January 31, 2024
Nip were about to play their first match with the new lineup.
Sitting at his station, k0nfig flexed his fingers and sighed. "Can't believe we're up against ENCE again. Talk about running into an old rival!"
"Last time, at the CAC in Shanghai, ENCE knocked us out 2–1."
REZ chimed in, "Yeah, but we can't really get our revenge now."
Su Zhe asked like a curious kid, "Why? Are they that hard to deal with?"
Headtr1ck explained, "Because Falcns practically bought out all of ENCE a while ago. The only one left, Nertz, went to X team too. He was on the other side when you had your trial, remember? ENCE have a completely different five-man lineup now."
"Got it." Su Zhe tried to remember, but still couldn't. He had trouble keeping track of the IDs of less famous players.
Es3tag reminded them, "All right, the match is about to start. Stay focused. Their in-game leader is gla1ve."
Gla1ve had been one of the architects behind A team's three consecutive Major championships. He was also the team's captain and in-game leader.
The game had changed, and the dynasty of old had fallen. Gla1ve was no longer one of the top in-game leaders, but his accomplishments spoke for themselves. They still couldn't afford to underestimate him.
K0nfig laughed heartily. "Relax! We're definitely winning our first match today! By the way, Arrow, still nervous?"
Su Zhe: .
He'd been fine until k0nfig brought it up. Now all kinds of thoughts were running through his head, mostly excitement.
"I'm fine. Really."
Su Zhe didn't want his teammates to worry, so he planned to steady himself.
Besides, there were no spectators at the RMR venue. He kept reminding himself this was just an ordinary practice match.
He'd joined Nip at first just to complete a task, but he'd been working hard for a month now.
It would be awful to miss out on the RMR and get sent down to the Youth Training squad. He had to show what he could do.
Soon, following the referee's instructions, both teams began banning and picking maps.
The opening round of the RMR was a Bo1. Es3tag immediately used their first ban on Anubis.
Nip were a traditional all-round team, and they hadn't played this map once all year.
After some deliberation, ENCE banned Nuclear Crisis, a map known for its tactical depth.
After the bans and picks, the Bo1 was set on Ancient Ruins.
After warming up, both teams entered the server at the referee's instruction.
Map: Ancient Ruins
ENCE: dycha, hades, gla1ve, kalar, Goofy
Nip: es3tag, k0nfig, headtr1ck, REZ, Arrow
After the Knife Round determined the sides, Nip chose to start on defense.
"Come on! Let's take them down!" His teammates bumped fists, cheering each other on.
"Let's go!" Su Zhe cheered on his teammates—and himself.
6657 Live Room.
Wan Jiqi cleared his throat and began, "All right, guys. Today we're watching Nip take on ENCE..."
Before he could finish, the chat started going wild.
[???????]
[What's there to watch about these two teams?]
[I get it. Wan Jiqi's favorite teams aren't playing, so he has to watch Gray's game to show his filial piety by proxy.]
[Watch the C9 match on the Main Stage! I want to see Electronic! I'm unfollowing if you don't!]
[Both these teams are washed. What's there to watch?]
[...]
Wan Jiqi glanced at the dense stream of comments on his second screen and couldn't help laughing.
He insisted on opening the match on the secondary stage and said, "Actually, these two teams are pretty interesting to watch. Mainly, I want to see how Nip's new player performs."
Then he stared at the second screen, curious to see how the viewers would react.
[Nip's new player? Arrow? What the hell? Which second-tier team did they buy him from?]
[Holy shit, an Asian? Is he Chinese? Please don't tell me he's like Banana Man.]
[Why does the ID Arrow look so familiar?]
[WDF? Isn't he that streamer who went from C+ to number one on the platform last year? How'd he end up on Nip?!]
[I remember now! Holy shit! I bet my friend he'd definitely get banned for cheating, and now he's gone pro for Nip?]
[Is he that Chinese guy who trialed with Tianlu and said he'd make the main team in a year?]
[From C+ to Nip's main team in just over four months? Come on, does that make any sense?]
[...]
Wan Jiqi read the comments with a quiet chuckle. He'd heard of this guy called Arrow before; the Chinese CSGO scene was a small world, after all.
He'd even come across Su Zhe's livestream on Douyin before.
But he'd never imagined that Su Zhe would somehow end up playing professionally for Nip. Nip might not be as strong as some second-tier teams right now, but they still had the name of a First Tier Team.
In all his years watching matches, Wan Jiqi had never heard of a Chinese player joining a European team.
It was downright surreal!
"All right, the Pistol Round's about to begin. Let's take a look at both teams' utility..." Wan Jiqi put his other thoughts aside, planning to watch the match through first.
"We'll start with a standard 2-1-2 defense this round. K0nfig, go Mid at the start and gather some info. Everyone else, hold position as usual and see if they give us an opening."
Es3tag took the RMR seriously, so he'd set up a fairly conservative defense for the Pistol Round.
When the countdown ended, Su Zhe bought Half Armor from the shop and headed straight for the A bomb site.
According to the team's plan, he'd be the main defender in A Area on this map.
"They smoked VIP! I can't see anything in Mid!" K0nfig's voice suddenly came through his headset.
Es3tag thought for a moment, then called, "Hold the VIP smoke, then. Be ready to support either side."
Before he could finish, k0nfig shouted again, sounding urgent. "They flashed out through the smoke! At least three in VIP!"
Su Zhe glanced at the kill feed in the top-right corner and saw that the Ts had already focused down k0nfig.
He immediately turned his aim toward CT Spawn. When the Ts swung into view, he snapped his USP crosshair onto them.
"Pfft, pfft!"
[Arrow killed kalar with a USP headshot]
After seeing k0nfig go down, es3tag had started to fall back and defend, planning to wait and see whether the Ts were hitting B or A. He hadn't expected Su Zhe to take the fight on his own.
He was about to call Su Zhe back when the kill feed showed that Su Zhe had gotten a kill.
"Nice shot! Fall back—"
"Pfft!"
[Arrow killed G00fy with a USP headshot]
Es3tag: ??
His brain hadn't caught up yet. How had they suddenly gained the numbers advantage?
After seeing two kills, he still decided to fall back and wait for their teammate at B to rotate before they attacked together.
Then... he saw Su Zhe swing out toward CT Spawn again.
"Pfft, pfft, pfft!"
[Arrow killed hades with a USP headshot]
[Gla1ve killed Arrow with a Glock headshot]
"One left! I hit him twice in the body! He's got the bomb!" Su Zhe shouted into voice chat as he died.
Nip's players: ??
What just happened? How had he almost killed the whole team?
Es3tag was the first to react. He glanced at the minimap, saw that their teammate at B was almost back, and swung out to look for a kill.
He spotted the T with the bomb trying to retreat toward VIP, and quickly tapped him down with two USP shots to the body.
The last T, dycha, was outside A Hall. He'd planned to wait until his teammates took CT Spawn, then push out A Long for a pincer attack. But in the blink of an eye, they were all dead.
In a 3v1 with the bomb spotted, he didn't put up much of a fight. After a brief attempt, Nip's three players traded him out.
"Bro, you're insane! A triple kill right out of the gate!" K0nfig, who'd died early, bumped fists with Su Zhe and shouted excitedly.
"Not really. Their aim was bad, and they gave me the chance." K0nfig's blunt praise made Su Zhe feel a little embarrassed.
Honestly, he hadn't expected them to be that bad. When he saw k0nfig go down, his first thought had been to trade the kill.
After getting one, he'd planned to fall back, but then another T swung out. The first two shots missed his head, giving him another chance to get a kill.
Then he realized that even the aim in his "Simulation Training Ground" before bed was better than theirs...
After that, he'd gotten carried away. He already had two kills, so he might as well see it through.
Es3tag had wanted to remind Su Zhe to stick to the team's plan, but after hearing their exchange, he didn't know what to say.
Su Zhe's triple kill had done the team a huge favor. Otherwise, retaking the site 4v5 would have been tough.
Wan Jiqi, who was commentating, was stunned too. He'd just said the new player seemed a little inexperienced, and then the game had turned around in an instant.
He wasn't sure what to make of it, so he quickly changed tack. "This young player... has some pretty sharp aim!"
"ENCE planned to speed up through Mid and pinch A. They started off by taking k0nfig's head, but as soon as they reached CT Spawn, Arrow cleaned them up with a USP!"
"That triple kill completely shut down ENCE's attack! This was a pure aim win!"
The viewers in the Live Room couldn't contain themselves either. They'd just started wondering whether Su Zhe was related to Nip's owner.
How else could he have ended up on Nip's main team out of nowhere?
And then he opened with a triple kill in the Pistol Round, leaving them stunned!
He hadn't come to Nip to coast. He'd come to be the team's star player!
Before you continue