In an unexpected turn of events, EDward Gaming (EDG) finished in the top six at Valorant Champions 2023, the same place they finished at VCT Masters Tokyo. EDG is known for playing aggressively on the international scene. At the tournament, they went 3-3.
They were able to get two wins from the EMEA team Giants Gaming and one from Bilibili Gaming. But even though they were very hyped in the early stages, Evil Geniuses, Paper Rex, and LOUD were all able to beat EDG in a series.
Most of the attention was on Zheng “ZmjjKK” Yongkang, who had already shown himself to be a strong player, especially with the Operator, when they played in Japan. Yet, in an honest press conference after the game, he took the blame for the team’s elimination from the championship.
ZmjjKK said that he was the main reason why the team lost to LOUD by 2-1, which ended their hopes of going further in the tournament. “I don’t think I did very well in some things.”I’m mostly to blame for why we lost today,” he said. He admitted that their loss was partly due to his aggressive style of play and his overconfidence, and he promised to change his bad habits in the future.
From a statistical point of view, ZmjjKK didn’t do as well in this tournament as he had in the Masters Tokyo before. At 0.14 to 0.17, the time between his first kill and first death wasn’t great. Also, he wasn’t as good as the other Duelists in the playoffs, both in terms of how many people he killed and how much damage he did per round.
This is insane!!!!!!!!!! @zmjjkk pic.twitter.com/A65x5TY1iC
— VALORANT Esports CN (@valesports_cn) August 20, 2023
When asked why he is often thought of as one of the best Duelists in the world, ZmjjKK told the truth. His answer was a breath of fresh air. “I feel like I’m overrated right now,” he said, rejecting the idea that he was one of the best.
This statement showed how humble he was and also set the stage for a possible reevaluation of the EDG team as a whole. Earlier in the tournament, people said that the team was overrated, but they were proven wrong when they moved on from the group stage. Now, ZmjjKK says that this label might need to be rethought.
Since EDG dropped out of Valorant Champions 2023, the final match, which is set for August 24, will happen without the top Chinese seed. But ZmjjKK’s modesty and self-reflection might be just what EDG needs to learn from this and come back stronger in future championships.
