The upper bracket semifinals of the VCT China 2025 Stage 2 playoffs are now over, with the playoff picture and Champions Paris picture both clearing up significantly. Bilibili Gaming Bilibili Gaming China Rank #1 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) won a close series over TYLOO TYLOO China Rank #12 splash Moses Christophe Jonathan 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) to secure the first Champs slot for VCT China, while Dragon Ranger Gaming Dragon Ranger Gaming China Rank #4 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) won the battle of the Ascension teams.

Bilibili Gaming wins three-map series over TYLOO

This matchup between a regional powerhouse and a resurging team making up for a poor first stage had the potential for a big upset, but ultimately showcased the underdog's talent in a loss to the expected victor.

The game started on Bind, with BLG picking it and running a Raze composition with double Initiator. TYLOO opted for double Duelist and double Controller instead, but it showed flaws that BLG took advantage of. BLG won the pistol, converted the bonus, and ran away to a 7-1 lead thanks to whzy and rushia . Reaching the half up 9-3, TYLOO needed to win the second pistol to keep the map in reach. While slowly did try to make the comeback a reality, BLG won soon after losing the second pistol, ending the map 13-7 to take the series lead.

Map two was Icebox, with the teams running relatively similar compositions. The only change between the two teams was BLG running Harbor, as TYLOO opted for a more common composition with Omen. Starting on the defense side, TYLOO started hot with a pistol win and some momentum even after a lost bonus round. The confidence from map one only skyrocketed in map two, as slowly quickly rose to the top on Jett. He ended the defense side with 17 kills, as TYLOO entered the half up 7-5. BLG was able to tie the game quickly with a pistol win, but slowly was not slowing down. He led TYLOO on a run on attack to end the map 13-9, and his 31/13 statline was a full description of his performance to take the series to map three.

Lotus would see who would be the first team making it to the upper bracket finals. The start was hopeful for TYLOO with their double Controller composition, winning pistol and going up 4-1. Yet, when the tides turned back to BLG, it was very one-sided.

After entering the half up 7-5, BLG was perfect on the attack side to end the map 13-5 and win the series 2-1.

The series MVP was Knight , who led on Icebox and Lotus to help secure the series win. He led the lobby with 63 kills, 291 ACS, +21, and a strong five first kills to only one first death.

With this win, Bilibili will face the victor of the second game in the upper bracket finals. However, TYLOO is still alive in the lower bracket, facing EDward Gaming.

Dragon Ranger Gaming defeats Xi Lai Gaming, eliminates Wolves

In this matchup of Chinese Ascension teams, both could nearly secure their place at Champions as well as VCT 2026 with a win here, but there was a third fanbase heavily invested in this series. Due to the Champions points system, Wolves Esports Wolves Esports China Rank #5 SiuFatBB Pong Gaa Hei (庞加曦) Spring Liu Jiunting (刘俊霆) Lysoar Liang Youhao (梁优好) fans were rooting for Xi Lai Gaming Xi Lai Gaming China Rank #2 Viva Lifan Ran (冉立凡) NoMan James Man Rarga Arthur Churyumov happywei Deng Minwei (邓闵维) coconut Colin Patrick Chung (钟弘祖) to keep their hopes at Champs alive.

The series began on Lotus, with DRG running their standard double Duelist with Yoru and Neon. To try and counter their opponent's map pick, XLG decided to run the rare triple Sentinel composition, starting on the defense side. DRG won the pistol, and despite not converting the bonus round, looked confident playing around the three Sentinel composition. It also helped that both Flex1n and SpiritZ1 were hitting their shots, reaching the half tied 6-6.

The second half was more of a struggle in theory for XLG, but in reality, the game remained close thanks to Rarga fragging on Sage. Even after losing the second pistol and the bonus, XLG took the map to OT, but Flex1n stepped up to close it out and help DRG win map one 14-12.

Map two was Bind, a map that DRG had not played all of Stage 2 so far. Their composition featured both Gekko and double Duelist, while XLG ran Gekko and Waylay. When the map began, it was clear that XLG had more comfort on the map, as NoMan and happywei dominated DRG. The first half ended 9-3, with XLG dominating the retakes. Even after XLG won the pistol but lost the antieco, they still confidently closed out Bind 13-5 to tie the series and take it to Sunset.

Sunset was the decider, with both teams running different Neon compositions. DRG won pistol with their double Duelist, keeping SpiritZ1 on Yoru, while XLG ran the Deadlock composition with two Controllers in Viper and Omen. DRG was unable to convert the bonus round, but kept up the attack side. XLG needed to fashion momentum out of nothing, as DRG was dominating with the double Duelist attack. Even with the two Duelists, Flex1n was a star on Omen, getting plenty of important kills to make post-plants easy.

Rarga was the only performer on XLG, as both Akeman and Nicc were on fire to end the first half up 10-2. XLG needed to win the pistol and convert the bonus, but they only managed the first as they lost 13-5, as DRG won the series 2-1 and secured top three in the playoffs. Also, this loss officially eliminates Wolves Esports from Champions contention.

The series MVP was Flex1n, who was a star on smokes and consistently outplayed the XLG players en route to their victory. He ended the series with a 1.24 match rating, 36 assists, and 77% KAST.

With this result, DRG will face BLG in the upper bracket final, while XLG falls to the lower bracket to face All Gamers All Gamers China Rank #17 Shr1mp Yang Yong (杨勇) Spitfires Xin Mingyan (辛明阳) HanChe Huang Jingxuan (黄敬轩) K1ra Huang Zhihao (黄志豪) . As long as AG or TYLOO do not make top two in the Stage 2 playoffs, DRG are guaranteed to qualify for Champs.