![\"Trace](\"https:\/\/vpesports.com\/valorant\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/trace-esports-beat-a-team-in-two-map-china-play-in-series-1.png\")
deLb finished as the leading player<\/h2>\n
deLb recorded 43 kills across the series and died 24 times. He used Cypher on Sunset and Vyse on Lotus. Both agents supported Trace’s defensive rounds. Kai added 34 kills while changing from Neon to Waylay. FengF used two duel-focused roles and finished with 32 kills. LuoK1ng and FKEY completed the five-player lineup. Layla led A Team with 34 kills across the two maps. Monk followed with 26. Eren, Dingwei and Folykiki completed the roster during both drafts.<\/p>\n
A Team’s strongest period came during Sunset. The team won six attacking rounds after halftime and moved within one round of Trace several times. Lotus created the larger separation. Trace won the entire second half and reduced A Team’s chance to build complete purchases late in the map.<\/p>\n
The victory moves Trace into the upper quarterfinals<\/h2>\n
The veto began with A Team removing Breeze and Trace removing Haven. A Team selected Sunset. Trace answered with Lotus as its own map choice. A Team removed Ascent after the first two selections. Trace removed Split. Summit remained available as the deciding map, but the series ended before it was required. Trace advanced through the upper bracket. Their next confirmed opponent is All Gamers in the upper quarterfinals.<\/p>\n
A Team moved to the lower bracket after the defeat. The roster remains in the tournament but no longer has room for another loss. Trace left the opening round with a 2-0 victory. A Team continued through the lower side of the bracket.<\/p>\n
Trace won both selected maps in different ways<\/h2>\n
Sunset required a close finish. Trace never held a large enough lead to relax, while A Team continued collecting attacking rounds. The two-round margin remained uncertain until the end. Lotus followed another pattern. The teams were level after twelve rounds. Trace then produced seven straight defensive wins and ended the map without allowing another reply. The result therefore contained one narrow map and one clear half. Trace handled both situations without changing its starting five. deLb supplied the strongest individual total. His Cypher work helped protect the Sunset finish. His Vyse then contributed to the perfect Lotus defence.<\/p>\n A Team won eleven rounds on its own selection and six on Lotus. Trace reached thirteen on both maps and advanced with the complete 2-0 result. Trace’s five starters remained deLb, Kai, FengF, LuoK1ng and FKEY. A Team used monk, Layla, Eren, Dingwei and Folykiki on both maps. Summit had been left as the third map after the veto. It was not played because Trace closed Lotus. The upper-bracket win placed Trace directly against All Gamers in the next round. A Team entered the lower side of the play-ins after the loss. The roster’s next series now carries elimination risk.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Trace Esports defeated A Team 2-0 in the opening round of the VCT China Stage 2 play-ins. Trace won Sunset 13-11 and then closed Lotus 13-6. A Team remained close throughout the first map. Trace then won every defensive round after the side change on Lotus and completed the series without a decider. Sunset stayed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5451,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5450","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"Five](\"https:\/\/vpesports.com\/valorant\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/trace-esports-beat-a-team-in-two-map-china-play-in-series-2.png\")