EDward Gaming has won the Valorant Champions 2024 and is thus world champion for the first time. The Chinese eSports organization, which started out as an outsider, narrowly defeated the Spaniards from Team Heretics in the final
Gen.G, Fnatic and Leviatán were on the radar of bookmakers and experts as favorites ahead of the Valorant Champions in South Korea – EDward Gaming was given rather slim chances of winning the World Championship title. However, the Chinese team made the most of their chances: they suffered a setback in the group stage with a 2:1 loss to G2 Esports, but still managed to secure their place in the play-offs against last year’s finalists Paper Rex (2:1).
A 2-0 win against Trace Esports meant they remained in the Upper Bracket – after which the matches became tighter again. EDward Gaming had to overturn a deficit after the first map against Sentinels and Leviatán, with the Chinese team showing both comeback qualities and great perseverance in the encounters. These qualities earned them a place in the Grand Final, where the Spaniards from Team Heretics awaited on Sunday.
Next deficit, next comeback
EDward Gaming once again fell behind in the opener on Haven (6:13). With strong performances on Sunset (13:4) and Lotus (13:9), the Chinese turned the match in their favor in the meantime, before Team Heretics struck back on Bind (11:13) and forced a fifth deciding game. However, EDG did not lose their composure in this game and were already 8:4 ahead at half-time. The final score was 13:9 and the world championship title
The consistency that EDG displayed over the course of the Valorant Champions was impressive – especially in light of the previous season: although they had won both stages of the newly founded league in China in 2024, they had come up short internationally at the Masters in Madrid and Shanghai.
Tournament MVP sets new record
Gen.G, on the other hand, had started as the top favorites, having reached the final at all five major tournaments so far this year – including the two Masters. However, the American-Korean team had to bow out of the Valorant Champions in the group stage. Things went only slightly better for the Europeans of Fnatic, whose World Championship dreams were dashed in the quarter-finals of the Lower Bracket against Sentinels (1:2).
The professionals from EDward Gaming, who did not have to face Gen.G or Fnatic during the tournament, ultimately also benefited from the slip-ups of their highly rated competitors. Zheng ‘ZmjjKK’ Yongkang was crowned MVP of the World Championship, setting a new record with 111 kills in a best-of-five series. In addition to the trophy, the triumph secured him and his colleagues prize money of one million US dollars – as well as an entry in the eSports history books.
