EDG lost to LOUD 2-1 in the lower bracket of Valorant Champions 2023. After the match, Zheng ‘ZmjjKK’ Yongkang spoke about his mistakes and place among the best players in the world.
EDward Gaming finished Valorant Champions 2023 in the top six, tying their placement at VCT Masters Tokyo and solidifying themselves as a top international team. The aggressive Chinese side ended their tournament run with a 3-3 record, netting two wins from EMEA side Giants Gaming and one against Bilibili Gaming.
The hyped-up squad had high expectations for the world championship following their performance in Japan with ZmjjKK emerging as a player to be feared with the Operator.
But, EDG failed to take a series off of any of the other top teams at the tournament, like Paper Rex, LOUD and Evil Geniuses. In a post-match press conference after their elimination match, ZmjjKK took much of the blame for the team’s exit from the tournament.
This is insane!!!!!!!!!! @zmjjkk pic.twitter.com/A65x5TY1iC
— VALORANT Champions Tour CN (@valesports_cn) August 20, 2023
“I feel like I didn’t really do well in certain things. Most of the reason why we lost today is on me,” he said after losing to LOUD 2-1. “Hopefully, next time, I can correct my bad habits step-by-step. Sometimes, I play too aggressively and over-trust myself.”
EDG exit Valorant Champions in the top six
The EDG Duelist did not have the best tournament statistically, compared to his Master Tokyo form. His first kill to first death rate was not the best, 0.14 to 0.17, and he hasn’t kept up with the other Duelists in the playoff stage at the tournament in terms of kills or damage per round.
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ZmjjKK was asked after losing to LOUD why the world thinks he is one of the best Duelist players in the world, and the teenager gave a short response refuting the question.
“I feel like I’m overrated right now,” he said.
EDG has been accused of being overrated at this tournament before, but the team supposedly beat those allegations by making it out of the group stage. According to the team’s point of attack, people and pundits should maybe return to labeling them as such.
Valorant Champions 2023 will continue without the top Chinese seed on August 24 as the final four teams battle for the trophy.