Edward Gaming

Edward Gaming^[a] (EDG) is a professional esports organization based in Shanghai, China.

Edward Gaming

Short name	EDG
Founded	September 2013 (2013-09)
League	League of Legends Pro League
Based in	Shanghai, China
Arena	Hongkou Football Stadium
Divisions	League of Legends League of Legends: Wild Rift Valorant Arena of Valor Hearthstone
Championships	1× Mid-Season Invitational (2015) 1× World Championship (2021) 1× Valorant Champions (2024)
Partners	Hycan Huya Live Red Bull Intel Razer Inc. ExxonMobil Dior TCL Technology Bixin Luckin Coffee Coca-Cola
Website	https://www.edgteam.cn/

EDG's League of Legends team, officially called EDG Hycan,^[1] competes in the League of Legends Pro League (LPL) and plays home games at the Shanghai Electric Industrial Park. It is the only LPL team to have won both the Mid-Season Invitational and the World Championship, in 2015 and 2021 respectively.

EDG's VALORANT team competes in the VALORANT Champions Tour as a partnered franchised team. Since 2022, they have consistently represented China on the international stage, attending every international event since their debut at 2022 VALORANT Champions. They won 2024 Valorant Champions, beating Team Heretics 3-2.

League of Legends

History

2014

Edward Gaming (EDG) was founded in September 2013 by SanShao, BingGui, and Edward Zhu, the team's namesake;^[2] Zhu is the eldest son of Zhu Mengyi, founder and former chairman of real estate company Hopson Development.^[3] They first entered the professional League of Legends scene in September 2013, then secured a spot in the 2014 LPL Spring Split by acquiring the slot of LMQ, which had left to compete in the 2014 NA Challenger Series.^[4] EDG's first acquisitions were Jie and former Positive Energy AD carry NaMei, who both signed with the team on 10 February.^[5][6] Soon after on 12 February, they acquired former World Elite players ClearLove and fzzf as their jungler and support, as well as Koro1 as their top laner.

On 29 April, EDG placed first at the 2014 International Esports Tournament in Yiwu, Zhejiang.^[7]

EDG gained a reputation as a "super team", emerging as the champions of the 2014 LPL Spring Split on 25 May.

They continued to perform well into the 2014 LPL Summer Split, finishing in first place in both the regular season and playoffs. In the finals of the playoffs on 24 August, they defeated OMG in the LPL Spring Final on 24 August. In addition to their LPL success, EDG also found success in other events, finishing top two at every major tournament they competed in. EDG won the 2014 China Regional Finals on 7 September, securing the first seed from China at the 2014 World Championship. However, EDG underperformed at the World Championship. The team tied for second in their group with ahq e-Sports Club and ended up losing to fellow LPL team Star Horn Royal Club 2–3 in the first round of playoffs.

On 12 September, EDG won the X Championship Season I. On 26 October, EDG placed first at the 2014 NVIDIA Game Festival. On 2 November, EDG finished in second place at the 2014 National Electronic Sports Tournament (NEST 2014). Samsung Galaxy Blue AD carry Deft announced on 11 November that he had joined EDG.^[8] On 2 December, mid laner PawN joined EDG from Samsung Galaxy White.^[9] EDG won the 2014 National Electronic Sports Open, defeating LGD Gaming in the finals on 7 December. On 13 December, they placed first at Demacia Cup Season 2. On 17 December, Azure, now known as Meiko, joined the team.^[10]

On 28 December, EDG placed first at G-League 2014.

2015

Players posing with medals after winning the 2015 Mid-Season Invitational

Edward Gaming at the 2015 League of Legends World Championship

On 4 January, NaMei left the team and joined Star Horn Royal Club.^[11] On 15 January, the day before the beginning of the 2015 LPL Spring Split, fzzf announced his retirement.^[12] He was replaced temporarily by Mouse, who played with the team at the G-League 2014 Finals, and in the first two weeks of the LPL Spring Split.

On 16 January, EDG started a Hearthstone division with lvxiaobu, yutian and longshi.^[13]

From week three of the split, Meiko played as the team's support. On 26 April, Reapered joined as a coach. EDG finished first in the 2015 LPL Spring Playoffs, defeating LGD 3–2 in the finals.^[14] EDG's LPL Spring title qualified them for the inaugural Mid-Season Invitational.

EDward Gaming beat SK Telecom T1 in the finals of the 2015 Mid-Season Invitational and were crowned as the tournament's inaugural champions.^[15]

At the 2015 World Championship, EDG lost in the quarterfinals to the European team Fnatic 0–3.^[16]

2016

In January 2016, EDG's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive division was established.

In January 2016, in the 2015 GHL Storm Hero Gold Finals, EDG lost to eStar 2–4 and finished runners-up.^{[clarification needed]} In June 2016, EDG E-sports Club officially announced the suspension of the Storm Hero Project.^[17]

On 23 April 2016, in the 2016 LPL Spring Final, EDG lost to Royal Never Give Up (RNG) 1–3 and finished runners-up.^[18][19]

EDG qualified for the 2016 LPL Summer Playoffs thanks to their placement in the regular season.^[20] EDG lost to RNG 0–3 in the 2015 LPL Summer Final and received the second seed for the LPL at the 2016 World Championship.^[21]

EDG tied with AHQ after the group stage, and the former qualified for the quarterfinals after beating the latter in a tiebreaker match.^[22] On 16 October 2016, EDG lost to South Korean team ROX Tigers 1–3 in the quarterfinals and was eliminated from the tournament.^[23] In the Demacia Cup held in December 2016, EDG defeated RNG 3–1 and advanced to the finals. In the final, EDG defeated the I May and set a record of five consecutive tournament championships by an LPL team.^[24]

2017

In April 2017, EDG lost to RNG 1–3 in the LPL Spring Playoffs semifinals and followed up with a 3–2 victory over OMG, finishing third.^[25] In the LPL Summer Split, the EDG defeated Invictus Gaming (IG) in the second round of playoffs to advance to the finals. In the final, EDG defeated RNG to win their fifth LPL title and qualify for the 2017 World Championship. EDG was eliminated from the 2017 World Championship after failing to place top two in their group, ending with a 2–4 record.^[26]

In 2017, the club officially established EDG.M as its mobile division and acquired the original 2016 World Cyber Games champion roster.^{[clarification needed]} In the Kings Glory Champions Cup, EDG lost 2–4 to the Qiao Gu Reapers in the quarterfinals.^[27]

In July 2017, EDG and Tyloo announced their new strategic partnership, stating that they would jointly train new players and help cultivate CS:GO talent in China.^[28] In November, the two teams created a jointly-owned PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds team.^[29]

On 31 October 2017, EDG and Lyon Esports announced their joint venture to establish "Lyon China" to compete in FIFA Online 3 esports tournaments.^[30]

2018

On 7 January 2018, EDG won the Demacia Cup Winter with a 3–1 victory over Snake Esports.^[31]

In the 2018 LPL Spring Split, EDG advanced to the playoffs after finishing first in the regular season, defeating Rogue Warriors before losing to RNG in the finals and finishing runners-up.^[32]

On 4 May 2018, EDG announced the completion of a nearly ¥100 million Pre-A round of financing, with the joint lead investor being the China Idol Entertainment Industry Fund, which is dominated by Capital and CIC Zhongcai.^[33]

2020

EDG placed sixth in the regular season of the 2020 LPL Spring Split with a record of 9 wins and 7 losses. In the first round of the playoffs, they defeated RNG and advanced to the second round. In the second round, they lost 1–3 to FunPlus Phoenix (FPX). EDG placed ninth in the regular season of the 2020 LPL Summer Split with a record of 8 wins and 8 losses and failed to qualify for the playoffs; the team's worst domestic performance to date.

2021

Edward Gaming won the 2021 World Championship.

EDG won the 2021 World Championship, and became the first team to do so while playing three full best-of-five series.^{[citation needed]}

2022

During the 2022 League of Legends World Championship, Edward Gaming finished 5-8th after losing 2-3 to DRX, becoming the second team in World Championship history to be reverse swept at the event.^[34]

Roster

Edward Gaming League of Legends roster
Players	Coaches
Role Handle Name Nationality Top Ale Hu Jiale China Top Solokill Mak Fe Keung China Jungle Jiejie Zhao Lijie China Mid Fisher Lee Jeongtae South Korea Bot Leave Hu Hongchao China Support Vampire Zhao Zhe Can China Jungle Monki  Wang Mengqi China	Head coach Ming "Clearlove" Kai Assistant coach(es) Chang "Poppy" Po-Hao Yi Peng "Mni" Fang
Legend: (I) Inactive (S) Suspended Substitute Injury / Illness	Roster

Valorant

History

2022

EDG made their international debut in 2022, with a roster of Haodong "Haodong" Guo, Shunzhi "CHICHOO" Wan, Senxu "nobody" Wang, Yongkang "Zmjjkk" Zheng, and Donghao "Life" Qu. The team attended 2022 Valorant Champions in Istanbul, Turkey placing 13-16th. Yongkang "ZmjjKK" Zheng, or simply "KangKang" (Chinese: 康康), especially impressed with his mechanical skill on the duelist role.

2023

In 2023, a roster change was made. Donghao "Life" Qu left the team and was replaced in the starting lineup by Zhao "Smoggy" Zhang. The team was invited to VCT 2023: LOCK//IN São Paulo in São Paulo, Brazil, placing 17th-32nd.

They would come in second in FGC Valorant Invitational 2023: Act 1, but qualified to Valorant Masters Tokyo, placing 5th-6th, losing to Team Liquid and Paper Rex.

They placed 1st in In FGC Valorant Invitational 2023: Act 2 and VALORANT Champions Tour 2023: China Qualifier, and attended 2023 Valorant Champions in Los Angeles, California, placing 5th-6th.

2024

The team started 2024 strong, winning the VALORANT Champions Tour 2024: China Kickoff event and qualifying to VALORANT Champions Tour 2024: Masters Madrid. They placed 5th-6th once more, losing to Gen.G and LOUD.

They then won VALORANT Champions Tour 2024: China Stage 1, qualified to VALORANT Champions Tour 2024: Masters Shanghai, but placed only 7th-8th, dropping matches to Team Heretics and Paper Rex.

After losing their first match of VCT 2024: China Stage 2 to Wolves Esports, a change was made. Longtime in-game leader Haodong "Haodong" Guo was removed from the starting lineup, with Senxu "nobody" Wang taking over shot calling duties. On June 15, Weihong "WoodAy1" Lin joined as a substitute player, and on June 25, Meng-hsun "S1mon" Hsieh joined the starting lineup. Another change was made on July 27, when head coach Wen-hsin "AfteR" Lo was benched, and assistant coach Shijun "Muggle" Tang was promoted in his place. The team stabilized, dropping only two more matches and won VCT 2024: China Stage 2, qualifying to 2024 Valorant Champions in Seoul, South Korea.

In Seoul, EDG won their opening group stage match against FUT Esports 2-0, then lost their second match to North American upstarts G2 Esports 1-2. Facing off against rival Pacific team Paper Rex, EDG narrowly won 2-1, qualifying to playoffs.

In the double elimination playoff format, they went on an unstoppable upper bracket run, winning first against fellow Chinese team Trace Esports 2-0 and North American team Sentinels 2-1. In the Upper Bracket Final, they sent North American #1 seed Leviatán to the lower bracket in a close 2-1 match, qualifying for the first grand final in their Valorant team's history. In the final, facing Team Heretics, EDward Gaming won 3-2, sealing their first Valorant championship, as well as the VCT CN league's first overall international title. For his contributions, star duelist player Yongkang "ZmjjKK" Zheng was awarded the MVP Award for the event.

Roster

EDward Gaming Valorant roster
Players	Coaches
Handle Name Nationality Haodong (I) Guo, Haodong China CHICHOO Wang, Shunzhi China nobody Wang, Senxu China ZmjjKK Zheng, Yongkang China Smoggy Zhang, Zhao China S1mon Hsieh, Meng-hsun Taiwan WoodAy1  Lin, Weihong China	Head coach Wenjun "Muggle" Tang
Legend: (I) Inactive (S) Suspended Substitute Injury / Illness	Roster updated 22 June 2024.

Honours

Domestic

League

• League of Legends Pro League (LPL)
  • Winners (6): 2014 Spring, 2014 Summer, 2015 Spring, 2016 Summer, 2017 Summer, 2021 Summer

• Valorant Champions Tour Valorant China Evolution Series
  • Winners (3):Act 1, Act 2, Act 3

• Valorant Champions Tour China
  • Winners (3):Kickoff, Stage 1, Stage 2

Cup

• Demacia Cup
  • Winners (5): 2014 Season 2, 2015 Spring, 2015 Summer, 2016 Season, Championship 2017 Season

International

• Mid-Season Invitational
  • Winners (1): 2015
• League of Legends World Championship
  • Winners (1): 2021
• Valorant Champions
  • Winners (1): 2024

Notes

1. Previously stylized as EDward Gaming.

References

1. Chen, Hongyu (14 April 2021). "Edward Gaming Partners With Electronic Automobile Maker HYCAN". theesportsobserver.com. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
2. Luwei, Ryan (29 August 2014). "Seeking Greatness: The story behind the formation of Edward Gaming". onGamers. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
3. Cao, Ann. "China claims another victory in esports as EDG team wins Valorant world championship". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 16 November 2024.
4. Edward Gaming's Tencent Weibo Post (Chinese) Archived 26 August 2020 at the Wayback Machine t.qq.com
5. Edward Gaming's Tencent Weibo Post (Chinese) Archived 26 August 2020 at the Wayback Machine t.qq.com
6. Edward Gaming's Tencent Weibo Post (Chinese) Archived 17 September 2020 at the Wayback Machine t.qq.com
7. Moser, Kelsey (17 June 2014). "OMG vs EDG: Classic in the Making". LoL Esports. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
8. Deft's Twitter Post twitter.com
9. Sashao's Tencent Weibo Post Archived 17 September 2020 at the Wayback Machine t.qq.com
10. L.ACE冬季转会期名单及公告 (Chinese) acelol.com
11. Edward Gaming's Tencent Weibo Post (Chinese) Archived 26 August 2020 at the Wayback Machine t.qq.com
12. Edward Gaming's Tencent Weibo Post (Chinese) Archived 23 July 2019 at the Wayback Machine t.qq.com
13. EDG (16 January 2015). "EDG's Hearthstone division is founded". t.qq.com. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
14. Lingle, Samuel (27 April 2015). "Deft's pentakill secures LPL championships for EDward Gaming". The Daily Dot. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
15. "MSI季中邀请赛2015" (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 21 June 2015. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
16. Halliwell, Paul (21 October 2015). "League of Legends World Championship 2015: Fnatic Sweep EDG to Advance to Semis". Power Up Gaming. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
17. "GHL2015风暴英雄黄金总决赛".
18. "RNG勇夺2016LPL春季赛冠军 晋级季中赛". 23 April 2016.
19. "EDG首夺官方世界冠军上演热血盛况 1亿人观看比赛". 18 May 2015.
20. "LPL夏季赛常规赛收官 EDG16连胜创造新纪录". 8 August 2016.^{[permanent dead link‍]}
21. "EDG勇夺LPL夏季赛冠军 厂长野区压制起大作用". 28 August 2016. Archived from the original on 29 August 2016. Retrieved 5 April 2019.
22. "lols6总决赛10月8日AHQvs EDG 顶住压力EDG获胜出线". 8 October 2016.
23. "S6综述：EDG未能打破八强魔咒 负于ROX". 16 October 2016. Archived from the original on 9 November 2021. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
24. "德杯决赛综述：EDG第五次捧杯 周董率队力克体育队". 13 November 2016. Archived from the original on 9 November 2021. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
25. "Koro1与Clearlove7上阵助力EDG摘得季军". 23 July 2017.
26. "EDG梦碎武汉，大量粉丝场馆外不愿离去". 15 October 2017.
27. "2017QGC夏季赛决赛：RNGM VS EDGM".
28. "战略结盟 TYLOO与EDG俱乐部正式达成合作". 30 July 2017.
29. "绝地求生成电竞赛事新关注点，超竞集团EDG与Tyloo强强联合". 9 November 2017. Archived from the original on 12 April 2019. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
30. "里昂EDG电竞俱乐部成立！ 将战FIFA Online 3". 31 October 2017.
31. "第四局：EDG完美节奏势不可挡 再夺德杯冠军". 7 January 2018.
32. "RNG击败宿敌EDG夺冠 挺进季中冠军赛". 28 April 2018.
33. "EDG完成近亿元Pre-A轮融资，要继续"造星"？". 4 May 2018.
34. Garcia, Ethan (24 October 2022). "Deft advances to first Worlds semifinals with DRX after reverse sweep". Dot Esports. Retrieved 25 October 2022.

External links

• EDward Gaming on Weibo Archived 13 June 2019 at the Wayback Machine

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Damwon Gaming	League of Legends World Championship winner 2021 With: Flandre, Jiejie, Scout, Viper, Meiko	Succeeded by DRX
Preceded by New championship	Mid-Season Invitational winner 2015	Succeeded by SK Telecom T1
Preceded by Positive Energy Royal Never Give Up Team WE	League of Legends Pro League winner Spring 2014 – Spring 2015 Summer 2016 Summer 2017	Succeeded by LGD Gaming Team WE Royal Never Give Up
Preceded by New championship	Valorant Champions Tour: China Spring 2023 – present	Succeeded by TBD
Preceded by Evil Geniuses	Valorant Champions 2024	Succeeded by TBD