It's Already Over!

Nobody could have imagined that Fnatic would make a last-minute roster change just ten days before the Major Qualifier.

Aside from words of encouragement for Qin Feng, the community was naturally full of malicious comments.

[Bold prediction: Fnatic go 0–3 and get eliminated from the Major Qualifier.]

[I really don't know if Fnatic have gone blind. Wouldn't bringing JW and olofmeister back be 114,514 times better than using a newcomer?]

[Fnatic are a joke. They make a roster change ten days beforehand and think they're OG at TI8?]

[OG at TI8? Fnatic are already washed. They can't even make it onto the stickers.]

With the Major Qualifier about to begin, the post about Qin Feng joining Fnatic had almost instantly turned into a battleground for community flame wars.

But Qin Feng, across the ocean, had long since stopped paying attention to the latest news in the Chinese community.

The PGL Major Antwerp 2022 RMR A was set to kick off on April 17.

There were only ten days left.

Having just signed Qin Feng, Fnatic needed to make the most of that time to build team synergy.

Practice started at two in the afternoon.

After lunch, mezii and ALEX arrived outside the practice room an hour early.

With Aether joining from China, everyone on the team had higher hopes for the Major.

mezii smiled and patted ALEX on the shoulder. "If we were playing with Peppzor, we might not even make it to the Major. Good thing Samuelsson took a chance and found Aether."

"Tell me about it." ALEX sighed. "After these past few days of scrims, I really think he can lead us to a great result at the Major."

They chatted as they made their way to the practice room.

"Click, click." The sounds of a mouse and keyboard came from inside every so often.

mezii and ALEX exchanged a glance.

Who else could be in the practice room but Qin Feng, who had only just joined the team?

They took a quick look at Qin Feng's screen. He had already scored more than nine thousand headshot kills against bots.

ALEX couldn't help thinking aloud, "Maybe this is why he's been performing so well in scrims these past few days."

Ten days passed in the blink of an eye.

April 16.

The day before the European Major Qualifier was the final day of the Asian Major Qualifier.

Tyloo, the only Chinese team competing, delivered a stunning upset.

They lost 0–2 to Mongolia's IHC, then 0–2 to Australia's Renegades, and were eliminated from the Major.

It might have been the darkest day of 2022 for Chinese CS.

The headline "It's already over, Tyloo lose 0–2 to longtime rivals Renegades" could barely conceal the writer's disappointment in Tyloo.

People weren't disappointed that Tyloo had lost.

They were disappointed in the way they had lost.

On the second map, the Cowboys' pick, Vertigo,

Tyloo started on the Counter-Terrorist side and took a massive 13–2 lead in the first half.

If Tyloo had kept up the momentum and closed out the Cowboys in the second half, the result on the third map, Mirage, might still have gone either way.

But was a thirteen-round lead enough?

Tyloo had given their answer: no.

The higher the hopes, the greater the disappointment.

An uproar erupted almost instantly across the Chinese CS news community.

[RNM, give us our money back!]

[You guys are brutal. You've crashed the app with all the flaming.]

[IHC's two straight wins fail to hide their decline; Tyloo's million-dollar skins steal the show.]

[In a sense, Tyloo were the first team to start preparing for the Major in the second half of 2022.]

Reading the news, Qin Feng couldn't help sighing.

Back in 2018, he had been a Tyloo fan, too.

At the time, Chinese CS had seemed to be thriving.

At IEM Sydney, Tyloo had beaten C9 and SK, then the strongest teams in the world, on their way to the semifinals.

But now...

"Feng, what's wrong?" ALEX asked, noticing Qin Feng's troubled expression in the practice room.

The first round of the European RMR was tomorrow, and they were about to face Sweden's GamerLegion.

ALEX didn't want anything to go wrong with the team's star player, Aether.

"Nothing." Qin Feng quietly closed the Perfect World Esports app and went back to playing AIMBOT.

Tomorrow was Fnatic's match in the European Major Qualifier.

Qin Feng knew that with Tyloo eliminated, plenty of Chinese viewers would be turning their attention to Fnatic, the team with a Chinese player.

"If Fnatic lose, I'll probably get flamed to pieces, too." Qin Feng smiled wryly, but soon his gaze grew resolute.

If there's no torchlight from now on, then I'll be the only light in CNCS.

April 17.

The first day of the European Major.

The broadcast was once again on Douyu's CSBOY livestream.

"Welcome, everyone, to Fnatic versus GamerLegion. I'm your commentator, Ma Xixi."

"I'm commentator Captain Mo."

"I'm the utility player, Ming Ri Qing."

"Who are you guys?"

It was the same familiar opening.

But unlike usual, the chat wasn't spamming things like "Ma 3000" and "Aladdin." Instead, it was filled with "Aether."

"Looks like everyone's excited to see how Aether performs at the Major," Ma Xixi said energetically, sounding confident about Qin Feng's performance in the opening match.

"Definitely. Aether is pretty much the only Chinese player left in the Major now," Mo agreed.

"Let's take a look at the map vetoes."

"Fnatic ban Vertigo and Mirage. GamerLegion ban Dust II, Inferno, and Amusement Park."

"Fnatic's last ban is Ancient."

"Can Aether play Nuke? As far as I know, most Chinese teams don't play this map."

[I just checked HLTV. TBD have never played Nuke since they were founded.]

[I checked the 5E Ladder, too. Aether barely played Nuke on 5E.]

[Can we start celebrating early?]

[How do you know Aether can't play Nuke? Bold prediction: Fnc stomp GL.]

[Sure. If Aether finishes with a positive K/D, I'll wash my hair upside down on stream.]

The chat began arguing endlessly again.

"Ming Ri Qing, ban the people stirring things up," Ma Xixi said with a frown, turning his attention to the in-game footage. The Pistol Round had begun.

"Considering Aether is taking over Peppzor's spot, he'll probably be the team's support..." Mo trailed off, then noticed the Dual Pistols in Qin Feng's hands.

"My god, mezii bought two Dual Pistols."

"He gave one to ALEX, holding Yellow House on A Site, and the other to Aether, holding the metal doors by Connector!"

"Who could have expected Aether to get star-player treatment after joining the team less than a month ago?"

Ma Xixi sounded surprised, then added, "mezii only bought a Flashbang for himself. He didn't even get armor."

"Normally, Aether could've used a USP to hold the metal doors by Connector, letting mezii buy another grenade."

"That's how much they trust Aether's ability."

As Ma Xixi and Mo continued their commentary, GL's players gradually settled on their attack route.

There weren't many options on Nuke during the Pistol Round.

After all, taking a straight-up fight outside with Glocks against USPs was a serious disadvantage.

After a brief discussion, GL decided to speed up and hit A.

Thanks to Shuangming Zhisheng for the 100 Qidian Coins tip.