This year’s international CrossFire season has been nothing but phenomenal, as non-Chinese teams finally to get to fight with their Chinese counterparts with parity. Also, several teams have risen up to the occasion, particularly Penta SPORTS, F3, KOWAI and ruLegends; these teams have proven that CrossFire is not just a game of aim and reflex; they displayed to the world that strategy and coordination can also win games.

Here are the trends that may happen in next season’s CFS and Invitationals:

Teams becoming more competitive

As the game becomes more intense, the competition heats up as old teams need to regain their footing against many up-and-coming teams, each hungry for glory and honor in the
Expect less blowouts (i.e. 10-3, 10-4 scorelines) and expect more intense matches between teams that will go to the Golden Round. The number of matchups that have gone beyond 17 rounds has been astonishing; after all, quite a good number of them have resulted in one-sided victories for the winners in the past.
Close matches are usually a sign of a healthy competitive scene: It means that no one is utterly dominant over the others and it also means more rounds for viewers to enjoy!

More Chinese teams being beaten

Yes, you saw it here first: The rest of the world is finally catching up on the Chinese. Sure, no foreign team might win against the Chinese on home soil, as it has proven to be extremely hard…just yet.
However, one should not be surprised if Chinese CF teams get beaten decisively at other tournaments; after all, BOSS.CFVN in CFS Manila and ruLegends in the CFS Grand Finals have shown that it is indeed possible to bleed them dry.
This should also serve as motivation to the Chinese to step up their game and not just rely on their spray and tap control. Who knows, maybe they will be the ones to discover a new way to play CrossFire!

New strategies discovered

Aggressive pushes? Give it to All Gamers (AG) and Kowai. Five-man trades and split pushes? Give it to ruLegends. Play switches? Give it to F3 and VG.
Teams will evolve this year. It’s not a prediction or trend; it’s the reality they need to address if they want to go deep in either the CFS ot the Invitationals.

Conclusion

Teams this year will create more strategies, teams will be more equal with each other and the Chinese will start to feel the heat. This translates to better matches, both for the teams and the spectators who love nothing but high-octane, top-tier matches!

2017 CrossFire is looking to be promising!