Taiwan esports team Flash Wolves wins APL 2025 championship in Bangkok

Taipei, July 21 (CNA) The Flash Wolves (FW), a top esports team from Taiwan, defeated host team EArena from Thailand to claim the Arena of Valor Premier League (APL) championship title in Bangkok on Sunday.

Led by captain Hsia Yu-hsiang (夏煜翔), the Taiwanese team's roster also included Wang Tze-hsiu (王子修), Chan Che-jui (詹哲睿), Tsai Cheng-tse (蔡政澤) and Lin Wei-che (林煒哲).

In the best-of-seven final, the Flash Wolves beat Thailand's EArena 4-2 in Arena of Valor, a multiplayer online battle game developed by Singapore-based gaming company Garena. The victory earned them a US$200,000 payday.

The Taiwanese team's last APL title was in 2020.

Wang, who goes by his pseudonym NaiLiu, was also named the Finals Most Valuable Player (FMVP) after Sunday's tournament, which the Flash Wolves clinched in a rapid-fire Game 6 that lasted less than 10 minutes.

"The victory felt a bit sudden, given that we didn't spend much time on it," Wang told CNA after the championship win.

"In that moment, I was excited, yet it felt unreal," Wang said, indicating that he waited for over three years to win the title after joining the Flash Wolves in 2022.

"There was a point when I didn't even feel like playing anymore," Wang said. "I had put in so much effort but became a bit discouraged because the results didn't meet my expectations."

The player, who said he did not give up on his dream, thanked Wanin, the company that runs the Flash Wolves, for the opportunity and indicated that he was ready to take on the next challenge.