The 4th and 5th placed teams from Trials China have replaced Miraculous Youngster and 1246 in the first season of China's Contenders division. Both MY and 1246 rejected invites to the inaugural season, earned through their high placements in the Premier series last year. SN1 and Lucky Future Zenith will fill these spots after competing in Trials China last week.

News broke in December last year that both MY and 1246 were withdrawing from the Overwatch scene, although neither organisation committed to a complete step back from the game initially. However with this news in mind, it appears unlikely that we will see either party return to Overwatch in the near future, with some of MY's players recently streaming themselves practicing PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds.

In other news, Team CC will fill the Shanghai Dragon's Academy spot in Contenders China. NetEase acquired Invictus Gaming's Overwatch department last year, forming Team CC to compete in Premier Series events. CC went on to turn in a 10th place finish in the Premier Series Summer and a 13th-16th place finish in the Nexus Cup Annual Finals.

The loss of China's top two teams will be a hard pill to swallow for many, adding to controversies that have circled in recent times. However, the upcoming Contenders China series has the chance to restore much needed enthusiasm to a vitally audience.

The participants in Contenders China 2018 Season 1 will be: