Reigning Contenders China champions Lucky Future Zenith Lucky Future Zenith Inactive YARG Kim Gwan-woo dps Lucid Yoo Jun-seo (유준서) support have withdrawn from NeXT Summer, with the tournament organizer citing major changes in the team's personnel as the reason for their exit. The squad that fills LFZ's place in the LAN stage of the tournament will now be determined by a match between the 3rd-4th place teams in the online qualifiers.

LFZ's sudden withdrawal from the 200,000 CNY ($29,251~ USD) tournament has fueled speculation that multiple members of the team have been picked up for the second season of the Overwatch League. For now, some of China's best teams will continue to compete in the Online Qualifier. The top three teams from this qualifier will compete in Guangzhou alongside RunAway RunAway Contenders KR Rank #10 F4zE Lim Si-hyun off tank Revenge An Hyeong-geun (안형근) flex support WOOHYAL Sung Seung-hyun (성승현) off tank Mer1t Choi Tae-min dps .