VCT China Stage 2 Survival Guide

_{^{Image credit: VCT China}}

Stage 2 of VCT China will have the top three teams qualifying for a spot at Champions.

With VCT Masters Shanghai done and dusted, Stage 2 of VCT China is now here as the 11 teams from the region battle it out to determine who goes to Champions later this year. It has not been a great debut season for VCT China as they were unable to make much of an impact on the international stage, more so during Masters Shanghai, which was held on home territory. Of all the teams that can pose a threat at VCT Champions, it will have to be EDward Gaming.

They finished in the top six at Masters Madrid, followed by a top-eight ending at Masters Shanghai. And despite all that, EDG had still managed to win both the VCT China Kickoff and Stage 1. But aside from EDG being the best team in the region at the moment, the likes of FunPlus Phoenix are also seen as a viable contender after they impressed during Masters Shanghai, even though they still didn't make it through in the end.

VCT China Stage 2 - Format & Schedule

Group Stage: June 15th - July 7th
Playoffs: July 17th - 21st

The format for VCT China Stage 2 is similar to Stage 1 wherein teams in both Groups Alpha and Omega will stay the same. What's different is that now instead of playing against teams from the other group, teams will play one another from the same group instead. Both will now be single round-robin groups with all games being a best-of-three series. Only the top six in the overall leaderboard from Groups Alpha and Omega will move on to the playoffs, which means five teams will be going home early.

There will be a 10-day break in between the group stage and playoffs with the latter being a hybrid elimination bracket. The teams that placed first and second overall during the group stage will get an automatic bye to the upper-bracket semifinals. As for the teams that finished between third to sixth, they will have to battle it out in the single-elimination knockout round where only two teams left standing will move on.

From there, they will face the teams that finished first and second in a double-elimination bracket. As VCT China will have three spots available for Champions later this year, that means that of the final four teams in the double-elimination bracket, only one will not be going to the last LAN event of the year. All matches during the playoffs will be a best-of-three series, bar the lower bracket final and grand finals, which will be a best-of-five.

VCT China Stage 2 - Prize Pool

The prize pool for VCT China Stage 2 has yet to be determined with only the top three teams winning a slot to Champions later this year. VCT China Points will also not be taken into account at this stage of the season. Instead, every win during the group stage and playoffs will grant a team one point towards qualifying for Champions.

Placement	Qualifies To…	VCT China Points
1st	Champions	-
2nd	Champions	-
3rd	Champions	-
4th	-	-
5th-6th	-	-
7th	-	-
8th	-	-
9th	-	-
10th	-	-
11th	-	-

VCT China Stage 2 - Teams

EDward Gaming will be the favourite to claim a third VCT China title for the season as they have easily been the most consistent in the region. Having already been FunPlus Phoenix twice in the grand finals, EDG will be looking to further solidify its legacy as the undisputed champion of VCT China. But after FPX's recent performances at Masters Shanghai, they could prove to be a real threat moving forward, especially since they had a 5-0 run in Stage 1.

As group stage scores are carried over, FPX has the best record so far with zero losses while EDG has dropped a series, which was also against FPX. Dragon Racer Gaming was the third team from the region to go to Masters Shanghai and they will also be looking to improve on its performances in Stage 2 in hopes of going to another international event. However, the likes of Trace Esports, All Gamers, and Bilibili Gaming could have something to say about that.

VCT China Stage 2 - Where to Watch

There will be only four weeks' worth of games during the group stage with the number of matches played each day steadily increasing as the weeks go by. All the games will be available on the official VCT China Twitch and YouTube channels.

Author

Teh "GravityWillFall" Wi-LiamA failed pro-am gamer turned into a filthy casual with an unhealthy obsession for keyboards and sneakers.