Did I misread the groove?

"Arrow, here again this early?" Headtr1ck said in surprise as he stepped into the training room, breakfast still in his mouth.

Over the past month or so, Su Zhe was always the first to arrive at the training room in the morning and the last to leave at night.

He had initially thought this newcomer was just fired up from joining the team and would eventually settle into the same numb routine of clocking in and out like the rest of them.

But he didn't expect that even after a month, the guy could still put in this much effort.

"Can't sleep anyway, so I came early to practice my aim," Su Zhe replied without turning his head.

Headtr1ck sat down in the chair next to him, eating his breakfast and mumbling, "I really can't tell if you're just addicted or genuinely hardworking. You're almost like m0NESY."

Su Zhe chuckled. He wasn't sure himself. He'd played CSGO all the time before and never felt addicted.

He quickly caught something off and turned to headtr1ck, asking, "You know m0NESY?"

M0NESY, also known as "the kid" among countrymen, was an incredibly talented professional player.

Su Zhe had heard that ID even before he started playing CSGO. The kid was currently G2's sniper and a star among CSGO pros.

The craziest part was that he joined G2, a powerhouse team, at just 16 years old—a true genius among genius youths.

Last night, while using the "Training Simulation Field," he'd set the kid as his opponent.

No matter how he tried, his AK just couldn't break through the kid's Big Sniper defense. His reactions were no slower than Su Zhe's now.

Headtr1ck swallowed a mouthful of food and said, "Of course. We were both in NAVI's youth training team back then. He was just like you now—after training ended, he'd still grind the ladder every day."

"Out of our batch, him and b1t were the most successful, and also the hardest workers."

"But I feel like if you keep this up, you won't fall behind them."

Su Zhe shook his head. "How can I compare to them?"

Headtr1ck clicked his tongue. "I heard you only started playing CSGO this year. If we're just talking talent, you're not worse than either of them."

Su Zhe smiled and said nothing.

Talent? All he could rely on was hard work.

Since he'd chosen the path of a professional player, he wasn't about to settle for being mediocre.

Before, even hard work felt hopeless. Now that he had the system, he was going to give it everything.

As they talked, the rest of Nip trickled into the training room one by one, and a new day of training began.

After going through the systematic training of a professional team, Su Zhe finally realized where the gap between ordinary pub players and pros really lay.

It wasn't just about team coordination—it was the small details he'd never paid attention to before, which pros magnified to the extreme.

As coach djL put it: "Don't underestimate these details. A single bit of information you accidentally leak in a match could be the key to your opponent's victory."

When to use which utility for map control, when to give defensive utility based on the situation, how to adapt utility usage to different intel, and when to deploy it.

How to control the map this round based on the weapons of your teammates and opponents, and so on...

All of this required systematic learning, and the whole process was even more tedious than Su Zhe's time in school.

This routine had to be maintained for about ten hours a day, and it wasn't just about learning—he had to apply it too.

Only by completing the training tasks could he clock out on time; otherwise, he'd have to work overtime depending on the situation.

Under these conditions, it was perfectly normal for pros to crush top-tier pub players on the ladder with just a bit of effort.

It was only thanks to Su Zhe's unreasonable reactions and his opponents' abstract plays that he'd managed to barely beat k0nfig and es3tag once on the Perfect World Ladder.

That evening, after everyone finished retake training, the coach clapped his hands to gather the team.

He scanned the group and said, "Tomorrow we're heading to Poland for the Katowice qualifier. This will be a test of our training over this period."

DjL laid out the reason for the meeting simply and clearly, then turned to Su Zhe and added, "Your first real match is coming up. Nervous?"

Su Zhe's expression was calm. "Not really. Not that nervous."

K0nfig noticed his little tell and burst out laughing. "Saying you're not nervous? Then why are you gripping your pants so hard?"

The others joined in the laughter. They were growing fonder of this newcomer by the day.

If someone saw another person with more talent, they might feel jealous.

But when they saw someone who was both talented and hardworking, all that was left was admiration.

At the very least, they knew they couldn't match Su Zhe's level of effort.

Caught red-handed, Su Zhe felt a bit embarrassed and quickly put his hands behind his back.

DjL finished laughing and continued, "Don't stress too much. Everyone can see your progress lately. Just play well, and you'll secure the qualification spot."

Es3tag chimed in, "Yeah, your improvement has already blown past our expectations. Even if you don't perform well in the match, it's normal. Don't put too much pressure on yourself."

Hearing these kind words warmed Su Zhe's heart.

But nervousness wasn't something that could be solved with a few words.

The Katowice qualifier had 16 teams participating, using a double-elimination format.

Winning two matches meant securing a ticket to the S+ tier Katowice main event. It sounded simple—a full 50% advancement rate.

That was Nip's main goal this time. As for how far they'd go in the main tournament, that was all up to fate.

Su Zhe had no idea how tough this qualifier would be until he saw the participating teams—only then did he realize how naive his earlier thoughts had been.

After all, almost every team in this qualifier was a standout from their respective regions.

Take North America's C9, South America's Black Panther, and some long-standing European powerhouses like BIG and Green Dragon, for example.

Most of them were teams Su Zhe had only ever seen in videos or streams before.

This was the very first match of his professional career, and he might even run into legendary teams—how could he not be nervous?

If you asked regular viewers which CSGO tournament carried the most weight, they'd probably blurt out the Major without hesitation.

But if you set the Major aside, the answer in players' minds was just as clear.

That would be Katowice, IEM Cologne, and the Blast World Finals.

Aside from prestige, some even compare these three events to the Major in terms of significance.

As the first major tournament of 2024, countless CSGO fans around the world had their eyes fixed on it.

Wan Jiqi was a well-known CSGO caster in China.

His biggest strength was his deep understanding of the game and his encyclopedic knowledge of every player's history. (Five cents a line.)

Thinking about the Katowice qualifier starting tomorrow, Wan Jiqi decided to prepare in advance by catching up on the latest changes in the major teams.

That kind of professional attitude was exactly why he'd amassed such a huge following.

"Tsk—this C9 roster is hilarious. Who can even tell the difference between NAVI and C9 anymore? Electronic's IGLing is such a mess."

"When did Green Dragon promote a rookie?"

"Huh? When did Nip pick up a new player? Arrow? And he's got an Asian face?"

"What?"

When he saw that Arrow's nationality was CN, he felt like he'd seen a ghost.

"No way, my eyes aren't playing tricks on me, are they?" He rubbed his eyes hard, then took another close look.

ID: Arrow

Age: 18

Nationality: CN