With the intense competition going on, Group I and Group J of Rizhao Region have already decided the top teams. In Group J, Yingkou Beyond and Linyi Red Arrow successfully broke through, while the top two teams in Group I went to Dalian Read Line and Rizhao Yuqi without any doubt.
According to the rules of the tournament, the next matchup will be a crossover match between the top two teams from Group I and Group J, namely Dalian Yixing versus Linyi Red Arrows, and Yingkou Beyond versus Rizhao Yuqi. The winners will earn a spot in the Top 16 of the Finals and lock up the last two tickets to the Finals of the 2022 China Champions League Regional Tournament.
In these two matchups, while the match between Yingkou Beyond and Rizhao Yuqi may still be uncertain, the matchup between Dalian Yixing and Linyi Red Arrow seems to be a foregone conclusion. The reason is obvious: Dalian Yixing is too strong.
In the lineup of Dalian Read Line, Yan Peng, Wang Liang, Hu Yanqiang, Ji Zhengyu and other players have a wealth of experience in the Chinese Super League and the Chinese League, whether in the Championship, or in the Chinese League, they have the strength to compete with each other. It is not difficult to foresee the advantage of such a near-professional team in the Champions League. In the last round of the Group I group stage, Dalian Yixing beat Changchun Kirin 8-0, in which Yan Peng scored 5 goals, staging a wonderful show of "five blessings" and "five sons".
It is worth mentioning that the cross-elimination matches of the regional tournaments are played in a two-legged system, which greatly reduces the possibility of cold-shooting. Therefore, barring unforeseen circumstances, Dalian Yixing's advancement to the Round of 16 of the Champions League Finals seems to be a foregone conclusion.
Dalian Jinshiwan, who are the hosts, also made it through to the finals in Dalian. This makes it possible for two Dalian teams to compete in the 2022 CCC Champions League Finals, namely Dalian Jinshiwan and Dalian Yixing. Dalian Jinshiwan's squad is also luxurious, with strong players such as Zhou Ting and Zhao Yibo joining the team, making them competitive at the finals stage as well.
In other words, these two Dalian teams are expected to be promoted to the China B League at the same time. If this goal is realized, Dalian will have three professional teams in the 2023 season: Dalian People, Dalian Jinshiwan and Dalian Read.
Let us all look forward to whether this goal will be reached.
