The end of an era. S1Mon is no longer with EDward Gaming.
CHINA – EDward Gaming have announced the parting of ways with Xie “S1Mon” Mengxun by mutual agreement. The 21-year-old, who has been inactive since being benched in April, will now explore his options as a free agent, with reports linking him to a tier-two Chinese team ahead of VCT Ascension CN.
S1Mon joined EDward Gaming in June 2024, stepping into the starting lineup in place of Guo “Haodong” Haodong. The move raised eyebrows at the time, as S1Mon had no prior tier-one experience and was being thrust into one of the most high-profile rosters in China, a team already considered the strongest in the region for years.
S1Mon quickly silenced critics by seamlessly integrating into the lineup. More importantly, he was instrumental in EDG’s title run at VCT CN Stage 2 in Changsha and, more notably in their historic triumph at VALORANT Champions 2024 in Seoul to secure the first-ever Champions trophy for both China and the wider Asian region.
ALSO READ: VCT CN Stage 2 reaches playoffs
EDG’s Champions win came after a disappointing showing at VALORANT Masters Shanghai, where the team struggled to live up to expectations on home soil.
The arrival of S1Mon helped resolve several of those issues, thanks to his strong supportive play and intelligent utility usage particularly on agents like KAY/O and Breach. His presence created space and opportunities for star duelist Zheng “ZmjjKK” Yongkang to flourish, while also enabling Wan “CHICHOO” Shunzhi to find impact in critical moments. Though S1Mon wasn’t the team’s most explosive fragger and his inclusion came with a trade-off in firepower, the structure and impact he brought to EDG’s overall system was the kind of contribution most teams can only dream of.
At the start of the 2025 season, EDward Gaming once again returned strong, securing another trophy at the VCT Kickoff event and achieving a respectable finish at VALORANT Masters Bangkok, where they were eliminated in third place by the eventual champions, T1.
However, midway through Stage 1 of the 2025 season, internal tensions erupted when S1Mon allegedly leaked a private conversation between himself and EDward Gaming’s manager to a group chat of his top subscribers. The messages reportedly included discussions around disciplinary issues and other sensitive topics. The leak quickly spread online, sparking widespread controversy and becoming one of the most talked-about subjects on Weibo, China’s equivalent of Twitter.
The situation escalated further when four of EDward Gaming’s players publicly addressed the matter, calling out S1Mon’s poor attitude, lack of effort to improve, and overall professionalism. Shortly after, S1Mon was benched from the starting roster. In his place, academy player Zhang “Jieni7” Juntai was promoted, with the team also experimenting with Zhang “zjc” Juncheng (hfmi0dzjc9z7) recently before eventually shuffling the lineup once again.
Since then, EDward Gaming have entered a turbulent period. For the first time in their history, they failed to win a domestic VCT CN title, finishing 4th at VCT CN Stage 1 in Beijing and missing out on international competition at VALORANT Masters Toronto, another first for the organization. Their recent performance in Stage 2 has continued to fall short of expectations, ending the group stage with a 3-2 record following losses to Trace Esports and Bilibili Gaming.
While S1Mon’s official departure will not impact the team’s operations, as he has been inactive for several months, questions remain about whether the current Champions-winning core that is now joined by either Jieni7 or zjc can recapture their former glory.
EDward Gaming continue with the same active players moving forward:
- Wan “CHICHOO” Shunzhi (万顺治)
- Wang “nobody” Senxu (王森旭)
- Zheng “ZmjjKK” Yongkang (郑永康)
- Zhang “Smoggy” Zhao (张钊)
- Zhang “zjc” Juncheng (张峻程)
- Zhang “Jieni7” Juntai (张君泰)
For more insights on the Asian VALORANT scene and upcoming content like this, be sure to like and follow VALO2ASIA on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram.
Cover photo courtesy of EDward Gaming
