Smilegate Entertainment announced that AG, the reigning champions of the Chinese professional league, CFPL, defeated their soul rivals, Baisha, in the quarterfinal winners’ match of the ‘CFS 2023 Grand Finals’ held at the Gaoxin Sports Center in Chengdu, China on the 9th.
In the first set, which started on a sub basemap, AG started on the offensive in the first half. AG was able to see through Baisha’s defensive strategy and flexibly penetrated to bomb placement every round. Even with Baixia standing in their way, their attackers, including Zheng Fengfei (Even), Zhang Ye (ZY), and Zhang Qian (ZQ), showed off their best shots.
AG took the points down to the sixth round, forcing Voisier to call a quick timeout. After the timeout, Baisha won two rounds, but in the final round of the first half, AG’s Zheng Fengfei once again scored a multi-kill, and the first half ended with a 7-2 AG advantage. On defense, AG took the first set by a 10-3 margin, winning rounds 1, 3, and 4, except for round 2, where Baisha went “all in”.
The second game map was Ankara, a map that favors the offense with a win rate of around 55%. AG started off defensively and went back and forth with Baisha in the first half. Zheng Fengfei and Zhang Jian continued the good momentum from the first game, taking a one-point lead at 5-4 in the first half. AG switched to attacking in the second half, and with the advantage in their favor, they showed off their skills to the fullest. They won the next four rounds to take the set, and then, after dropping one point to Baisha’s counterattack, they won the next two points to come within one shot of the final.
AG perfected their strategy and tactics in the third set. This set was played in the harbor, and AG started in a defensive position, which gave them a tactical advantage. The first round of the first half belonged to Baisha. The ‘Xxiao’ politician was doing his part against AG, getting two kills from sniping and one from a pistol. However, AG immediately regrouped and took the next seven rounds to close out the first half with a 7-2 lead.
At the start of the second half, AG won two rounds to take an early game point. However, the powerful Bai Xia didn’t stand still. In crunch time, Wang “N9” Hao and others stepped up to the plate and brought the score to 9-6. In the fateful seventh round, AG closed out the game with sniper Meng “Doo” Mengkun slowly pressuring the A-side lane, while other players succeeded in setting up the C4 and defeating the remnants of Baisha who came in to stop them.
With the win, AG punched their ticket to the finals and reaffirmed their status as the undisputed champions of CrossFire by reaching the CFS Finals for the third consecutive year. Defending champions Baisha, on the other hand, were pushed to the final game and will face the winner of the match between BlankSheet Gaming and Ranked Esports for the final spot.
