XLG, DRG secure final 2 spots for VALORANT Champions 2025 from China

It’s official now, XLG Esports and Dragon Ranger Gaming (DRG) have locked in the final two spots from the VCT China region for VALORANT Champions 2025 in Paris, taking their place alongside EDward Gaming and Bilibili Gaming. That means four Chinese teams will be heading to the grand stage this September.

How XLG Sealed the Deal

XLG’s path to qualification had quite a few twists. They entered the scene as last year’s Ascension winners, earned a Stage 1 victory, and even qualified for Masters Toronto. However, they faced a roster shake-up before the event, swapping out their initiator Yip “YoU” Man-ho in favor of substitute Zhang “Midi” Jiajun, eventually resulting in an early exit.

Fast forwarding to Stage 2, after getting sent to the lower bracket by DRG, XLG battled back with a 2-0 sweep over All Gamers. The maps went Ascent (13-8 XLG), Icebox (13-9 All Gamers), and a clean finish on Lotus (13-1 XLG). That particular win knocked AG out of the running and confirmed XLG’s qualification.

Through the Brackets

DRG had a rocky start earlier in the season but finally found their groove in Stage 2. In the playoffs, they toppled defending champions EDward Gaming (champions of VCT 2024) and edged past XLG to punch their ticket to the upper bracket final. All thanks to XLG’s win over All Gamers, DRG also locked in their spot for Champions, based purely on points.

With XLG and DRG locked in, VCT China will now send four representatives to Champions 2025: EDward Gaming, Bilibili Gaming, XLG Esports, and Dragon Ranger Gaming. That’s a record haul for the region, keeping it competitive and high-profile on the world stage.

There is another twist though, which is that as both XLG and DRG came up from Ascension, only one can automatically keep their VCT China spot for 2026. The other will have to battle back through Ascension again unless their performance at Champions lands them higher.

Champions 2025 Timeline & Format

Event Dates: Champions is scheduled to run from September 12 to October 10, 2025, in Paris.

Stage 2 Details: The China Stage 2 took place from July 3 to August 24, which featured round-robin group stages (Bo3) and double-elimination playoffs (Bo3 & Bo5).