It's just such a big part of my life that I can't not comment about it :D

DRG is a very underrated team, so i truly do respect it.

Australia + Paper Rex
is another great combo

Sierra Leone + Dragon Ranger Gaming

obviously ;)

https://www.vlr.gg/pickem/32c2d85b
Unfortunate for DSYRE, which is in fact one of my favorite teams, but the results are pretty predictable when up against opponents like Giants. Hopefully they win the first series though.

I've come to grow fond of EDG these past months, and I hope that with more teams like TE performing at the top level, they themselves will also grow.
When I watched LOCK//IN, EDG and FPX really didn't catch my eye at all. But at Masters Tokyo, that changed. After following EMEA for a bit, and with TL on a decline, watching EDG and getting into the CN scene felt... very refreshing. Which is why, with teams like TE on the rise, it's bound to strengthen the domestic scene, the international stage, and other teams all at once. Including EDG, who haven't had a challenger like TE in a long time. Win-Win for everyone imo, even the EDG fans.

Being a student studying under a rigorous curriculum, my gratitude towards Valorant and Riot Games is just so very indescribable. The feeling of dropping my bag when I get home, booting up my laptop, and engaging with the VCT esport community just means so much to me. Shutting my chemistry notebook, running to my setup, and hopping on a competitive match with my friends after a long week is one of my favorite feelings.
This feels very lame to say, but honestly, sometimes, when I feel alone or lonely or whatever, looking forward to a nice Haven game with the people I've come to know through the game just drives me to continue. It drives me to put effort in all aspects of my weekdays so I will be rewarded with the game I've come to see as my favorite.
I really want to thank Riot for putting in so much effort to create an enjoyable game and entertaining esport and I hope that with the expansion of T2, the introduction of the CN league, and with an expanding playerbase, we can continue to see so much more than we do now.
Once again, thanks!

Who could've expected that one? Yeah no Edward didn't game at all today... However, if we look at the bright side, this series is perfect evidence that the CN scene is improving, and that there are indeed teams catching up to EDG.

Objectively speaking, this is a good match between two great teams. I really like how ASE's been playing, despite their loss against TE. I just think that they're looking to be a really solid team right now. As for RA, even if we do ignore their demolition by EDG, we can see that they haven't had the best tournament. Unless stew starts cooking, I doubt RA will see this one through. ASE just needs hfmi to be on a good day compared to yesterday and all should be fine.
2-0 ASE win.

I've been busy with exams these days, but I did watch the matches. TE's playing great, they're improving a lot more than some other teams (you know who I'm talking about...) and they've shown that they can consistently challenge for top 4. However, I think everyone is familiar with how good EDG is, and after that scintillating performance against RA, I think this could very well go a 2-0.
Regardless of the score, EDG should be winning this.

Mine were ruined a long time ago :(
Didn't expect TE to pop off like they did. Also didn't expect FPX to play as poorly as they did (they didn't play as good as I had hoped). Also, BLG got rolled.

I probably would've thought of it but unfortunately Optic isn't a team anymore.

This settles it for me. Both teams played excellent Valorant, but ASE just didn't do enough to win the series. Life played to standards but YOU just outperformed my expectations tenfold today. On the first two maps, he had excellent utility use and on the last map, he just made me speechless. I almost bombed my biology exam thinking about it lol.

From now on I expect seriously great things from TE. I expect them to make a deep run next act and aim for top 4. ASE still stands in my eyes as a top Chinese team and I don't see it changing despite the loss today.

What do you think the derbies would be in the VCT scene? I've got a couple I can think of:
Team Liquid vs Fnatic (EMEA Classico?)
Fnatic vs LOUD (Competitive rivals)
Team Liquid vs NAVI (Historical rivalry?)
DRX vs Paper Rex (Pacific Classico?)
Edward Gaming vs Rare Atom (it's becoming more frequent)
Funplus Phoenix vs Rare Atom (maybe)
Trace Esports vs Bilibili Gaming (imo always so unpredictable)

I don't watch Americas too often :(

That's very fair, ASE has every chance of doing so, given that they all perform at the high levels they have been recently.

A thoughtful, insightful, and overall comprehensive take. Thank you for the observations; I think they're all very well thought out. Keep it up good man!

It's Joever

It's a term we use over here to (usually) describe a great country with a failing economy. I compare BLG to a sick man because that's how I see them right now: a team that is on paper, very strong, and has achieved many great things (4-0 NRG). However, these past few tournaments have proven that they can no longer consistently challenge like they used to. Unless they get their form together or smth, I doubt we'll be seeing them in the next Champions or maybe even Masters.

A challenger approaches me with the opposite prediction! I like that.

I didn't see this lmao but yeah I agree 100%

Honestly, EDG 3-1 ASE imo.

You're absolutely right.

Very nice matchup. Both teams have looked solid and at top form. ASE has seem dramatic leaps in terms of ability, and I think that both that and their form combined will prove to be a driving force in this series against TE. However! We must consider the fact that TE has players like FengF and Kai, who can pocket the Bilibili (they don't game anymore) and perform at very high levels.
Despite all of that, I still think that ASE will see this one through, as what they've shown me in their previous matches imo impresses me much more than TE's wins against a weaker RNG and the sick man of CN Valorant.

2-1 ASE winner winner chicken dinner.

Ignore previous comment.

RA against EDG again! This looks to be yet another banger, and I believe that RA will put up a nice fight. However, I doubt it will be enough to take down Edward, who knows what it truly means to game at a top level. Although RA has been getting stronger, their growth seems to be stagnating and especially after that FPX match, I don't think they'll be able to prevent the steamroller that is EDG.

Edward will game yet again 2-0.

I think there is room for TE to make some magic, and perhaps snub EDG of a clean sheet, but I also think that said room is smaller than my chances at success in life. But fret not! It's not 0, and while facing EDG is a scary thought for any Chinese team, I'd like to believe that FengF and Kai could give EDG a run for their money.

EDG 2-0 win.

I don't watch NA at all, but I think SEN wins here :)

Hey guys, I know this is kind of irrelevant, --and I apologize if make anyone uncomfortable by doing so-- but I made a tier list for Chinese teams on tiermaker if anyone wants to fiddle around or smth.

https://tiermaker.com/categories/valorant/vct-cn-teams-t1-and-below-16302020

To be honest I think the reason why I've sucked ass at predicting TE vs BLG scores could probably be attributed to the fact that I just don't know the two teams well enough. I think I should've expected this result, considering all the recent matches.
Oh well, it's all a learning experience and I'm probably going to reconsider just how and where I gauge these two teams.

It's another bout between FPX and RA, and I honestly cannot come up with a definitive answer! They've both been playing well in their recent games given that we ignore the results against the goated ASE. RA still looks pretty good despite the fact that they lost against ASE, and FPX, while not looking completely dominant in their series win against TYLOO, continues to look like a strong contender for a deep run.
Honestly, I think I'm going to have to tip my hats to RA here. FPX, while having strong firepower and excellent players who can consistently win gunfights, has failed to impress me in maintaining leads. They dropped several large leads against TYLOO and I just can't see them winning against a snowball team like RA the way they won against TYLOO.
2-1 RA win.

BLG ought to win this one. I don't think there's too much for me to say that everyone else doesn't know. One of the main factors in BLG's loss last time was the absence of Yosemite. With that aspect no longer a determining factor anymore, there's no reason for me to believe that BLG wouldn't win this. Of course, this is still a rematch, and we can expect BLG to get heavily counterstratted. TE still has a chance of winning though, but I think it'll be difficult.
2-0 win for BLG.

Nice try to RNG! To me, they're generally pretty entertaining to watch, so it somewhat saddens me to see them exit like this. Regardless, I'm sure they will bounce back and continue to make runs like they did this time. Definitely put some work into Ascent, and better luck next time!

Idk why so many people are shitting on Elmapuddy he's proven himself many times and I think he can make some magical achievements with a roster like Fnatic.

Maybe it's because RA isn't warmed up or something, but they were looking quite lacking against TYLOO. Of course, I discussed this point with knowledgable members of the community I trust, and we reached a general consensus that teams like RA, TE, and RNG have heaps of pressure on their shoulders due to their recent runs. ASE on the other hand look amazing. Their ability to convert rounds even when it looks bleak and dire (ex. after a comeback from other team) really amazes me, and I think that will be pivotal in this series.
I think this will go the ways of ASE, and that they will win 2-1 if not a clean 2-0 purely due to what I saw from them against FPX and the fact that they're on good form.

Also, Yuicaw and stew both played gloriously in their respective matches, and I hope to see them continue on their nice performance.

Idk what to think about this one. TYLOO feels like a really strange team to me right now, because whenever I watch them play, they don't play like how they do every other time. It's weird to describe and my english skills isn't good enough to put it into words, but that's all I have to say. I don't know if TYLOO is just super inconsistent or something but their performances don't seem to really match up with how I see them.
FPX fought well against ASE, both maps were close, and overall they played pretty well. Although they couldn't beat ASE, I think they made a statement by playing how they did against a team with hot form like ASE.
Objectively speaking, I think TYLOO looked better against RA than FPX looked against ASE, but I have a hunch that FPX will win this series 2-1 with very close maps.

Or... TYLOO could throw like they often do and FPX will win 2-0.

Man Yuicaw popped off for ASE today. But everyone on both teams played very well today. I think the fact that the results were so close says a lot, and overall we had a very entertaining series here. RIP my pick'ems, but whatever lol.

Why not TYLOO? Is it because they're kind of uhhh... sketchy at times?

Oh wait it was a bo5 lmao i didn't pay enough attention ig.

KRU beats Leviatan with Aspas? Fat chance imo

It's 1-0 TYL right now, and all I have to say is that... RA looks like a completely different team. In a bad way. Idk what they're doing, but taking uncessary fights post plant isn't the way to go. Also, what are those whiffs?

As of the moment, they're doing the funny

Bro it seemed to me that on Bind, BLG just couldn't get any momentum at all.

So it may seem. Good luck to the both of us!

It's obviously Team Liquid

It's like the Derby della Madonnina but in Shanghai Valorant. Two Chinese giants go up against each other in what looks to be another addition to the EDG - BLG history books. Right now, EDG stands supreme with 5W - 0L in their last five games. Their map W/L is at an astounding 13/2, and I expect similar form from EDG. I think that while EDG has shown improvement in their previous games, be it against RNG, RA, DRX, or even C9. BLG on the other hand, had a slump period where Levius just couldn't replace the skill Yosemite provided for the team. This caused some unnecessary losses and some unbelievably disappointing performances from almost everyone on the team, even whzy sometimes.
With that being said, they've been looking better as of this point in the tournament, and I hope to see both EDG and BLG improve upon their strategies and abilities from the Champions encounter. Overall, I'm expecting an Ultra-super-mega-uber-giga-ginormous banger of a match and I hope that we will all be entertained to the maximum extent of earthly dopamine levels.
To conclude, I think it'll be a pretty dominant 2-0 EDG win. Sorry (not really) BLG. But they could still win a map if they (BLG) feel like it.

I think I'm going to have to go with TE here. As much as I'd like to say that I've really enjoyed watching RNG these past tournaments, I've got to hand it to TE on just how good they are at so many things. I know that's quite the vague statement, but I really don't know what else to say. Flex1n is great, FengF is phenomenal, and as much as I like watching SWERL and Minimise play, I just don't know if they'll be able to tip the series their way. 2-1 TE victory but I'm expecting a well-fought series from RNG.

I think we should just explain xiaonuo's performance as a bad day tbh. We all have days where we don't perform well and when it's against one of the world's top teams, it's even harder to get the results you want. Watching RNG's previous games, I really thought that xiaonuo was one of their better players alongside Minimise and SWERL, and it really saddened me to see what happened today.

What an absolutely dominating display from BLG on Breeze. Idk why but I didn't see rin on Harbor coming beforehand.

Hmmmmmm. I may not follow ASE very closely, but I get many of the points you're trying to put forward. The only slight disagreement I have is that I think you're overlooking how useful Zero1 is. Sure, he may not be the best player, but I think he's a pretty solid player to put in the support role. Regardless, I think you make some good, solid points.
Thank for for taking your time to write this insightful comment on ASE. It's beneficial for me to learn as much as possible about every team and I appreciate your help.

Since y'all are trying to wing it early, I guess I might as well too. EDG 3-1 FPX

https://www.vlr.gg/pickem/87af1759
I'm probably so wrong lmao