Totoro Gaming have emerged victorious at the ImbaTV Fearless Invitational Cup after defeating KONE 3-1 (Ascent 13-7, Bind 8-13, Split 13-6, Breeze 13-7) in the grand final.
In the grand final, the two teams who had topped their respective groups and faced off in the upper-bracket final met again. Totoro Gaming eliminated Tales of Eastern, LIZHI, and KONE along the road, before reuniting in the grand final with the latter.
KONE defeated Team Weibo and NTER before being relegated to the lower bracket by Totoro Gaming, where they defeated Tales of Eastern to go back on track for the title.
The tournament split 16 teams into four groups of four teams each in a single round-robin format, with the top two teams from each group moving on to the next stage. The playoffs saw the top eight teams playing in a double-elimination bracket.
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Totoro Gaming, the winner of the Fearless VALORANT Invitational Cup, took home the largest portion of the prize pool of CN35,000, or US$5,411, while the runners-up received CN20,000, or US$3,092. Because Riot Games has yet to release VALORANT in China, the event was held on Hong Kong servers.
The Grand Final – Totoro Gaming vs KONE
The first map was Ascent, where Totoro Gaming dominated the first half 9-3. Despite KONE’s best efforts, Shun-Hei “HeiB” Ho and co. were able to progress by taking rounds one by one, bringing the opening map to a 13-7 conclusion. The series continued on Bind, Totoro Gaming’s chosen map, with Wang “yosemite” Lei and co. capturing the first two rounds until Totoro Gaming rallied to take the first half 7-5. Totoro Gaming had no idea that KONE would continue to excel with seven consecutive round victories, leaving Totoro Gaming with little breathing room. KONE won the second map with a score of 13-8.
On Split, KONE took up the pistol in an attempt to reclaim the game, but Totoro Gaming would not relinquish control and, powered by an inspired HeiB, fought their way back into the game and controlled the remainder of the map, taking the match to a 13-6 conclusion. Both teams’ three-duelist composition resulted in a series draw.
Breeze, the fourth map on the line, seemed set to be a brawl as the teams grappled for control. A round win by both sides did not last long. Both teams started out strong, and in a back and forth once again until the first half 8-4 before the situation took a grim turn for KONE. Totoro Gaming kept applying pressure and swiftly concluding the first short map in the grand final series 13-7, as well as taking the series.
VALO2ASIA MVP Award – ImbaTV Fearless Invitational Cup
The former KaiXin Esports player, Chen “cxy0714” Xingyu, earned the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award of ImbaTV Fearless Invitational Cup by VALO2ASIA. While he was not the most impactful during the tournament, cxy0714 was the key player for Totoro Gaming’s victory in the grand final with a 253 average combat score across four maps.
Yongkang “ZmjjKK” Zheng, who averaged a 317 average combat score rating in the competition, was also a strong candidate for the award until LIZHI lost to Tales of Eastern in the Lower Bracket Round 3.
ImbaTV Fearless Invitational Cup final standings
| Place | Team | Prize |
| 🥇 1st | 🇨🇳 Totoro Gaming | ¥35,000 |
| 🥈 2nd | 🇨🇳 KONE | ¥20,000 |
| 🥉 3rd | 🇨🇳 Tales of Eastern | ¥12,000 |
| 4th | 🇨🇳 LIZHI | ¥7,000 |
| 5th-6th | 🇨🇳 NTER | ¥3,500 |
| 5th-6th | 🇨🇳 Underdog | ¥3,500 |
| 7th-8th | 🇨🇳 ShanXi Gaming | ¥3,500 |
| 7th-8th | 🇨🇳 Team Weibo | ¥3,500 |
| 9th-12th | 🇨🇳 EDward Gaming | ¥2,000 |
| 9th-12th | 🇨🇳 Number One Player | ¥2,000 |
| 9th-12th | 🇨🇳 All Gamers | ¥2,000 |
| 9th-12th | 🇨🇳 Invictus Gaming | ¥2,000 |
| 13th-16th | 🇨🇳 Attacking Soul Esports | ¥1,000 |
| 13th-16th | 🇨🇳 MAX Esports | ¥1,000 |
| 13th-16th | 🇨🇳 O2 Gaming | ¥1,000 |
| 13th-16th | 🇨🇳 Invincible Gaming | ¥1,000 |
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Cover photo courtesy of ImbaTV
