Champions Spotlight: Chinese prodigy ZmjjKK hopes to show brilliance in LA

When Zheng "ZmjjKK" Yongkang was shown early with the trailer of 2023 Champions Bundle, his facial expression went from curious to disappointed. “I gave it a 6/10,” he said. The lack of the an Operator skin certainly showered him with dissatisfaction.

The Chinese Operator

The Operator has become second nature for ZmjjKK (also known as "KangKang") especially after his Masters Tokyo performance and taking the #1 spot of the TOP10 plays at Master Tokyo. The 4k vs T1 highlight is just the perfect example of ZmjjKK's indomitable skill paired with youthful in-game aggression. His positioning is bold, but with his deadly accuracy, the Operator became a weapon that can single handedly destroy the enemy team. Zmjjkk's OP on attack side stats tell the same story. He got 103 kills with OP. The runner-up? Ardis "ardiis" Svarenieks with 30 kills. His style is even more impressive on the attack side, where he landed 0.24 OP kills per round—the 2nd place is Demon1 with a mere 0.05 by comparison. And ZmjjKK alone has 53% of ALL OP kills on attack during the whole event.

His performances were highly regarded by many pro players, analysts, and casters. EDG and overall the Chinese VALORANT scene has been creeping closer and closer and now with an official launch in China paired with three Chinese teams at Champions, EDG ZmjjKK has paved way for the world to take notice.

Foundation to shine

EDward Gaming is not the first home of KangKang. His career started in Royal Never Give Up, but later he went through a lot of teams like Qing Jiu Club and LIZHI. In March of 2022, the long-waited young talent played his first match under the EDG banner. And they ended with a 2nd place in FGC Invitational 2022 - Act 1.

The later story showed that he chose the right place to stay. EDward Gaming is one of the most recognizable and respected esports organizations in China that happened to invest in VALORANT early. During 2022 and 2023, EDG has continuously turned out better and well-rounded, even with some roster shuffles.

Though VCT 2022 - East Asia Last Chance Qualifier, Zheng "ZmjjKK" Yongkang and EDward Gaming landed on a global LAN for the first time ever. However, the feeling was bittersweet. Even though we saw some great personal performances from the players, EDG was simply not ready for the stage yet. In 2023, Life transferred to Attacking Soul Esports and Zhang "Smoggy" Zhao came in to fill his shoes.

With finally a stable team, ZmjjKK also began to shine. He constantly beat down the challengers in China and held the position of him and EDward firmly. EDG has never dropped out of top2 from 2022 to 2023. There are always teams like Team Weibo, KONE, or Tales of Eastern trying to stand besides EDward Gaming, but it seems EDG has simply built a large gap in skill and strategy in comparison to the other top teams in the China region.

Stellar and all-rounded performance

Make no mistakes, ZmjjKK is not only good on the Operator when wielding Chamber or Jett. His rifling stats are also at a solid point.

1.32 lifetime rating, 270+ ACS, 169 ADR and 1.35 K/D. And let's not forget, KangKang is an 18-year-old who has the most time to polish his mentality and skills. Thing is, they are already in a pretty damn good spot. Top6 in Masters Tokyo is a good step, but he only wants to reach the pinnacle of this sport. And being #1 in Champions Los Angeles is the only way to do that this year.

Zheng "ZmjjKK" Yongkang and EDward Gaming will compete in the VCT 2023 - Champions and debut at 6:00 AM CST, August 10 against Giants.