EDG ZMJJKK Burnt Out After Grueling 2023 VALORANT Schedule

EDG Valorant star, Zheng ‘ZmjjKK’ Yongkang, has revealed that he is burnt out after a grueling 2023 esports schedule. The Chinese team played in 11 tournaments throughout the year, with many of them being LAN events.

Despite EDward Gaming’s success in many of these events, playing over 50 matches in total, the team and its star player did not get much of a break after the World Championship. They continued to compete, playing in the China Evolution Series just a month later. In a recent livestream, ZmjjKK expressed his frustration with the team’s packed schedule, stating that he and his teammates are tired and not in good health due to playing too many tournaments. The team has now reached the end of its tether.

EDG burns out Valorant squad with constant tournaments

EDG had a successful year, achieving their best results internationally by placing in the top six at Masters Tokyo and Valorant Champions 2023. However, the constant participation in tournaments and booking more events in the off-season has taken a toll on the team.

ZmjjKK, one of the most exciting Valorant players in the world, expressed his team’s exhaustion on stream, stating that the coaches, players, and whole team are tired. He also revealed that during their poor showing at the AfreecaTV off-season event, they were using old strategies from their playbook instead of coming up with new ones.

As a result, the Chinese squad has decided to take a break during the holidays to regain their competitive feeling. ZmjjKK hopes to regain his form and believes that the rare holiday break will help him and his team.

Improvement of the schedule to come in 2025

VALORANT Esport CEO Leo Faria recently stated that Riot believes the current competition calendar is “a bit too dense from February to August and too sparse from September to January. From 2025, VCT competitions will be held at longer intervals, with the season starting earlier and ending later, while the number of events will remain the same.”

Finally, I’d like to use this opportunity to give you a sneak peek into some of our plans for 2025. We don’t usually talk about things so far in advance, but I want to set some expectations. We’ve always been very intentional about having a healthy offseason that gives pros time…

— Leo Faria (@lhfaria) December 11, 2023

EDward Gaming and ZmjjKK will be back in action in 2024 as they were selected to join the VCT China league by Riot Games. The league’s kickoff tournament is set to start on February 22.