Stuck in a downward spiral since their third-place finish at the VALORANT Toronto Masters, Wolves Esports is trying to save the ship by announcing, on Saturday, July 26, the return of Zhang “V1yA” Ruimin to their active roster. Benched for the past eight months, the Chinese player rejoins a lineup that has struggled to find its rhythm, with three consecutive losses to open Stage 2 of VCT China. Their last chance to salvage the season will come this Sunday, July 27, in a decisive best-of-three against Dragon Ranger Gaming — a loss would eliminate the team from Champions contention.

After a surprising run in Canada, where they secured a memorable Top 3 finish with notable wins over Team Heretics and Gen.G, Wolves now seems unable to find the path back to victory. As we previously detailed in an earlier article — citing comments from head coach Chong “Fayde” Hoc Wa — the players have been worn out both mentally and physically. Overwhelmed by sponsor obligations and a short break between Masters and the start of Stage 2, the team never truly had time to recover. Fayde also pointed to the latest map rotation, which saw Pearl and Split removed, as a major blow to their map pool.

Wolves need a hero

Currently sitting at 0-3 in VCT China’s Omega group, Wolves took a heavy beating in their opening matches — first against FunPlus Phoenix, and then a disastrous performance against All Gamers, where they managed to put up only six rounds in the entire series. In their most recent match against XLG at the end of Week 2, the Chinese squad looked somewhat improved, but still couldn’t secure a win. XLG — the #1 seed from the Toronto Masters — took the series 13-8 on Lotus and 13-9 on Haven. If Wolves loses to DRG this Sunday, they’ll be eliminated from playoff contention and likely forced to kiss their Champions Paris 2025 dreams goodbye. Currently, sitting fourth in Championship circuit points, Wolves would no longer control their own destiny if they fall short.

It’s within this tense and uncertain context that V1yA returns, nearly eight months after his last official appearance with the team. Signed at the end of 2023, he played two tournaments with Wolves in 2024 — including one they won: the WALL-E Cup, alongside the same core roster (minus Tyler “juicy” James Aeria, who joined the team in V1yA’s absence before the season began). While it’s expected that V1yA will return to action this Sunday, it remains unclear whose spot he will take in the starting lineup.