It uses MCTS, but that's not the same thing as the claim, now is it? If you look at the win rates in the AG paper for the NN vs MCTS+NN and then consider the performance curve, use of a single TPU, crushing superiority of Master's flawless 60 blitz matches and Ke Jie matches despite very fast moves, the released self-play matches, and comparing with FB's Dark Forest, it's clear that the AG NN all on its own, without any MCTS, is a truly formidable player that would likely crush many pros, although I don't know if it would reach Sedol or Ke Jie levels of play.