XLG happywei: "Sorry to disappoint you guys, but we will continue to impress everyone"

Despite making history by qualifying to the playoffs stage of an international tournament, Xi Lai Gaming have no intention of simply achieving that. They have seized the opportunity to go further beyond, beating out tournament favourites G2 Esports in the first round of VALORANT Champions Tour 2026 - Masters London 2026 when few expected them to.

The spearhead of XLG throughout the Swiss Stage, who arguably dragged them across the line, was Teng "happywei" Minwei, the Sentinel player who has been one of the longest standing members of this roster, all the way back to their Ascension 2024 victory. Still pivotal in the win over G2, we caught up with him after the game to talk about the infamous G2 playoffs draw video, his talent, and his message to XLG doubters.

Note: The following interview was conducted in Mandarin Chinese. The author has translated the interview to English.

The G2 video

As the Americas' first seed, G2 had the opportunity to pick their opponent for the first round of playoffs. Through a stroke of luck (or misfortune!), the team was drawn to choose first, and head coach Josh "JoshRT" Lee immediately went for XLG, to the elation of his team.

Those laughs and cheers were quickly silenced. When asked about the video, happywei was the one who had the last laugh.

When I saw the video, I was a bit angry, so when we won, I just felt that this revenge was so good.

happywei's raw talent

The game that propelled XLG to their current position was their first victory in London against DRG. On Map 3, Split, happywei dropped a whopping 35 kills to bail his team out from elimination, breaking the non-OT map kill record. The team played Split again this time, but it was less of a deadlift, with the rest of the squad picking up the pieces to collectively defeat G2.

The 35 kills on Split last time was a life game… this time everyone's form was good.

VALORANT Champions Tour 2026 - Masters London 2026

G2 Esports

1

X

2

Xi Lai Gaming

Upper Bracket Quarter Final, Best of 3 - June 13, 2026 - 5:00PM

13

Lotus

7

4

Ascent

13

9

Split

13

G2 Esports

player

Rating

ACS

K/D/A

+/-

K/D

KAST

ADR

HS%

FBSR

FB

FD

leaf

1.08

223

43/43/18

0

1.00

76.3%

145.6

39%

38%

5

8

babybay

0.96

215

43/42/12

+1

1.02

69.9%

144.8

28%

50%

7

7

trent

0.96

196

38/43/19

-5

0.88

76.4%

145.2

32%

50%

5

5

valyn

0.95

182

41/42/12

-1

0.98

71.1%

119.3

28%

30%

3

7

jawgemo

0.80

173

35/42/14

-7

0.83

70.7%

122.2

20%

33%

4

8

Xi Lai Gaming

player

Rating

ACS

K/D/A

+/-

K/D

KAST

ADR

HS%

FBSR

FB

FD

happywei

1.26

245

50/40/24

+10

1.25

77.6%

166.1

32%

69%

11

5

Lysoar

1.15

218

52/40/11

+12

1.30

75.3%

137.3

29%

83%

5

1

WsLeo

1.01

194

40/40/18

0

1.00

76.7%

124.7

24%

64%

7

4

NoMan

0.82

177

36/38/12

-2

0.95

71.5%

114.3

24%

33%

3

6

Rarga

0.76

163

34/42/9

-8

0.81

61.1%

106.7

29%

53%

9

8

"NoMan was especially important," happywei added, in reference to our interview with NoMan where he confessed to having average mechanics. "His Stinger 2K entrying on B on the eco round was especially pivotal."

VCT China might have some of the best Sentinel players in the world. Wan "CHICHOO" Shunzhi made a name for himself as the standout player on EDward Gaming during their Champions Seoul victory, while Ilya "vo0kashu" Ushakov has consistently been recognised as the main reason DRG win so many of their games. When asked how he stacks up against these giants, happywei proudly proclaimed: "In terms of skill, I'm number one, with CHICHOO right behind, but in terms of accolades, CHICHOO has me beat."

I'm number one because my form coming into the event has been amazing.

Revenge on EDG and silencing the doubters

XLG and EDG faced off in the VALORANT Champions Tour 2026 - China Stage 1 Grand Finals, where EDG edged out a narrow victory to clinch the first seed. Now that the regional rivals meet again in the upper bracket of London, happywei is more than happy for a revenge game.

We lost the final to you guys, but what goes around must come around. Good luck.

A Chinese regional rematch seems perfect for the Copper Box Arena, where VCT China supporters have consistently come in droves to back the Chinese teams, drowning out cheers for any other team. happywei was surprised by such passion, saying they make "London not feel like a foreign stage."

The support of Chinese fans in the arena makes me emotional.

Yet online discourse has shown less of such support, with many doubting XLG, and the Chinese region as a whole, especially at the start of the tournament. happywei, acutely aware of the sentiment, rounded out the interview:

Sorry to disappoint you guys, but we will continue to impress everyone.

Catch XLG as they take on EDward Gaming in the upper bracket on 15 June.

For more Masters London coverage, tune into THESPIKE.GG.