Bilibili Gaming sign world champion Smoggy from EDG

The controller from EDward Gaming’s 2024 title side ends more than four years at the club and joins a BLG team that missed Champions Shanghai and is still looking for a head coach.

Bilibili Gaming have signed Zhang “Smoggy” Zhao for the 2027 VCT season. EDward Gaming announced on Weibo on Tuesday 10 November that he was leaving the team with immediate effect, and BLG confirmed his arrival on Wednesday 11 November.

Sheep Esports reported the move on 5 November, as we noted in our round-up of the China offseason.

From substitute to world champion

Smoggy came to EDG from Weibo Gaming in July 2022, and EDG’s farewell post recalls that his first appearance came as a substitute at Champions Istanbul that year. He started out in a flex role, covering initiator, sentinel and secondary duelist around ZmjjKK, before moving to primary controller midway through 2024, VLR.gg writes.

The switch paid off within months. EDG won China Kickoff, Stage 1 and Stage 2 in 2024 and then became the first Chinese team to win VALORANT Champions, beating Team Heretics 3-2 in the Seoul final.

Under head coach Autumn in 2026, EDG won China Stage 1 and finished third in London, but Champions Shanghai ended in the group stage. All four Chinese teams went out there without winning a series.

A steady controller for BLG

BLG won China Stage 2 in 2025, but 2026 brought fourth place in Kickoff, ninth to 10th in Stage 1 and third in Stage 2, which left them without a ticket to Shanghai. VLR.gg points out that whzy is settled as the duelist, while the controller role passed between three players during the year. Smoggy could bring stability there, although the call belongs to a head coach BLG have not yet named. Anaks has left the role and joined Titan Esports Club.

BLG’s roster now reads:

• whzy
• rushia
• nephh
• yilai
• Knight
• bud
• Smoggy
• FT

What is left of the Seoul champions

EDG keep nobody, CHICHOO, Jieni7 and stew, with zjc as a substitute. ZmjjKK, the Champions 2024 MVP, is set to join Xi Lai Gaming, according to Sheep Esports, and S1Mon is no longer on the team. If ZmjjKK goes, nobody and CHICHOO will be the only players left from the side that lifted the trophy in Seoul.

The rest of China is moving too. Sheep Esports reports that Jinggg is set to join All Gamers from Paper Rex and that XLG are lining up xavi8k as their in-game leader.

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