On the first day of VCT China 2026 Stage 1 playoffs, Xi Lai Gaming Xi Lai Gaming China Rank #2 WsLeo Huang Pinwei (黄品维) Lysoar Liang Youhao (梁优好) NoMan James Man Rarga Arthur Churyumov happywei Deng Minwei (邓闵维) swept Titan Esports Club Titan Esports Club China Rank #18 Haodong Guo Haodong (郭浩东) lucas Yunkun Lu (路昀昆) Spitfires Xin Mingyan (辛明阳) Dynamite Zhao Zihao (赵梓浩) Coco Ding Dajian (丁达建) while JDG Esports JDG Esports China Rank #8 stew Park Young-chan (박영찬) jkuro Yong Haochong (杨浩聪) zhe Niu Zhe (牛哲) Yuicaw Huang Yung-chieh (黃湧傑) coconut Colin Patrick Chung (钟弘祖) handled TYLOO TYLOO China Rank #6 splash Moses Christophe Jonathan Scales Zhang Zhen (张震) Erv Shen Zhiwei sword9 Li Wei (李卫) slowly Kelun Sun (孙科伦) in a three-map series. With this day beginning the tournament as a whole, both TEC and TYLOO will continue in the lower bracket without the ability to lose again if the teams aim to reach Masters London.

Xi Lai Gaming sweeps Titan Esports Club to start playoffs

The debut match for these Stage 1 playoffs was between Xi Lai Gaming and Titan Esports Club, two teams with entirely different stories in Stage 1. XLG is consistently atop power rankings in China, and ended Stage 1 with no losses, while TEC fought out of the close Group Alpha to make it to the playoffs with a losing record.

Starting on Breeze, XLG ran a rare solo-Duelist composition with two Initiators and two Controllers. At the same time, TEC opted for a more standard double-Duelist with Phoenix and Neon alongside Harbor. The start from XLG was ideal, with a pistol win and only two round losses in the first eight. TEC fought back to reach halftime down only 7-5.

TEC won the second pistol and the first four of the starting five rounds in the second half, with Dynamite performing well on Phoenix. Yet, the tides shifted back towards XLG, winning five rounds in a row to secure map one 13-9.

Map two was Lotus, with XLG bringing back its unique triple Sentinel composition that helped eliminate Sentinels from Champions 2025. TEC stuck with a more standard double-Duelist with Vyse, meaning this Lotus game had four Sentinel agents, a rare occurrence in this double-Duelist meta. Just like the previous map, XLG started well with a pistol win and gun round wins soon after, but this time the first half was utterly dominant with three Sentinels on defense, ending 9-3. Also, like the previous map, TEC converted the second pistol to keep the map within reach, but XLG reached 12-5 with the prevented bonus round win and eventually ended the series 13-7.

The star of this series was WsLeo , who played Initiator across the series and ended it with a 1.44 match rating, 38 kills, 83% KAST, and 170 ADR.

With this win, XLG moves on in the upper bracket and will face the victor of the second match of this day, while TEC will face the loser from the same match.

JDG Esports flourishes on two maps to defeat TYLOO in three

This matchup of two similar teams in Group Alpha now would decide who would have the opportunity to face XLG next and keep themselves in the upper bracket.

Map one was Haven, with JDG running double-Duelist with Neon and Waylay alongside a Cypher pick, as TYLOO ran a similar composition with a Phoenix instead of the Waylay and a Fade instead of Sova. The first half started with JDG winning the pistol and converting the bonus, beginning defensively sound. TYLOO looked lost, as zhe and coconut stopped any hopes of a strong attack from TYLOO with a 10-2 lead for JDG. The second half was merely formality, as JDG once again won pistol and converted the bonus to end the map 13-2.

TYLOO needed to bounce back on map two, on Fracture, running a solo Neon with double-Initiator. JDG chose to run a similar comp, but with a second Duelist instead, and the map started with TYLOO looking spent. JDG secured the first pistol, but was unable to convert the bonus. Even after that, zhe led his team to a 9-3 lead the half, truly putting TYLOO on the ropes. However, when the sides flipped, and TYLOO had the opportunity to win pistol and convert the bonus, the comeback was on. Both splash and slowly were dominant as TYLOO ended the map perfectly and won 13-9, taking the series to Pearl.

Now, the pressure was on JDG, after starting so dominantly and crumbling to end map two, running a double-Duelist with Neon and Waylay for Pearl. TYLOO returned to its double-Duelist with Phoenix instead, and finally started a map well. TYLOO won the first pistol and four of the first five rounds, taking an early lead. JDG fought back and, for the first time in the series, the first half was close as TYLOO entered the half up 7-5.

JDG won the pistol and converted the bonus to take the lead on Pearl, as the zhe Neon gameplay flourished when on the defense. No matter what TYLOO did on post-plant, JDG outplayed its opponents to reach double digits and put the pressure on TYLOO. Round 19 was the first round win on the attack side from TYLOO, but that proved to be all for the map and series. After a couple more round wins from TYLOO to stretch the map, JDG once again nailed a retake to win the map 13-10 and the series 2-1.

The star of this series was zhe, who was the better of the two Neons across all maps. His closeout performance on Pearl was the factor that won JDG the series, and he ended it with a 1.10 match rating, 54 kills, 165 ADR, and 255 ACS.

With this win, JDG will face XLG in the upper bracket semifinals, while TYLOO will face TEC in the first round of the lower bracket.