This match was even easier than Qin Feng had imagined.
In the ten rounds left in the first half, GL made some tactical adjustments to counter Qin Feng and poizon's AWP, but they still struggled to break through Fnatic's double-AWP defense.
The only two rounds they managed to take came from an inner-site execute that broke through the CTs defending the A Site bombsite.
The half ended with the score locked at 13–2.
"Oh my god, is Aether really a rookie who's only been playing professionally for three months?" Ma Xixi couldn't help admiring Qin Feng as he looked at Aether's first-half stats: 19–4. "Most of the time, Aether was holding B alone from the back of B Site, but even though GL knew he was the only AWP there, they still chose to execute onto A."
"To be fair, GL's players weren't making a bad call. Aether had been absolutely explosive in the first few rounds. They were probably afraid that if they kept going to B, he'd keep building up momentum," Mo added thoughtfully.
[Fake prodigy: z4kr. Real prodigy: Aether.]
[19–4? He's carrying Fnatic on his back.]
[Isn't this way better than Tyloo? What can Tyloo do besides rely on Rong?]
[No need to put one team down to praise another. Tyloo wants to win, too.]
The viewers in the Livestream Room had shaken off yesterday's gloom.
They had been worried about whether Aether could adapt to the pace of competition in Europe. They hadn't expected him to prove his ability with his performance in Fnatic's very first match.
Of course, even with an eleven-point lead, Fnatic's five players remained calm.
A 13–2 lead didn't guarantee a win.
"For the Second Half pistol round, we'll speed up and hit A," the in-game leader, ALEX, said, turning to the team's support player, mezii. "mezii, buy an Incendiary Grenade for Yellow House, then throw two flashes. We'll push out through Yellow House and Iron Door."
There weren't many tactics to choose from in a pistol round, and an execute onto A was undoubtedly the most sensible option.
"Got it. I'll buy a smoke to block the front entrance, then give Aether a TEC-9," KRIMZ said, spending the 800 dollars he had.
If Peppzor were still on the team, he'd most likely give the gun to poizon.
But now...
Aether had earned it.
Qin Feng naturally picked up the TEC-9 at his feet without hesitation.
Once the Second Half's freeze time ended, mezii climbed the ladder to the upper floor while the rest of Fnatic crept up outside Terrorist Hall and held their angles.
At 1:28 on the clock, mezii threw an Incendiary Grenade straight onto the roof of Yellow House. Fnatic's assault began at once.
Taking advantage of a Flashbang that mezii threw next, Qin Feng swung out from Yellow House and instantly killed iM, who was guarding beside the pillar, breaking through the site.
RuStY was hiding behind the Iron Door at A Site. He killed Krimz just after Krimz smoked off the front entrance, but Qin Feng, who had already taken the A Site bombsite, quickly killed him in turn.
The situation immediately became a 4v3.
With the smoke at the front entrance preventing eraa from doing any real damage to the Terrorists on the bombsite, Zero on the third floor had no choice but to swing out and challenge them. Unfortunately, poizon, holding the bombsite, gave him no opening.
Picking up a USP from the bombsite, poizon landed a headshot and took out Zero on the third floor of A Site.
"Don't go looking for them."
"We're four against two. We can win even if we all hide."
"I'm holding the smoke at the front entrance. If we see someone, we'll swing together and trade."
ALEX's voice kept coming through the team comms.
"Mm," Qin Feng replied calmly.
The Arch smoke faded, and two red dots appeared on the minimap near the front entrance.
Qin Feng, behind the pillar at A Site, and mezii, at the front entrance, swung out in perfect sync, creating crossfire with ALEX, who was facing the front of the A Site bombsite.
[Fnatic.ALEX headshot GL.eraa with a Glock-18]
[GL.isak headshot Fnatic.ALEX with a USP]
[Fnatic.Aether killed GL.isak with a TEC-9]
[T Side wins]
At that moment, coach Samuelsson, watching the livestream outside Fnatic's practice room, excitedly pumped his fist.
14–2. The CTs were broke. Fnatic could very well end the match right there, 16–2.
"Let's buy," iM said with a sigh as he looked at Fnatic's 14 rounds.
The gap was too big. Even with only a little over 2,000 dollars each, the CTs had no choice but to buy guns.
If they saved and gave up the round, the score would become 15–2.
There was no way they could accept having to fight back from thirteen match points.
GL bought a mix of MP9s and Desert Eagles and chose to go all out.
But against Fnatic's long guns and Scout Rifles holding the outside angles, GL's SMGs didn't take down a single player. Instead, the five of them became 300-dollar kills for Fnatic.
The final round held no suspense either.
Fnatic's five rifles gave GL's Desert Eagles no chance to get lucky. One A Site execute brought the match to an end.
16–2.
Fnatic had temporarily gone 1–0 in the European Major Qualifier.
The PGL broadcast team immediately put up the post-match stats for all ten players.
Qin Feng's 26–2–5 (K-A-D) led the entire server.
"Impressive, Aether."
"That AWP of Aether's gave GL a real lesson. I wonder how Fnatic's next opponents will deal with it."
"Fnatic's double-AWP setup looks incredibly effective. It reminds me of the old days with FalleN and coldzera."
"I just wonder what kind of approach Fnatic will take on offense. Most of the time, you can't really run double AWPs on the T Side."
"If poizon takes the AWP on offense, wouldn't it be a waste to have Aether use a rifle?"
While Ma Xixi and Mo were passionately discussing things with the viewers in chat, everyone in Fnatic's practice room was buzzing with excitement.
"Aether, have you figured out what you'll put on your signature sticker?" KRIMZ teased Qin Feng. "I bet Chinese fans will all buy your gold sticker and slap it on the scope of their AWPs."
"Don't get too excited. We still have another match coming up," ALEX said, sounding much calmer.
Since the first two rounds of the PGL Swiss stage were best-of-ones, every team had to play two BO1 matches on the first day.
"Our opponents are matched according to their BU rating, so we won't know who we're playing until the first-round matches are over," Samuelsson added, having just entered the practice room.
"Right. Everyone can practice their aim and keep warm," ALEX said, opening AIMBOT. "Once we know the map, Samuelsson and I will work out the map vetoes."
As for Qin Feng, who had just exited the game, he looked toward the pale-blue screen in the upper-right corner of his vision.
After beating GL, he finally received a system notification that hadn't appeared in a long time.
[Congratulations on earning your first victory in a CSGO Major-level match. The system rewards you with 1,000 Dream Points.]
[Congratulations on completing the achievement: Major Begins. You have earned one free ten-pull.]
"A free ten-pull..." Qin Feng looked at the system notification and opened the points draw screen.
The 800 Dream Points required for ten wishes had been replaced with a free option.
Hope this goes well. Qin Feng silently muttered to himself, then pressed the draw button without hesitation.
Before you continue