China's Valorant Teams Stumble Again on Home Soil in Shanghai
China’s top Valorant squads are off to a painful start at the 2026 Valorant Champions Shanghai, the sport’s biggest annual international tournament, and the numbers are stark: after three match days, the VCT CN region has lost all three of its series and every single map it has played.
On September 26, EDward Gaming — one of China’s most decorated esports organizations, known simply as EDG — fell 0-2 to Brazil’s LOUD in group play. The result extended an uncomfortable pattern. According to Chinese esports outlet Zhibo, this is the third consecutive international event in which VCT CN teams have opened with at least six straight lost rounds. At the 2025 Champions, Chinese squads dropped their first eight rounds before EDG finally broke the streak against Team Liquid. At the 2026 Santiago Masters, the region again stumbled out of the gate.
The frustration spilled onto social media in unusually candid fashion. The global Valorant Champions Tour account posted that CN was “the only region so far at the Shanghai Champions that has not won a single map.” The official VCT CN account fired back with a meme-ready reply: “Who asked you?” — a moment of self-aware humor that quickly circulated among Chinese fans.
EDG’s players were equally blunt after the loss. In a post-match press conference, player ZmjjKK said the team simply “couldn’t handle what they threw at us today — they came out and made us dizzy.” He also offered encouragement to a teammate making his international debut, telling him that everyone has a first time.
The criticism was not only internal. Former GE coach Elevated wrote on social media that EDG may be the highest-salaried team in the world and had more preparation time than anyone else at the event, yet still looked disorganized. “The composition isn’t the problem,” he wrote, arguing the team’s underlying theory of the game was flawed. He even posted suggested tactics, sarcastically offering them to EDG for free.
Meanwhile, the tournament’s official channels turned their attention to G2, the European powerhouse enjoying a scorching 2026 season, asking whether the team can finally go further at a world championship. For Chinese fans, the more urgent question is whether their own region can simply win a map before the group stage ends.
Valorant, developed by Riot Games, has grown rapidly in China since the region was formally integrated into the global circuit. Chinese teams have invested heavily in coaching staff, analysts and player salaries, and domestic viewership for major events is enormous. That makes the current slump more than a slow start — it raises questions about whether the region’s infrastructure is translating into international results.
The Shanghai Champions continues through the coming weeks, with Chinese squads still alive in the group stage. A single map win would end the drought; a deep run would change the narrative entirely. For now, China’s Valorant scene is left with a familiar, uncomfortable feeling: plenty of resources, plenty of fans, and a scoreboard that refuses to cooperate.