Everyone knows what Zheng “ZmjjKK” Yongkang can do in EDward Gaming victories, but Wan “CHICHOO” Shunzhi was the highlight of EDG’s recent regional tournament win—and it all came down to a VALORANT pistol clutch.
In the grand finals of the China Evolution Series Act Two: Selection tournament, EDG were looking to keep their spot at the top of Chinese VALORANT against Trace Esports.
Up 1-0, EDG started Haven slow, losing the first three rounds. Then, CHICHOO decided to show off exactly why he is crucial, getting a four-kill Sheriff clutch.
CHICHOO relied on his aim to win some of these duels but also played angles and timing to near-perfection to get his team’s first-round win on Haven. It was round four on Haven, where EDG lost the first three, which meant their economy was in shambles.
Trace started round four with a rush on the C site, getting a trade. Then, CHICHOO and ZmjKK decided to swing out of the enemy Omen smoke together, both with Sheriffs, to get value. That’s the definition of good teamplay, as swinging out one by one only gives enemies with the gun advantage an easier time.
It didn’t immediately lead to value, as EDG lost two more, but CHICHOO and ZmjKK stood. ZmjKK went down first, but CHICHOO ended up clutching the round with nasty shots with the Sheriff, going down to 10 health for the final two kills.
When fans think of an EDG player one-tapping foes to victory, it’s ZmjKK that would come to mind, but CHICHOO made three key moves to win them this clutch.
First, he communicated with his teammate to swing together, rewarded with a trade. Then, he was aware of the opponents using the site to their advantage, expecting the swing from the other side of the box and collecting his second. Lastly, he backed off when he realized he needed to slow it down, and calmly re-hit the site while always keeping his gun at the ready.
This ended up starting a snowball effect, with EDG winning the map comfortably 13-7, and the series, 3-0. We saw ZmjKK’s potential back in Masters Tokyo and Champions in 2023, but CHICHOO is proving to be the sidekick the team needed.
Not only is his versatility crucial to their compositions, playing both Controller and Sentinel, but he’s been able to clutch when ZmjKK can’t. It was in Champions 2023 where he took a map to OT against Giants Gaming with another four-kill clutch.
Plus, if there is one thing we know from every VALORANT champion, the team can’t just have one star; it needs at least two or three.
CHICHOO is already proving to be that second star EDG needs to continue its rapid progression as a top VALORANT team, but we know the Chinese roster is already there from their performance in 2023. Now, players like CHICHOO and nobody need to step up, and regionally, they’re keeping that momentum going.
