We’ll be seeing DRG back in the VCT CN League for another year following their win at VCT Ascension CN 2025.
CHINA – Dragon Ranger Gaming have reclaimed their spot in the VCT for another year after a dominant win at VCT Ascension CN 2025, sweeping Rare Atom 3-0 in the grand finals in Shanghai (Corrode 13–4, Sunset 13–10, Bind 13–1).
The victory marks the second Ascension title for Ilya “vo0kashu” Ushakov and Shao “Nicc” Yi-chun, who also lifted the trophy in 2023, coincidentally against Rare Atom as well, though that time it was an entirely different roster.
Despite reaching the end-of-year VALORANT Champions event in Paris last month, DRG were forced to return to Ascension after fellow Ascension team XLG secured a better finish at the tournament with their win over Sentinels. Under the rule allowing only one Ascension team to receive an automatic VCT extension and based on Championship Points and Champions performance, it was XLG who earned the renewal, leaving DRG to fight their way back into the league once again.
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DRG’s path to the Ascension 2025 title was far from smooth. Despite cruising through the group stage without dropping a single map, their playoff opener saw them face Xie “S1Mon” Mengxun’s Any Questions, a surprise contender that had impressed by defeating both Chosen Clique Gaming and Ambitious Legend Gaming. DRG stumbled in that series, falling 0-2 (Ascent 12–14, Lotus 11–13), and were sent to the lower bracket.
There, they regained momentum with a comfortable win over Octagonal Disposition Gaming before setting up a rematch against Any Questions in the lower final, this time in a best-of-five. DRG jumped to a 2-0 lead, but AQ clawed back with two maps of their own to tie the series 2-2. In the end, DRG held firm, closing out the series to secure their spot in the grand finals.
Facing Rare Atom for the first time in the tournament bracket, DRG showed no hesitation. They swept through the series in dominant fashion, taking a clean 3-0 win to claim the Ascension trophy and seal their return to the VCT. Lin “SpiritZ1” Ting-yu was crowned the MVP of the tournament, finishing with an impressive 261.8 ACS and 0.94 KPR over 320 rounds.
“I think the biggest change for me is definitely my mindset. I used to think my mentality wasn’t that good, but over this past year, with all the ups and downs we’ve been through, and all the problems we faced in every aspect, I’ve grown a lot. So many people have helped me along the way, too many to name one by one, but the person I want to thank the most is myself,” SpiritZ1 says in the post-match press conference.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the bracket, Rare Atom suffered their third consecutive heartbreak in an Ascension grand final following losses to DRG in 2023 and XLG in 2024. Despite consistently fielding competitive lineups, the team once again fell short when it mattered most, continuing their unfortunate trend of struggling to close out best-of-five finals, even with a completely different roster each year.
VCT Ascension CN 2025 final standings:
- 1st – Dragon Ranger Gaming
- 2nd – Rare Atom
- 3rd – Any Questions Gaming
- 4th – Octagonal Disposition Gaming
- 5-6th – Zhu Chao Gaming
- 5-6th – Ambitious Legend Gaming
- 7-8th – Thunder Gaming
- 7-8th – Chosen Clique Gaming
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Cover photo courtesy of VCT CN
