"This round, Vitality went straight for A Main, while Fnatic opened with three players at A Main."
"ApEX went for the turn, but Fnatic had already pushed into Pit."
"ApEX was hugging the edge of the smoke at the blue box. Did the CT in Pit not know he was there?"
"poizon in Pit was instantly taken down by apEX. That blind run was crucial."
"ALEX countered the smoke, and there was still fire at the back of A Main. No one could help apEX just yet."
"ApEX was still getting spammed, but somehow he was still alive!"
"He survived for so long, and he could even get more kills! ApEX!"
"He pre-aimed the blue car. The last CT was there, and he found that kill too!"
"That was insane! That's the French mad-dog entry fragger, apEX."
"mezii in mid was cut off too."
"Aether was left with a one-versus-five clutch."
"Vitality had reached Match Point, and Aether at B site had no reason to save his gun."
"ApEX was holding CT Base from the blue car. Was the game about to end?"
"Aether killed apEX, and the game wasn't over just yet."
"One versus four. Could Aehter pull it off?"
"Oh, ZywOo peeked out on his own and was killed by Aether."
"The rest of the Hornets weren't showing."
"Aether had no kit. There wasn't enough time left."
Inside Wan Ji Qi's 6657 livestream room on the Douyu platform, his voice carried a hint of regret.
The clean feed in the Livestream Room showed Qin Feng, with no defuse kit, facing the remaining opponents. He no longer had time to defuse the bomb.
A truly impossible clutch.
"Aether put on a brilliant performance across all three maps, but in the end, he still couldn't lead Fnatic to victory."
"It's a shame. Fnatic just fell short, losing 12–16 to the Hornets on Map Three."
"Congratulations to Vitality for being the first to advance to the 3–0 group at the Antwerp Major."
[Aether played so well today and still lost. Fnatic's just here for the memes.]
"It's fine. Even if Fnatic loses, they'll be in the 2–1 group. No big deal."
"E-even in defeat, they still have their honor?"
On the second day of the Antwerp Major Challengers Stage, Fnatic ultimately lost 1–2 to Vitality.
When all the players returned to the practice room, coach Samuelsson once again worked to lift the mood.
Samuelsson wasn't afraid of losing a match. He was afraid that this loss would put too much pressure on Fnatic's players besides Aether.
After all, in the BO3 against the Hornets, Qin Feng's rating had held at 1.33, while the rest of the team had all been around 0.9.
ALEX's was a pitiful 0.73.
"Guys, it's okay that we lost this match. We were up against the strongest team in the group, the Hornets."
"ALEX and poizon, don't blame yourselves."
"And don't think any of you let Aether down. We're one team."
"We go wild together when we win, and bear it together when we lose."
"Losing this match doesn't matter. We'll get them next time."
"You understand what I mean, right?"
After he finished speaking, Samuelsson looked around the practice room, worry plain on his face.
In CSGO, a player's performance could change dramatically with their state of mind. That was why most teams hired sports psychologists.
"Don't worry, coach. We've all been through plenty of battles. One loss isn't going to mess with our heads," KRIMZ said earnestly.
"Yeah, it was just one loss." ALEX smiled easily. "All that matters is that we come out on top in the end. C9 was on the brink of elimination in the 2018 Major group stage, but they still beat FaZe 2–1 in overtime and won the Major."
"Yeah, we'll win the next one," Qin Feng added.
Samuelsson listened to the team and nodded with satisfaction. "That's right. Don't put too much pressure on yourselves."
"Stay off community sites like HLTV and Twitter. You don't want them messing with your heads."
"We've already faced G2 earlier in the tournament, so we won't face them again in either the 2–1 or 2–2 matches."
"That means we've already played the two strongest teams in the group, the Hornets and G2."
"Besides ENCE, there aren't really any strong teams left."
"But ENCE will probably advance today, so we won't run into them either."
"For now, let's run through some maps and wait for all the matches this round to finish."
"Then we'll know who we're up against, and we can prepare accordingly."
"..."
In truth, Fnatic's players hadn't been affected by their loss to the Hornets.
The most pressure they'd felt had been when Aether first took over as the team's primary AWPer in place of poizon.
Back then, Fnatic's primary AWPer, poizon, had been underperforming, and the team had been on the verge of being eliminated in the qualifiers.
If Samuelsson hadn't ultimately decided to make Aether the team's primary AWPer, Fnatic might have crumbled under the pressure and missed the Antwerp Major.
Having Aether take over as the team's primary AWPer had clearly raised their overall level.
And after their winning streak through the Challengers Stage, including their victory over G2, the team's morale had risen to a new level.
Compared to what they'd been through before, this loss to the Hornets was only a minor setback.
Two hours later, the final results of all the second day's matches were in.
As everyone had expected, ENCE easily beat forZe on both maps, 16–8 and 16–10.
With that match over, the schedule for the third day of the Antwerp Major Challengers Stage was officially set.
Fnatic's opponent would be forZe, who had just been beaten handily by ENCE and dropped into the 2–1 group.
"Nice!" Samuelsson clenched his fist excitedly when he saw the matchups. "Guys, we're facing forZe tomorrow."
"Quite a few people had put forZe down for a 0–3 finish."
"Now they're probably the weakest team in the 2–1 group."
"If we win tomorrow, we'll go straight into the Major's Legends Stage!"
"ForZe is a team with a pretty balanced roster."
"Aether, your performance tomorrow is crucial to us."
"You..."
Samuelsson paused mid-sentence.
It suddenly occurred to him that Qin Feng had been a professional player for less than six months.
This was probably his first time competing on a LAN stage.
Was Fnatic putting too much pressure on him?
Should he...?
Qin Feng's voice suddenly brought Samuelsson back to the present.
"Don't worry, coach."
"The team has done so much for me. I'll do everything I can to play at my best."
"This isn't just for the team. It's for my own dream, too."
"..."
Samuelsson looked at Qin Feng, whose gaze remained calm, and felt a wave of emotion.
Not everyone was born for the big stage.
Plenty of young prodigies dominated FPL, yet couldn't even hold their aim steady in a match.
But when Qin Feng competed, he was like an emotionless aiming machine.
"Yeah. We believe in you."
Samuelsson said no more. He simply picked up his notebook and the data from the analyst.
Reviewing their previous matches and analyzing their opponents before a game was crucial!
Before you continue