Valorant: I Am Still the World's Best

EDG, Manager's Office.

Abu made After and Muggle a cup of tea, then smiled and made his routine inquiry: "We're leaving for Los Angeles soon. How's the training going? Is Su Ming adjusting well to life here? Oh, by the way, has his visa been processed?"

EDG basically only scrims with teams from the Pacific region. As for domestic teams, they only play against BLG at most... There's no way around it, the other domestic teams are too weak now. They can be easily defeated by individual skill alone. You can't learn anything by scrimming with them; it's a complete waste of time.

Even if the leader's attitude is gentle, it is still an inspection of the work. After, the leader's attitude is very proper as he gives a report.

"The win rate in recent training matches has been a bit low, so the outlook isn't very optimistic."

With the official establishment of the VCT league this year, the progress of the Asia-Pacific teams is very obvious. They are playing with more and more strategy. Some of the Asia-Pacific secondary teams are incredibly strong, with outstanding individual skills, and they crushed us by a large margin...

I've also analyzed the reasons for the low win rate. Besides the difference in individual skill, the current version has too many items and skills have too much influence, making it too difficult to capture a point in one go. Therefore, map control and strategic maneuvering are very important, which has always been our weakness.

In addition, since the Tokyo Masters, everyone knows that EDG has a sniper, and everyone has prepared contingency plans to counter and limit him, which has greatly limited Kang Kang's performance..."

After noticed Abu's increasingly gloomy expression and unconsciously lowered his voice.

"As for Su Ming, the kid has adapted well to his current life. Every day, besides training, he streams and plays ranked games. He hasn't turned on his camera during his streams, and I haven't let him announce his joining EDG publicly. As for the visa, we processed it through the expedited channel, and it was approved yesterday."

"Hmm." Abu pondered for a moment, then suddenly asked, "How's Su Ming's performance in recent training matches? Is his win rate high?"

This question was posed to Muggle, who, as a teaching assistant and analyst, was more data-savvy.

"The effect is very good; the win rate in training matches where he plays is very high."

Muggle spoke frankly, his tone full of admiration, "His silent engagement quality is very high. I have calculated his win rate in gunfights when he makes silent engagements in all training matches, and it is a full 76% - this win rate is very exaggerated, Kang Kang and Qiu Qiu only have about 60%."

"Then why not let him play more?" Abu asked doubtfully.

"It's a hero pool issue," After said helplessly. "He's only been playing this game for a month, and he basically only plays duels. He doesn't know any of the other positions at all. I tried letting him play KO in one game, but he used all his flashes on his teammates, which affected his individual performance. He played very poorly..."

Muggle added, "It's difficult to master a character in a short time, and we can't replace Kang Kang. Unless we do what PRX does and try to switch to double duels on every map, Su Ming's chances of playing are very slim."

Even if we take a step back and change the lineup at the risk, we still need time to practice, which is unfair to Zhang Zhao...

Zhang Zhao is very strong; he would be a top player in any other team in China. He is also a very team player, willing to sacrifice for the team, and gets along very well with everyone. Demoting him without a reason would not be good for the team atmosphere.

Abu frowned and remained silent.

To put it bluntly, in the past, when you lost a match, you just lost. Nobody cared about a game that didn't even have a Chinese server.

The reason why EDG's top-six finish at the Tokyo Masters recently generated so much discussion was because the news that "the Chinese version of the game has been approved" spread throughout the gaming community.

Now, with the launch of the Chinese server, the number of players is increasing, and the number of people paying attention to the competition is also increasing exponentially.

EDG is currently the most watched team in the CN region, and naturally, it also bears the heaviest pressure.

Abu is all too aware of the public opinion environment in the domestic e-sports circle.

If EDG fails to surpass their previous performance in this championship, they will definitely face a barrage of criticism and condemnation. Even if they break their all-time best record, they will still be criticized if they don't win the championship; at most, the backlash will just be less intense.

Abu isn't afraid of public opinion.

He's been criticized for years for his "dead sister" past, so he's become immune to it.

Abu's fear is that EDG will not be able to maintain its first-mover advantage in the WALL-E circle.

During a previous meeting, the boss, Edward Zhu, made it clear that strategically, they had already abandoned the League of Legends division.

The boss is very optimistic about the prospects of Valorant, Tencent's new generation of esports that it is promoting after the pandemic, and plans to develop it as a key project.

In the first year since the Chinese server launched, if EDG performs terribly in this championship, they will definitely drive all the fans they gained in Tokyo to other clubs.

"No matter what, we must achieve results in this championship; we absolutely cannot be eliminated in the group stage."

Coming up with solutions is the subordinates' job; Abu, as the superior, only needs to give orders.

"If you make it into the top six, you'll all receive a bonus. Conversely, if you're eliminated in the group stage, someone has to step up and take responsibility."

Whether it's roster changes or player substitutions, you all need to improve the team's strength. Esports is about survival of the fittest, and I don't want the team to be like what's portrayed outside—preferring to play "brotherhood" and prioritizing personal relationships over results!

-----------------

Inside the training room, Su Ming sat in front of his computer, focused on the ranked match in front of him.

Map of Lotus Ancient City.

The score is 12:11.

In the 24th round, the teammate failed to secure A site, resulting in the loss of two players.

Su Ming, who was guarding C, wanted to go back to defend, but suddenly heard the enemy B make a sound. He had a flash of inspiration and manipulated Jetwind to move forward to outside C and hide behind a box.

Not long after.

A series of rapid footsteps came from the attacking team's spawn point.

As Su Ming predicted, the enemy team thoroughly investigated the B bomb site and gathered all the information. Instead of rushing to the A bomb site, they chose to rotate the main force to the C bomb site to play it safe!

"It's up to you now!"

Hanghang whispered nervously into the microphone in the room.

This was just a regular ranked game.

However, if they win this ordinary match, Su Ming will reach the top of the Asia server rankings, achieving the initial goal of the two duo queuing.

Su Ming remained silent, focusing intently on the task at hand.

————！ ！ 』

In a daze, that feeling of consciousness sinking into the dark seabed returned.

Tranquility, detachment...

Su Ming silently pressed the E key to activate [Wind Chaser].

The enemy's Rez took the lead, not searching his location, and instead used [Parade] to gather information towards the bomb site.

Su Ming did not fire, and chose to release the person.

But the second iron wall that was pulled out, which was not searched at first, suddenly turned around and glanced at this place with a murderous intent.

The moment their eyes met, Su Ming fired the first shot.

boom!

boom!

The positioning was extremely precise, with no firepower wasted.

One bullet pierced Iron Wall's head, another bullet killed Rez.

After taking down the two, Su Ming used [Soaring] to leap high into the air and released [Wind Chaser] to fly back to the C bomb site entrance.

During the flight, he rotated his viewpoint and, taking advantage of the altitude, clearly saw the positions of Shadow and Black Dream outside C.

The two men were firing at him relentlessly, trying to snatch the bullet.

Before Su Ming even landed, the refreshed [Wind Chaser] skill was activated on his body. He quickly pulled his view outward, clicked on a [Cloudfall] skill outside the mound outside C, and flew back in an instant.

The enemy opened fire on the entrance to bomb site C, completely disrupting the firing line.

Su Ming pulled out a cigarette without hesitation.

A violent location, a fleeting shadow.

Pull the gun and fire to move, then kill Black Dream.

With enough points in the [Hurricane Blade] skill, Su Ming activated his ultimate skill, another refreshed [Wind Chaser], and flew towards the C bomb site.

He ran towards BC Company, and just as he was about to emerge from the cover, he leaped high into the air, and a security guard appeared in his field of vision, caught off guard.

Right-click to fire five shots in quick succession!

Five darts pierced the security guard's torso, killing him instantly!

The score shifted to 13-11, the game time seemed to freeze, and a screen full of question marks appeared in Su Ming's live stream.

【? ? ? ? 】

Honey, come out and see God.

【Turtle, I see the water is flowing wildly, what should I do?】

[I'm on the other side and I'm stunned, can this Jetpack use its E skill infinitely?]

[Is the Jetwind even playable without being nerfed? What kind of mobility is that? Compared to other characters, it feels like a caveman, doesn't it?]

Hanghang and another dead teammate watched his perspective the whole time and gasped in shock.

"Dude, what are you doing?!"

"Who are you? Jett!!"

game over.

In the scoreboard, Su Mingjiefeng scored 34/17, ranking first in the game.

Moreover, as his ranking points increased, he rose to the top spot in the Asia server.

——Radiant Warriors #1

—Competitive rating 814

Seeing this, Su Ming finally breathed a sigh of relief and completely relaxed.

"Xiao Ming, how are you so amazing?" Hanghang was still buzzing with excitement, his voice filled with lingering awe. "Your JetDrive proficiency is the highest I've ever seen, it's incredible!"

The two are now on very good terms, so there's no need for formalities. Su Ming readily accepted his friend's praise and smiled, saying:

"If I weren't that good, why would the livestreamers call me your Zilong? Right, Adou?"

"Hahaha, go to hell with you."

Hanghang happily switched to his career roster and was surprised to find himself ranked third in the Asia server. He muttered to himself, "You're going to Los Angeles next, I'll secretly climb to number one... Uh, wrong, should I have said that?"

Seeing the question marks flooding the live stream chat, Du Yuhang belatedly realized that he might have said something wrong.

"It's alright, the club will announce the official roster soon, and this couldn't be kept secret anyway." Su Ming smiled and said to the viewers in the live stream, "Here's the thing, the streamer went to EDG for a trial and passed. Now he's a substitute for EDG and will be going to the championship. Maybe he'll have a chance to play."

These words stirred up a huge controversy.

【? ? ? ? 】

[The streamer went to EDG? Who did he remove from his team?]

Once the palace is opened, there's no turning back!

Why did this happen? My favorite streamer joined my favorite team; two happy things coincided. What should have been a dreamlike, blissful time... but why did it turn out like this?

"The specific arrangements involve tactics, so I can't go into details with you. You'll find out when the time comes." After saying this, Su Ming hurriedly said goodbye to everyone and ended his live stream for the day.

Without him.

Having accumulated enough points to purchase the Remembrance Treasure Chest, Su Ming eagerly ran back to his bed to start the lottery.

—A professional player reminiscing while drawing a specialization for duels.

Extraction successful.

—A look back at the coordinates: the winners' final of the 2025 Bangkok Masters.

——G2 vs EDG