| 2019 CAFL season | |
|---|---|
| League | China Arena Football League |
| Sport | Arena football |
| Duration | November 13—23, 2019 |
| Number of games | 4 |
| Number of teams | 4 |
| Finals champions | Wuhan Gators (1st title) |
| Runners-up | Beijing Lions |
The 2019 CAFL season was the second season of the China Arena Football League (CAFL).[1]
Background
After the 2016 season, the Dalian Dragon Kings and Shenzhen Naja relocated to become the Shenyang Black Rhinos and Wuhan Gators, respectively.[2] In June 2017, it was announced that the 2017 season was being moved to the spring of 2018.[3] In January 2018, the league postponed the start of their second season to continue to establish business partnerships in China. The league has targeted a return to play in the autumn of 2019.[1]
In September 2019, the CAFL released an abbreviated schedule, with a two-game regular season and a playoff tournament featuring all four teams, with games played November 6, 9, 20 and 23. Uniquely among professional football leagues, the CAFL playoff seeds were set as part of the schedule, with the semifinal round (December 6) consisting of the two matchups that did not play in the regular season. The winners of the semifinal round will play for the championship two days after the semifinals, and the losers for a consolation game the same day.[4]
On November 8, the CAFL announced that the first game had been postponed to November 13. Two days later, the league announced that the regular season was canceled and that two of the four games scheduled would be played as exhibition games. In lieu of a regular season or semi-final playoffs, the CAFL instead held a single round-robin tournament with each team playing the other for 12 minutes, with no overtime in the event of a tie. The standings following those contests will then be used to seed the championship: the two lowest-ranked teams played a consolation round, and the two highest-ranked played for the CAFL championship. Both games were 24 minutes long, separated into two 12-minute halves, with overtime if necessary (which it was for the championship). The entirety of the CAFL tournament took place in Suzhou over the course of three days.[5]
Standings
- Wuhan Gators: 4–0
- Beijing Lions: 2–2
- Shenyang Rhinos: 1–3+
- Shanghai Skywalkers: 1–3
+ = Shenyang secured third place by way of defeating Shanghai in the consolation game.[6]
Draft
The 2017 CAFL Draft was held on July 10, 2017. 36 players were drafted with 18 of them being Americans and 18 players from China or who are of Chinese descent.[7]
Round one
| Pick # | Team | Player | Position | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shenyang Black Rhinos | Chris Dieker | QB | IN |
| 2 | Wuhan Gators | Boqiao Li | DE | CN |
| 3 | Guangzhou Power | Tang Canming | OL | CN |
| 4 | Shanghai Skywalkers | Yang Shunjun | LB | CN |
| 5 | Qingdao Clipper | Cheng Chi Sing | WR / DB | CN |
| 6 | Beijing Lions | Mike Chiang | DB | CN |
Round two
| Pick # | Team | Player | Position | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | Shenyang Black Rhinos | Liang Jianbang | WR | CN |
| 8 | Wuhan Gators | Du Xuan Ting | OL | CN |
| 9 | Guangzhou Power | Huang Zhiqian | WR / DB | CN |
| 10 | Shanghai Skywalkers | Marrio Norman | DB | IN |
| 11 | Qingdao Clipper | Fen Chao | OL / DL | CN |
| 12 | Beijing Lions | Huang Lingjie | DL | CN |
Round three
| Pick # | Team | Player | Position | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | Shenyang Black Rhinos | Chad Kolumber | OL | IN |
| 14 | Wuhan Gators | Zhang Zhengzhi | RB | CN |
| 15 | Guangzhou Power | Shi Yiqing | QB | CN |
| 16 | Shanghai Skywalkers | Raymond McNeil | OL | IN |
| 17 | Qingdao Clipper | Brenden Daley | DL | IN |
| 18 | Beijing Lions | Nick Seither | OL / DL | IN |
Round four
| Pick # | Team | Player | Position | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 | Shenyang Black Rhinos | Kyle Marley | OL / DL | IN |
| 20 | Wuhan Gators | Dionte Savage | OL | IN |
| 21 | Guangzhou Power | Dexter Davis | DL | IN |
| 22 | Shanghai Skywalkers | Zhang Chenxu | WR / DB | CN |
| 23 | Qingdao Clipper | Elbert Mack | DB | IN |
| 24 | Beijing Lions | Bryce Gauw | WR | CN |
Round five
| Pick # | Team | Player | Position | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 | Shenyang Black Rhinos | Su Mengtong | OL / DL | CN |
| 26 | Wuhan Gators | Monte Lewis | DL | IN |
| 27 | Guangzhou Power | Darius Reynolds | WR | IN |
| 28 | Shanghai Skywalkers | Li Xin | C / OL | CN |
| 29 | Qingdao Clipper | Bret Piekarski | OL | IN |
| 30 | Beijing Lions | DeAndre Perry | QB / WR | IN |
Round six
| Pick # | Team | Player | Position | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31 | Shenyang Black Rhinos | Zheng Yu Fan | WR | CN |
| 32 | Wuhan Gators | Jarred Evans | DB / QB / LB | IN |
| 33 | Guangzhou Power | Andre Martin | DB | IN |
| 34 | Shanghai Skywalkers | Byron Johnson II | WR | IN |
| 35 | Qingdao Clipper | Luo Lein Wen Yu | DL / OL | CN |
| 36 | Beijing Lions | Poppy Livers | WR | IN |
Note: CN indicates Chinese national or of Chinese descent while IN indicates international players
Source:[8]
References
- 1 2 "CAFL PLANS FOR LONG TERM SUCCESS". China Arena Football League. January 25, 2018.
- ↑ Moninghoff, Mick (July 14, 2017). "Second CAFL Draft Produces "Firsts"". caflfootball.com. Archived from the original on July 21, 2017. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
- ↑ "CAFL AND CRFA EXTEND START DATE OF SECOND SEASON". caflfootball.com. June 21, 2017. Archived from the original on July 3, 2017. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
- ↑ "CAFL RELEASES 2019 COMPETITION SCHEDULE - CAFL – Professional American Indoor Football in China".
- ↑ "CAFL 2019 COMPETITION BREAKDOWN! - CAFL – Professional American Indoor Football in China".
- ↑ @inside_arena (December 6, 2019). "Final scores from the @ArenaFLChina championship tournament:Shenyeng 6, Shanghai 0Wuhan 6, Beijing 0 Beijing…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ↑ "2017 CAFL Draft to be held July 10 – 8:00pm EST". caflfootball.com. June 14, 2017. Archived from the original on June 27, 2017. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
- ↑ "2017 CAFL DRAFT RESULTS". caflfootball.com. July 11, 2017. Archived from the original on September 29, 2017. Retrieved July 21, 2017.