A Parent's Heartache

Even after the match ended, the bullet comments in CSBOY's livestream room didn't decrease.

[Is Fnatic this strong? They even beat G2. Weren't they a Tier 2 European team before? Also, is poizon not playing AWP anymore?]

[Bro, it's 2022 already. Aether is playing AWP for Fnatic now.]

[I found Aether in the "Pick an AWP for Niko" event. Come help me support him, everyone~]

[G2 has a characteristic: just when you think they're doing well, they pull off something crazy.]

[Aether is pretty wild this game. Even though his stats are only 20-15, it feels like he hit a lot of crucial shots.]

"ENCE's Spinx and dycha are quite strong."

In the apartment hotel provided by PGL for the players, the Fnatic members gathered around the big screen, watching the second round of matches.

Outsiders VS ENCE.

By the end of the game, Spinx had racked up 30-8 stats.

While watching the match, coach Samuelsson picked up his small notebook, which he was using to summarize information, and reminded the Fnatic members.

"The opponents we might face next could be one of three."

"Team Vitality, the international squad ENCE, and the CIS team forZe."

"If it's forZe, it's manageable. But if our opponent is ENCE or Vitality, it will be extremely difficult for us."

"We beat G2 partly because the format is BO1, and partly because Aether had several brilliant AWP plays."

"But we can't rely on Aether to get us the opening kill every single round."

"Besides, you all know the team G2. They're arguably one of the most unstable teams out there."

Qin Feng nodded silently as he listened to the coach.

While the G2 team sometimes appeared strong, they would also fall into endless slumps.

Moreover, JACKZ's performance in the early stages often wasn't satisfactory.

As the last match concluded, the schedule for the next day was released.

ForZe's opponent was ENCE, while Fnatic was set to face the French prodigy ZywOo and his team, Vitality.

Coach Samuelsson immediately led the Fnatic players in reviewing the VODs of Vitality's previous two matches.

Big Mouth ZywOo's performance was practically flawless.

Samuelsson scanned the players in the training room and slowly asked, "For tomorrow's match against Vitality, what are your thoughts?"

Everyone offered their opinions.

Of course, almost all the players felt that they couldn't just rely on Aether, the entry fragger AWP, to win the match tomorrow.

After all, Qin Feng's opponent this time was one of the best AWPers in history – ZywOo.

When everyone's gaze finally fell on Qin Feng, he calmly stated what he considered to be the most objective view.

"If it's a defensive AWP, I am confident I can match ZywOo."

"But if it's an entry fragging AWP, it's impossible to rely on me to out-duel ZywOo."

"Instead of thinking about how to counter ZywOo's AWP, we should consider how to target Vitality's weak points."

"Vitality is an international team now, and they've switched to English communication."

"The worst-performing players on the team... let me think... I'd say Misutaa and Ardo."

"If my AWP needs to entry frag, I don't want to go against ZywOo. I'd prefer to go against Misutaa or Ardo."

"..."

Qin Feng didn't say anything further.

In his opinion, ZywOo was arguably the only AWPer in all of CSGO who could be compared to s1mple right now.

He wasn't arrogant enough to actively seek out a duel with ZywOo.

However, Vitality wasn't without weaknesses.

Firstly, the Danish duo's aim was inconsistent, and secondly, Misutaa wasn't exactly the team's leader.

Samuelsson nodded repeatedly upon hearing Qin Feng's words.

While he and ALEX were responsible for formulating the pre-match tactical preparations, the opinions of each player before a match were also very important.

If Qin Feng had wanted to directly duel ZywOo, they would have devised a strategy centered around Qin Feng aggressively pushing, forcing ZywOo to lose the first dueling position.

Once the roles were reversed, Qin Feng's defensive AWP might not have been inferior to ZywOo's repeek.

But since Qin Feng didn't want to actively engage ZywOo in gunfights, their strategy would revolve around how to avoid ZywOo's AWP.

This meant that Vitality's individual holding habits would become the primary focus for ALEX and the analysts.

The time in Belgium was nearing evening.

After a series of map runs and tactical drills, Fnatic's players finally got some rest time.

Qin Feng finally had a moment to pull out his phone and check his missed messages on WeChat.

There were three missed voice messages from his father.

Qin Feng glanced at the time displayed on his phone.

23:35.

It should be just before 7 AM in China.

Thinking this, Qin Feng didn't dare to hesitate and immediately sent a voice call invitation to his father on WeChat.

"Beep."

"Beep."

"Hello."

The voice call connected quickly.

Qin Feng's father's voice came through.

"Xiao Feng, how have you been lately?"

"Mmm... I've been doing pretty well lately. I'm quite used to the environment abroad, and I've gotten accustomed to things here in Belgium."

"Mmm, that's good to hear. I heard your team got two wins in a row at some Major competition in Antwerp?"

His father's words caught Qin Feng a bit off guard.

"Dad, why are you suddenly paying attention to this?"

On the other end of the line, Qin Feng's father let out a hearty laugh. "We supported you taking a leave of absence to play professionally, so of course, we have to follow your matches."

"To watch your match results, I even downloaded the Perfect World Esports app."

"Besides, your dad here was a hardcore CS 1.6 player back in the day, you know."

"If it wasn't for being too old and already married, I might have gone pro for mNv myself back then."

"Actually, your mom and I were against you playing professionally at first."

"But then we thought, my own dreams couldn't be realized, and I didn't want to deny yours."

"Since you've grown up, we can't really interfere with your choices."

"Mmm... Dad, I'm reasonable, right? When you were playing games as a kid, I never told you to pause."

"I know games can't be paused."

Qin Feng listened to the voice on the other end of the phone, unsure whether to laugh or cry.

"Don't worry, Dad. Esports is considered a sport now."

"I'm doing very well at Fnatic. My teammates and coaches all take good care of me."

"While my communication isn't perfectly fluent yet, I have no problems with daily life and CSGO."

"Also, you really didn't need to wake up this early. Dad, didn't you usually wake up at 6:30?"

"Why were you calling me on WeChat at 5:30?"

Qin Feng rubbed his nose.

During training earlier, to avoid external distractions, he had proactively set his phone to silent mode.

On the other end of the line, Qin Feng's father was all smiles.

"It's all because I wanted to see your match results."

"Oh, right. The main reason I called was to ask if you have enough money."

"If you don't have enough, just ask us for more."

"You're abroad, you can't let yourself be shortchanged."

For some reason, Qin Feng's nose suddenly felt a little sore.

The hearts of parents are always filled with concern for their children.