What a way to open up their campaign. If they knew they will be able to change history, they will relish the chance of creating another one again.

There is no other way to wreck history other than the way ruLegends did it. They destroyed All Gamers (AG), widely considered to be the number one CrossFire team in the world, in their opening matchup.

In this way, they made sure that VG.Panda and AG will clash with each other in the quarterfinals, denying the Chinese two podium spots in the top four and ensuring that it will be an international affair up there.

It was on Port that they wrote history.

Port: What Is It? Why is it Favored by Foreign Teams?

Port is a relatively small map divided into three portions: paths to A (which is the larger site in the map and is located in an elevated area), middle (which gives access to the A and B entrances as well as an opportunity to split) and paths to B (the smaller site in the map and has many nooks and corners for the Global Risk to hide on).


Everyone but the Chinese loves this map. Mexico is totally hated though.

This, along with the short distances between A and B from the Global Risk perspective, make it a defensive map.

Now, Chinese teams have a reputation for aim duels and spraydowns. This is why they favor maps such as Black Widow, Ankara and Sub Base where they can get their favored style of play without having to check tons of corners and without worrying which side of the map they are standing on.

In the same vein, they avoid Port if they can help it - and they’d rather not play Mexico unless they have entirely no other choice.

Not surprisingly, the Chinese have had a difficult time playing the map: Even in their wins, they are forced to play 10-7, 10-8 or even overtimes and golden rounds before they can eke out a win on Port.

As such, the non-Chinese squads like to do Port and with the rise of international CrossFire, the “non-Chinese” maps have proven to be the bane of every Chinese team that steps on it.

First Half: Convincing on the Attack

The Russians opened up their CrossFire 2016 Grand Finals campaign on port not through relying on  pick-off strategies or quick executes like PENTA Sports or Pacific.Macta did in the past.

Instead, they favored a more meticulous strategy where they played the clock to its limit, not giving the Chinese any clue where they wanted to go.

The Chinese were able to hold of their attacks every now and then; however, it took a ton of insane individual performances by AG in order for them to take four rounds on the board.

And the rest of the rounds? All won by the Russians on the attack, of course!

In the third round, they went on a double fake in order to disrupt AG’s defenses.The following round, they charged into B site as five. Then, by the sixth, they featured an attack where four men struck B with one lurking on connector towards B.

The seventh round was won by AG after an aggressive push strat. However, in the eight, ruLegends decided to rush A without the execute, managing to make it into a 2v2 and winning by making a great after plant on B.


A lesson on how to tackle a site.

The last round of the half was marred by a technical problem just as the Russians were to wreck the Chinese. In the end, ruLegends take it 5-4 on what many consider to be the harder side to play on.

Second Half: Nothing to Say

For the second half, the very fact that the Russians only allowed AG to take one round shows their dominance on the defensive side of Port against what is arguably the best CrossFire team in the world.


You know you have won when you just roar at your opponents like a bear.

The Chinese only won one attack on the B site; the rest of the rounds were easily taken by the Russians due to their excellent defense as well as a deep understanding of how rotations and timings work on the map.

Thus, the map ended 10-5 in favor of ruLegends, who showed the world that the Chinese can be defeated decisively with the use of correct strategies and tactics.

Takeaways

Firstly, the Russians never used sniper rifles in order to create pickoff opportunities. Secondly, they made sure that the sites are isolated by smokes and that they control the middle of the map as much as possible; one of the rounds that AG won on their Global Risk half was due to a push from both approaches to B.

Finally, they went together as one team, even in situations where they are at a disadvantage in numbers. They made use of their numerical advantage when cracking open a site as well as in retakes, doing utmost care that each member of the team can trade kills efficiently in the map.
Overall, this match has shown that a well-working team can do wonders.

If ruLegends and other teams continue playing in this way, then we may very well see an interesting 2017 season!