"We've done everything we could" - Munchkin on preparing for Champions Shanghai

All Chinese teams have officially been eliminated from VALORANT Champions Tour 2026 - Champions Shanghai after JD Gaming fell to T1 in the first elimination game of Group A. The home crowd had to watch all CN teams go home without a single win, and now T1 looks to continue its journey to the Playoffs.

T1 is stacked with veterans from the Pacific, and one player who has been there since the start of the VCT is Byeon "Munchkin" Sang-beom. THESPIKE had the opportunity to speak to Munchkin after the game about his long history in competitive VALORANT and T1’s plans for Champs.

A bumpy 2-1 series

While the series started in T1’s favor on their favorite map, Lotus, JDG fought back on Abyss and left T1 looking lost. T1 had to regroup and managed to take the third map by a comfortable margin.

Munchkin is understandably happy to still be in the tournament but understands the disappointment from the Chinese fans.

THESPIKE: It was a rough Abyss from you guys. Can you tell us what kind of stood out from that map?

Munchkin: "Well, the comp that we're running on Abyss, it's extremely good for rushing into a site, but it was just the timing and it requires a lot of cooperation and coordination from all of us. But there was mis-timing and things didn't really work out. So I think, you know, that's what held us back on that map."

THESPIKE: How does it feel to send out the last Chinese team at Shanghai?

Munchkin: "Uh, there's been a lot of criticism around CN teams being weak, but we actually thought JDG and some of the CN teams were really strong, given the results from our scrims. And if we lost today, all of the criticism and hatred that they were getting might have moved over to us. So I was a little bit concerned about that, but I'm glad that didn't happen."

VALORANT Champions Tour 2026 - Champions Shanghai

T1

2

X

1

JD Gaming

Group A - Elimination Match, Best of 3 - October 2, 2026 - 11:05AM

13

Lotus

11

3

Abyss

13

13

Haven

5

T1

player

Rating

ACS

K/D/A

+/-

K/D

KAST

ADR

HS%

FBSR

FB

FD

BuZz

1.22

240

50/40/14

+10

1.25

64.6%

157.4

23%

60%

6

4

Munchkin

0.99

190

36/40/25

-4

0.90

75.9%

120.2

24%

67%

10

5

stax

0.95

161

35/34/30

+1

1.03

69.0%

108.4

26%

14%

1

6

Meteor

0.89

188

40/33/3

+7

1.21

71.1%

122.5

27%

56%

9

7

iZu

0.71

142

28/38/15

-10

0.74

74.5%

100.8

32%

63%

5

3

JD Gaming

player

Rating

ACS

K/D/A

+/-

K/D

KAST

ADR

HS%

FBSR

FB

FD

crownfisher

0.99

194

40/37/23

+3

1.08

78.5%

123.1

19%

62%

8

5

zhe

0.92

203

40/35/6

+5

1.14

65.3%

121.4

22%

33%

5

10

jkuro

0.79

173

35/39/13

-4

0.90

71.5%

116.5

25%

57%

8

6

BerLIN

0.78

160

30/40/17

-10

0.75

70.8%

103.3

30%

33%

1

2

Yuicaw

0.68

153

31/38/7

-7

0.82

67.4%

109.6

45%

27%

3

8

A year with T1

Munchkin is one of the players in the Pacific who has played in the VCT since the beginning. He started his franchising journey with T1 and then later joined Gen.G Esports. At the start of 2026, Munchkin went back to his old org and has now spent the year with T1, building a squad that is ready to succeed on the Champions stage.

Looking back on the year, Munchkin thinks the squad is ready for what’s to come.

THESPIKE: How has it been being back on T1? And how do you think all the players have come together?

Munchkin: "I think when we look at our journey and where we are right now, we prepared a lot and we're ready to show it. So preparation is no problem and we are a strong team, so we've done everything that we could do to prepare for this moment. And now it's just up to the universe, up to the stars."

THESPIKE: You've been to a lot of internationals throughout your career. Does this one stand out a bit or do you feel more confident this time around?

Munchkin: "I mean, just the fact that I'm able to come back and compete once again in a place where I lifted my trophy is very special to me. And honestly, Shanghai is a really great environment for me to settle in and compete in. So I think it's definitely a good experience and means a lot."

Excited for the 2027 VCT rebuild

Since Munchkin started competing at the beginning of the VCT, he’s been through all the twists and turns of the tournaments. Champs Shanghai is his 13th international appearance. Next year, the whole of the VCT will get a new face, and Cups will be introduced to the competition. While the rebuild is still a bit up in the air, Munchkin is excited to see how the competition will grow.

“Since the start of the franchise era, franchise teams were, you know, making it more comfortable for us to be part of this and compete. So the environment change since the franchise era was amazing. But I think with the new format coming in the future, it has a lot to be excited about. I think there's a lot of things that excite us as players and motivate us to compete, this year and next year as well."

Time for revenge

For their next matchup, FUT Esports awaits T1 in the final elimination match of Group A. Historically, FUT holds a 2-0 record against T1, with both matches played at VCT 2023 - Champions.

THESPIKE: Do you feel confident you're going to get to the Playoffs?

Munchkin: "Back in 2023, we were actually eliminated by FUT and couldn't make it to the playoffs. Now, I think it is time for revenge. And I think if we get to the playoffs, we're gonna do extremely well. So I'm going to try my best."

THESPIKE: How are you going to do that? Do you have a plan for FUT?

Munchkin: "They have really good aim. So we're not going to allow them to shoot."

For more VCT interviews, stay tuned to THESPIKE.GG.

Featured image source: Riot Games