled with a 2-2 record but ZmjjKK retained his status as the most talented player in China. He led the league in ACS with 275.1, kills per round with 0.96, and average damage per round with 171.6. ZmjjKK started to play Neon due to the meta shift, and his stats showed no drop-off.

Another player who stood out was Park "stew" Young-chan (박영찬) from JDG Esports. Not only did his team go 4-1, but he ended Stage 2 with the highest K:D ratio at 1.48. He improved in every stat from Stage 1 to Stage 2 and proved himself as a duelist who could help his team beat many other squads eyeing their final chance at Champions.

Wang "whzy" Haozhe (王昊哲) has always been, statistically, the star player from the Bilibili Gaming core. He ended Stage 2 tied second at first kills per round with 0.22 while sticking around the top seven across other key stats without playing Neon like the other two standout players above. His stats remained consistently high from Stage 1 to Stage 2 as he helped lead Bilibili to their first playoff game in 2024.

VCT China 2024 Stage 2 and Regular Season results

Due to the circuit point system for Champions qualification, the cutoff for which teams made it to the Stage 2 playoffs was determined by their overall regular season results and international tournament wins, not just their Stage 2 results. The top-six teams from the regular season have one more chance to earn points and qualify for Champions 2024 by performing well in the Stage 2 playoffs.

Here is how each Chinese team performed in Stage 2:

Group Alpha:

  1. Bilibili Gaming Bilibili Gaming China Rank #4 whzy Wang Haozhe (王昊哲) Levius Lu Yinzhong (卢胤中) rushia Wang Xiaojie (王晓杰) nephh Marcus Tan Knight Liu Yuxiang (刘宇翔) (3-1, +20)
  2. EDward Gaming EDward Gaming China Rank #1 ZmjjKK Zheng Yongkang (郑永康) zjc Zhang Juncheng (张峻程) nobody Wang Senxu (王森旭) CHICHOO Wan Shunzhi (万顺治) Smoggy Zhang Zhao (张钊) (2-2, +6)
  3. Nova Esports Nova Esports China Rank #11 monk Wang Haoyu (王浩宇) SWERL Ali Kobraee CB Wang Qingchuan (王庆川) Ezeir Zhao Zejun (赵泽骏) GuanG Guang Honglin (光洪霖) (2-2, -12)
  4. Wolves Esports Wolves Esports China Rank #3 SiuFatBB Pong Gaa Hei (庞加曦) Yuicaw Huang Yung-chieh (黃湧傑) Spring Liu Jiunting (刘俊霆) Lysoar Liang Youhao (梁优好) Juicy Tyler James Aeria (2-2, -3)
  5. Dragon Ranger Gaming Dragon Ranger Gaming China Rank #7 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) (1-3, -11)

Group Omega:

  1. JDG Esports JDG Esports China Rank #19 kklin Zhang Ziling (张梓凌) stew Park Young-chan (박영찬) jkuro Yong Haochong (杨浩聪) Babyblue Geng Haoran (耿浩然) Z1yan Liu Zihan (刘紫涵) (4-1, +41)
  2. 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) (4-1, +9)
  3. FunPlus Phoenix FunPlus Phoenix China Rank #6 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) (2-3, -5)
  4. All Gamers All Gamers China Rank #26 Shr1mp Yang Yong (杨勇) XiYiJi Luo Sen (罗森) deLb Delbert Tanoto Spitfires Xin Mingyan (辛明阳) K1ra Huang Zhihao (黄志豪) (2-3, -12)
  5. TYLOO TYLOO China Rank #15 Scales Zhang Zhen (张震) Ninebody Ding Yi (丁毅) sword9 Li Wei (李卫) slowly Kelun Sun (孙科伦) Yoyo Xu Youxiang (徐佑翔) (2-3, -28)
  6. Titan Esports Club Titan Esports Club China Rank #12 Haodong Guo Haodong (郭浩东) lucas Yunkun Lu (路昀昆) Abo Han Bohao (韩博皓) TvirusLuke Chen Cheng-ching (陈振庆) Coco Ding Dajian (丁达建) (1-4, -5)

Here are the overall regular season results for VCT China 2024:

  1. EDward Gaming (7-3, +56)
  2. FunPlus Phoenix (7-3, +50)
  3. Trace Esports (7-3, +26)
  4. JDG Esports (5-5, +36)
  5. Bilibili Gaming (5-5, -8)
  6. All Gamers (5-5, -15)
  7. Nova Esports (4-6, -26)
  8. Dragon Ranger Gaming (4-6, -18)
  9. TYLOO (4-6, -31)
  10. Wolves Esports (4-6, -31)
  11. Titan Esports Club (3-7, -39)

Due to the circuit point system, both how FunPlus Phoenix and how EDward Gaming perform in the Stage 2 playoffs will not matter for Champions qualification, but only for regional seeding.

Teams across all regions will send the top three teams from the Stage 2 playoffs as well as the best remaining regional team via regional points.

Playoff preview

The VCT China 2024 Stage 2 playoffs begin on July 16, with the only single elimination games in the knockout round. Those two matches are between the third to sixth seeds from the regular season, starting with:

The two winners in the knockout round will then face off against EDG and FPX in a four-team double-elimination format.

When the Stage 2 playoffs end, the top three teams will book their tickets to Champions 2024 alongside EDG. If EDG do well in the tournament and take one of those top three slots, the next-best regional team via circuit points will make it to Seoul.