Here’s everything you need to know about the 2025 HERO ESPORTS Asian Champions League (ACL) taking place this week.
CHINA – The 2025 HERO ESPORTS Asian Champions League (ACL) is set to take place from May 14 to 18 in Shanghai, featuring six top-tier teams from the Pacific and China regions.
With a total prize pool of US$160,000, this will be the first Riot-approved third-party mid-season event since the start of the partnership era. Teams will earn US$10,000 per win, with an additional US$10,000 bonus for defeating a higher-seeded team. The tournament champions will take home US$50,000, bringing the maximum possible earnings to US$140,000.
The king-of-the-hill, bounty tournament will kick off at the VCT CN Arena from May 14 to 16, with the grand finals set to take place at the Jing’an Sports Center on Sunday, May 18. Each day’s matches will begin at 5:00 PM (GMT+8 / China Standard Time), with the second match scheduled for around 7:00 PM or shortly after the first match concludes.
Scheduled between VCT Stage 1 and VCT Masters Toronto, the event will host six teams—three from each region:
Pacific Representatives:
- Paper Rex (Pacific #1)
- DRX (Pacific #2)
- ZETA DIVISION (Pacific #3)
China Representatives:
- Xi Lai Gaming (CN #1)
- Bilibili Gaming (CN #2)
- Trace Esports (CN #3)
ALSO READ: RRQ win 2025 VCT Pacific Stage 1 over Gen.G
Paper Rex and Xi Lai Gaming will take the stage in Shanghai before heading to VCT Masters Toronto. However, both teams will be missing Patrick “PatMen” Mendoza (PRX) and Teng “happywei” Min-wei (XLG) as they focus on preparation and handling administrative requirements ahead of the international event in North America.
On the side of ZETA DIVISION, Shota “SyouTa” Aoki has been benched as the team gears up for VCT Pacific Stage 2 and their path toward VALORANT Champions Paris. Starting with this tournament, Kim “TenTen” Tae-young and Yuma “Dep” Hashimoto will be taking his place in the active lineup.
Meanwhile, DRX, Bilibili Gaming, and Trace Esports return to international interregional competition after previously participating in the 2024 VALORANT Radiant Asia Invitational in Chengdu, China, late last year.
The six teams are seeded based on their Stage 1 rankings in the Pacific and China regions. Here’s how the king-of-the-hill bracket plays out:
- First Round:
The two third-seeded teams — ZETA DIVISION (Pacific) and Trace Esports (China) — will face each other to start the tournament. Loser is eliminated.
- Second Round:
The winner of that match will go on to face the loser of the DRX vs. Bilibili Gaming matchup (the second seeds from each region). Loser is eliminated.
- Third Round:
The winner from that match will then take on the winner of the DRX vs. Bilibili Gaming matchup. Loser is eliminated.
- Fourth Round:
After that, they’ll play the loser of the Paper Rex vs. Xi Lai Gaming match (the first seeds from each region).
- Grand Final:
Finally, the winner of that match will challenge the winner of Paper Rex vs. Xi Lai Gaming in the best-of-five grand final.
The tournament will be livestreamed on the official Asian Champions League channels on YouTube, Twitch, TikTok, and CHZZK.
The HERO ESPORTS Asian Champions League (ACL) is currently the premier and largest international multi-title esports event in Asia. Hosted by leading esports company Hero Esports, the tournament boasts a total prize pool of $2 million.
This year, the inaugural ACL features nine premier esports titles, including Counter-Strike 2, Dota 2, Honor of Kings, Street Fighter 6, League of Legends Legend Cup S3, Teamfight Tactics, VALORANT Champions Tour, Delta Force, and CrossFire.
Danny Tang, Co-Founder and CEO of Hero Esports, said: “Hero Esports created the HERO ESPORTS Asian Champions League to bridge the gap between international tournaments and regional leagues, providing a clearer pathway for talented teams to compete on the global stage. The ACL’s continued collaboration with the Esports World Cup is an example of this vision becoming a reality, and it also represents Hero Esports’ commitment to shaping and empowering esports globally.”
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Cover photo courtesy of HERO ESPORTS
