Viva moves into coaching role at Trace Esports
Viva takes on his first coaching role in VALORANT as Trace Esports prepare for their final Champions Shanghai push.
CHINA – Trace Esports have announced that Ran "Viva" Lifan will transition from player to coach moving forward. The 26-year-old will take on a coaching role for the first time in his VALORANT career after previous stints with Rare Atom, JDG Esports, Xi Lai Gaming, and Trace Esports.
Viva’s time as a player with Trace Esports was ultimately short-lived, with the team finishing 7th-8th in both VCT CN Kickoff and Stage 1. Playing primarily as an Initiator and in-game leader, Viva also struggled individually, failing to post an above-average rating in either tournament. His final Stage 1 appearance saw him record a 0.83 rating and 163.3 ACS across 406 rounds, making him one of the lowest-rated players in the league stage.
Despite that, Viva brings a wealth of competitive experience into his new role. His career began in Counter-Strike in 2016, where he became a recognizable name in the Chinese scene through teams such as CyberZen, 5POWER, and Invictus Gaming.
He later transitioned to VALORANT with Rare Atom, where he quickly found success by helping the team finish second at Ascension CN 2023 in his first year in the game. Viva then entered VCT CN with JDG Esports in 2024 before moving to Xi Lai Gaming for the 2025 season, where he qualified for two international events, Masters Toronto and the Esports World Cup in Paris, while also winning the VCT CN Stage 1 title in Beijing.
Now moving behind the team, the former in-game leader will join a Trace Esports coaching staff led by head coach Gu "destroyeR" Jiaming, alongside coach Zhang "Yiyee" Tianyuan.
Trace Esports will return to action in VCT CN Stage 2 Regular Season in Changsha, where they are set to face EDward Gaming, TYLOO, JDG Esports, Nova Esports, and FunPlus Phoenix in Group Alpha. The stage will be their final chance to push for qualification to VALORANT Champions Shanghai later this year.
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