On the third-last day of VCT China 2026 Stage 1, EDward Gaming EDward Gaming China Rank #1 ZmjjKK Zheng Yongkang (郑永康) nobody Wang Senxu (王森旭) CHICHOO Wan Shunzhi (万顺治) Smoggy Zhang Zhao (张钊) Jieni7 Zhang Juntai (张君泰) defeated 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) to reach the grand finals of the playoffs, while Dragon Ranger Gaming Dragon Ranger Gaming China Rank #3 Flex1n Lo Rui (罗瑞) Life Qu Donghao (瞿东豪) vo0kashu Ilya Ushakov Akeman Zhang Haoran (张浩然) Nicc Shao Yi-qun (邵逸群) SpiritZ1 Lin Dingyu (林定宇) squeezed past All Gamers All Gamers China Rank #5 Septem7 Liu Zhening (刘哲宁) Shr1mp Yang Yong (杨勇) Youze K1ra Huang Zhihao (黄志豪) f4ngeer Roman Smirnov iamgrq Gao Ruiqi (高锐琦) for the final regional Masters London slot.

EDward Gaming sweeps Xi Lai Gaming in return to form

The two best teams of Stage 1, both from Group Omega, reached the upper finals to face each other for the chance to confirm a top-two regional seed at Masters London. Starting in Split, EDG ran double-Duelist with ZmjjKK on Jett and Smoggy on Raze, while XLG opted for Neon and Raze instead. XLG earned the first pistol, but was unable to convert the bonus round. EDG took that shift in momentum and started pulling rounds together, led by the two Controller players in CHICHOO and Jieni7 . EDG entered the half up 7-5, as XLG kept the map close.

XLG won the second pistol on Split to tie the map at 7-7, and even after losing the bonus, tied it again at 8-8. Yet, on the defense side, that was when ZmjjKK stepped up, bringing EDG to the map victory at 13-9.

Breeze was next, and while both teams ran solo Duelist compositions with double-Controller and double-Initiator, EDG opted for Harbor and Jett while XLG ran Omen and Neon. XLG earned its third-straight pistol win, but continued to fail to convert the bonus. Just like map one, EDG used that bonus round win to start gun round win streaks, winning six straight on Breeze. CHICHOO, Jieni7, and ZmjjKK all did well on defense as EDG entered the half up 8-4.

XLG needed to keep up its pistol round dominance to have a chance on map three, and the team did just that. Winning four of the first five rounds on defense, pulling the map to only being down 9-8, EDG once again just flipped a switch to win four in a row and close out the map 13-8. That meant, despite losing every pistol round and never converting an eco afterward, EDG still swept XLG 2-0 to secure a spot in the grand finals and a guaranteed top-two seed for Masters London.

The star of the series was CHICHOO, who has fully returned to form as Stage 1 rolled on. In this series, he ended it with a 1.49 rating, 44 kills, 169 ADR, and 268 ACS.

Dragon Ranger Gaming battles past All Gamers for London

This series was a battle of star Russian imports in China, with last year's star vo0kashu having to match up against f4ngeer . The match began on Lotus, with both teams running slight variations of double-Duelist Neon Waylay. DRG earned the first pistol win of the series, but was unable to convert the bonus round. As AG took a small lead up 3-2, both teams traded short stretches of success, with SpiritZ1 helping DRG end the first half up 7-5.

DRG won the second pistol to extend the largest lead of the map, and even after losing the bonus, reached an 11-6 lead. AG needed a stalwart defense to keep the map hopes alive, but Flex1n and Life closed it out 13-8.

Map two, Split, began with AG choosing to run a double-Duelist without Neon, instead of the more traditional Neon and Waylay that DRG opted for. That choice worked wonders to start, as AG won pistol, converted the bonus, and ran away to an 8-1 lead. The two duelists themselves did their jobs, but it was iamgrq on Omen who led the way as AG entered the half up 8-4.

AG earned the second pistol on Split to reach double-digits, but DRG prevented the bonus round win to keep the team in the fight. Even as DRG won four of five rounds to reach only a three-round deficit, AG followed up to close the map out 13-8 and tie the series at 1-1.

The series all came down to Haven, with both teams running near mirror double-Duelist compositions, with only Jett on AG and Waylay from DRG as the difference. The start from AG, like Split, was a pistol and bonus round win. Up 4-0, in prime position to at least win the half, AG struggled after vo0kashu stepped up for DRG. Back on Cypher, the comfort level shone as DRG ran it back to end the half up 8-4.

The second half began with another pistol win from AG, but after DRG won the bonus round, it was more gun round dominance from DRG. Ending Haven 13-6, DRG secured the series 2-1 and earned the final regional slot at Masters London.

The star of the series was vo0kashu, who top fragged on the final two maps to secure the series win. He ended the series with a 1.39 match rating, 53 kills, 243 ACS, and 165 ADR. As the Sentinel for the team, his Cypher play stood out, and this time he will be attending the international, as he missed out last time due to visa issues.

With this win, DRG will face XLG in the lower bracket finals, and the winner will face EDG in the grand finals of the VCT China 2026 Stage 1 playoffs.