That’s a surprise in the VALORANT Champions Tour scene. After qualifying as China’s third seed for the Masters Toronto, where they impressed with a third-place finish and gathered all the fans behind them, Wolves Esports will not be making it to Champions 2025.

The English-Chinese organization no longer had its fate in its own paws. Following a rough start to Stage 2, the team failed to qualify for playoffs by being 1W-4L, leaving their Champions hopes dependent on other results.

In the end, the Dragons triumphed over the Wolves. During the VCT China Upper Bracket Semifinals, Dragon Ranger defeated XLG Esports 2–1, climbing past Wolves in the Championship Points standings and officially ending their hunt.

Real Big Bad Wolves?

But was this really a surprise? On one hand, Wolves left a strong impression with their Stage 1 run and Masters Toronto performance. On the other hand, prior to that surge, the team had been far more accustomed to middling results in VCT China.

In 2024, they placed 7th–9th at Kickoff, 9th–10th in Stage 1, and 9th in Stage 2. This trend carried into 2025, where they finished 9th–12th at Kickoff. From that perspective, one could argue that their Stage 1 third-place finish was the real surprise in their season.

Still, it would be an oversimplification to reduce their struggles solely to this. Wolves’ head coach, Hoc Wah “Fayde” Chong, shed light on the challenges the roster faced during their 11-12th place finish in Stage 2.

According to the Malaysian coach, fatigue played a major role. After Masters Toronto, the team had just five days of rest before diving back into bootcamp for the next split. On top of that, sponsor obligations cut further into their training and recovery time. Fayde also pointed to the map pool changes, which stripped Wolves of two of their best picks.

Howling Wolf

Despite their efforts, Wolves failed to turn things around. The organization even attempted to bring back Zhang “V1ya” Ruimin into the lineup to steady the pack, but the Chinese player never ended up playing a single match this split. Team captain and In-Game-Leader Pong “SiuFatBB” Ka-hei was vocal throughout this difficult run. He shared messages both after Wolves missed playoffs and once the team was officially eliminated from Champions contention.

The Hong Kong player took accountability for the team’s shortcomings, acknowledging his failures as a leader while also offering encouragement to Wolves’ fanbase. In his messages, he promised them that he will return stronger next year. If he does, Wolves will be ready to show once again their level which, as we have seen, can be one of the best.