China: CNFL playoff race heats up as 50-team league prepares for postseason
The regular season is over, the contenders have emerged, and this weekend the Chinese National Football League begins the long road toward crowning its 2026 champion.
With more than 50 teams competing across China, the CNFL has come a long way from the eight-club competition that launched in 2013. But as the wildcard round approaches on October 17, the question is not how much the league has grown. It is whether anybody can stop the defending champion Beijing Cyclones.
The Cyclones are unbeaten, the Shanghai Warriors are looking for their fourth championship, and the Shanghai Wolves are determined to reclaim the title they owned for three consecutive seasons. Meanwhile, the Hong Kong Combat Orcas and Xi’an Panthers have made compelling cases for themselves as serious contenders.
Cyclones chasing back-to-back championships
The Beijing Cyclones made history last year, defeating the Shanghai Warriors 51-42 to become the first team from north of Shanghai to win the CNFL championship.
They have given little indication that they intend to surrender that distinction anytime soon.
Beijing finished the regular season 5-0, although two victories came by forfeit. In the three games actually played, the Cyclones outscored their opponents 142-14, recording two shutouts.
Quarterback Ivan Yang (杨木), No. 12, has been particularly impressive, throwing for 750 yards and 14 touchdowns in those three games. Receivers Liang Yu Mo (梁宇墨), No. 88, and Cao Yu (曹宇), No. 84, have each caught five touchdown passes.
The numbers suggest an offense capable of overwhelming opponents. The concern is that two forfeits have left Beijing with fewer meaningful games than some of its championship rivals.
Whether that matters when the competition gets tougher is one of the postseason’s more interesting questions.
Shanghai rivals have unfinished business
If the Cyclones are the team to beat, the two clubs from Shanghai may represent their biggest obstacles.
The Shanghai Warriors know exactly how close they came last season. After reclaiming the East from their city rivals, they reached the championship game only to lose a 51-42 shootout to Beijing.
For a club that won CNFL titles in 2015, 2017 and 2018, another championship would make the Warriors the first team in league history to win four.
They have certainly played like contenders.
The Warriors swept East Group A at 5-0, outscoring opponents by an average of 25.2 points per game. Their campaign began with a 28-0 victory over the newly promoted Ningbo Battleship at Jiangwan Stadium on June 13.
Quarterback Xiao Qiming (肖奇明), No. 81, threw for 121 yards and a touchdown, while veteran running back Aphonso Thomas, No. 0, added 113 rushing yards and a score on 15 carries.
The Warriors also defeated the Shanghai Wolves 34-18, a result that ultimately helped settle the East division race.
But writing off the Wolves would be a mistake.
From 2022 through 2024, they became the first team in CNFL history to win three consecutive championships. Their dominance ended last season when the Warriors took the East and the Cyclones eliminated them 30-24 in the semifinals.
This year, the Wolves finished second in the division, losing only to the Warriors.
That leaves two experienced Shanghai teams with plenty of motivation and the possibility of another postseason collision with Beijing.
South and West produce dangerous challengers
The championship conversation cannot be limited to Beijing and Shanghai.
In the South, the Hong Kong Combat Orcas have quietly developed into one of the CNFL’s most consistent teams.
Once overshadowed by their local rivals, the Combat Orcas have now topped the South for three consecutive seasons. They completed their second straight 5-0 campaign this year, highlighted by a 43-6 victory over the Hong Kong Warhawks.
Quarterback Zheng Zhisheng (鄭智升), No. 15, has thrown for 676 yards and eight touchdowns, giving the Combat Orcas an offense that could create problems for opponents outside their division.
The Shenzhen Buffaloes, who finished 4-1, were their closest challengers, with their only loss coming in a 23-13 defeat to Hong Kong.
Out West, meanwhile, a familiar name is missing from the top of the standings.
For most of the past decade, the Chengdu Pandaman have dominated their division, including trips to the national championship game in 2020 and 2021.
This season, the Xi’an Panthers changed that.
The Panthers completed a perfect 5-0 regular season by defeating the Pandaman 19-16 in the division finale, leaving Chengdu at 4-1.
Kicker Dilixati Dawutijiang (迪力夏梯 达吾提江), No. 11, has been an important part of Xi’an’s success, providing a dependable scoring option in close games.
The Panthers have already shown they can beat the West’s established powerhouse. The playoffs will reveal whether they can do the same against the country’s elite.
Eight wildcard games launch postseason
The first step toward the championship begins October 17, when eight wildcard games open the CNFL playoffs.
The top two teams in each regional Group A have earned automatic places in the round of 16. The remaining contenders must fight their way through the wildcard round, where Group B qualifiers will have opportunities to test themselves against higher-division opponents.
The matchups are:
- Jinan Mammoths (West A, No. 4) vs Chengdu Mustangs (West B, No. 1)
- Shijiazhuang Liberators (North A, No. 3) vs Changchun Icebreakers (North B, No. 2)
- Shenzhen Kunpeng (South A, No. 3) vs Foshan South China Tigers (South B, No. 2)
- Nanjing Lions (East A, No. 4) vs SuXi Marauders (East B, No. 1)
- Beijing Commander (North A, No. 5) vs Shenyang Thunders (North B, No. 1)
- Wuhan Spicy (West A, No. 3) vs Zhengzhou Steamer (West B, No. 2)
- Shanghai Hawks (East A, No. 3) vs Hangzhou Ospreys (East B, No. 2)
- (Nanchang) Gan Cavalry (South A, No. 4) vs Fuzhou Aqualions (South B, No. 1)
The wildcard round also highlights an important aspect of the CNFL’s development. Clubs that began as small training groups now have a pathway toward competing with teams that have been established for more than a decade.
The Ningbo Battleship is one example. Founded by just four players in 2018, the club reached Group A this season and finished 1-4, with three defeats coming by five points or fewer. Its lone victory came against the Wenzhou Red Bucks.
That kind of progression illustrates how the league’s divisional structure is helping newer programs develop.
Growing league faces its biggest test
For all its expansion, the CNFL remains an amateur competition. Players juggle practice and games with jobs, studies and family responsibilities, while clubs must deal with the logistical challenges of traveling across a country as vast as China.
The league has also worked to improve its visibility through an official app featuring schedules, scores and player information, along with a presence on Bilibili, the Chinese video platform where the complete 2025 championship game and additional 2026 content have been made available.
Those developments are gradually making the sport easier to follow, both domestically and potentially for international audiences.
But with the postseason now just days away, attention shifts from the league’s growth to what happens on the field.
The Cyclones have the championship and an unbeaten record. The Warriors have unfinished business. The Wolves know what it takes to win three titles in a row. And the Combat Orcas and Panthers have spent the regular season proving that the CNFL’s traditional powers are not alone.
The next several weeks will determine whether the trophy stays in Beijing, returns to Shanghai, or finds an entirely new home.
