So They're This Weak? (Better Late Than Never)

January 31, 2024

Nip welcomed the first match of their new lineup.

Sitting in the player seats, k0nfig flexed his fingers and sighed, "Didn't expect to run into ENCE again. What a small world!"

"Last time at the Shanghai CAC event, they knocked us out 2-1."

REZ chimed in, "Yeah, too bad we can't really get revenge now."

Su Zhe asked like a curious kid, "Why? Are they that tough?"

Headtr1ck explained, "Because Falcns basically bought out ENCE's roster a while back. Only Nertz was left, and he went to X team. You saw him during your trial match, right? Now all five of ENCE's players are completely new."

"I see." Su Zhe tried to recall but still couldn't remember. He still had trouble keeping track of less famous player IDs.

Es3tag reminded them, "Alright, the match is about to start. Stay focused. Their IGL is gla1ve."

Gla1ve was one of the architects of Team Liquid's three consecutive Major championships, their captain and IGL.

Though the meta had shifted, their dynasty had crumbled, and gla1ve was no longer the top-tier IGL he once was, his legacy still commanded respect. He couldn't be underestimated.

K0nfig laughed heartily, "Don't worry! We're definitely winning this first match! Hey, Arrow, still feeling nervous?"

Su Zhe: ...

Not bringing it up would've been fine, but now that he did, other thoughts crept in—mostly excitement.

"I'm fine. No worries."

Su Zhe didn't want to worry his teammates too much and planned to adjust his mindset on his own.

Besides, the play-in stage venue had no audience. He kept telling himself this was just an ordinary practice match.

Sure, his original reason for joining Nip was to complete a mission, but he'd already put in a month of hard work.

If he failed to advance from the play-ins and got sent down to the youth team, that would be brutal. He had to at least show something.

Soon, under the referee's instructions, both sides began the map ban-pick phase.

The first round of the play-ins was a Bo1 format. Es3tag immediately banned Anubis first.

Their team was a traditional six-round powerhouse, but they hadn't played this map all year.

ENCE deliberated and then banned Nuclear Crisis, a tactical map.

After a series of bans and picks, the Bo1 map settled on Ancient Ruins.

Following final warm-ups, both teams entered the server under the referee's direction.

Map: Ancient Ruins

ENCE: Dycha, hades, gla1ve, kalar, Goofy

Nip: Es3tag, k0nfig, headtr1ck, REZ, Arrow

After a knife round to decide sides, the victorious Nip chose to start on the defensive.

"Let's go! Take them down!" The teammates bumped fists in encouragement.

"Let's go!" Su Zhe cheered for his teammates and himself.

6657 Live Room.

Wan Jiqi cleared his throat and began, "Alright folks, today we're watching Nip vs ENCE..."

Before he could finish, the bullet screen started stirring up drama.

[???????]

[What's there to see in these two teams?]

[I get it—none of Wan Jiqi's dads are playing, so he's watching gla1ve's match for some indirect filial piety.]

[Watch the main stage C9 match! I want to see Electronic! Unfollow if not!]

[Both these teams are washed. What's the point?]

[...]

Wan Jiqi glanced at the dense barrage on his secondary screen and couldn't help but find it amusing.

He insisted on opening the secondary stage match and said, "Actually, this match is pretty interesting. I mainly want to see how Nip's new player performs."

With that, he stared at the secondary screen, waiting for the live room audience's reaction.

[Nip's new player? Arrow? What the hell? Which tier-two team did they buy him from?]

[Whoa! Asian? Chinese descent? Not one of those banana people, right?]

[Why does the ID Arrow look so familiar?]

[WDF? Isn't that the streamer who went from C+ to rank one last year? How did he end up at Nip!!]

[I remember! Holy shit! I bet a buddy he was definitely cheating, and now he's going pro at Nip?]

[Isn't that the Tang guy who tried out for Tianlu and said he'd make the main team in a year?]

[Four months from C+ to Nip's main team? No way, bro, is this for real?]

[...]

Wan Jiqi smirked inwardly as he read the bullet screen. He'd heard of this guy called Arrow before—after all, the domestic CSGO scene was only so big.

He'd even scrolled past Su Zhe's live room on Douyin back in the day.

But he never in a million years expected the guy to just up and go pro for Nip. Sure, Nip's current strength couldn't even match some second-tier teams, but they still wore the shell of a first-tier team!

Wan Jiqi had been watching matches for years, and this was the first time he'd heard of someone from the domestic scene joining a European team.

It was way too surreal!

"Alright, the pistol round's about to start. Let's take a look at both sides' utility buys..." Wan Jiqi set aside his other thoughts and decided to finish watching this match first.

"This round we'll run a standard 2-1-2 defensive setup. K0nfig, you head mid first to grab info. Everyone else, hold position and see if they give us an opening."

Es3tag took this qualifier seriously, so he went with a conservative positioning for the pistol round defense.

After the countdown ended, Su Zhe bought half armor in the shop and headed straight to A bomb site.

Per the team's arrangement, his role on defense for this map was to hold down A Area.

"They smoked off VIP! I can't see mid!" Suddenly, k0nfig's voice came through the headset.

Es3tag thought it over and directed, "Then hold the VIP smoke and be ready to support either side."

Before es3tag could finish, k0nfig's urgent shout came again: "They flashed through the smoke! At least three in VIP!"

Su Zhe glanced at the kill feed in the top right and saw that k0nfig had been traded out by the terrorists.

He immediately swung his crosshair and repositioned toward CT Spawn. Spotting a terrorist peeking out, he flicked his USP's crosshair over and fired.

"Pew! Pew!"

[Arrow killed kalar with USP (headshot)]

Es3tag, seeing k0nfig go down, was about to fall back to a deeper position and figure out whether the terrorists were hitting B or A. But then Su Zhe just proactively pushed out to take the duel.

He was about to call him back when the top right flashed with Su Zhe's kill.

"Nice shot! Fall back now."

"Pew!"

[Arrow killed G00fy with USP (headshot)]

Es3tag: ??

His brain hadn't even caught up yet. How was it suddenly a numbers advantage?

After seeing two kills, he still decided to pull back and wait for the B bomb site teammates to rotate before pinching together.

Then... he watched Su Zhe swing wide toward CT Spawn again.

"Pew! Pew! Pew!"

[Arrow killed hades with USP (headshot)]

[Gla1ve killed Arrow with Glock (headshot)]

"There's one more! I hit him twice in the body! The bomb's on him!" Su Zhe, now dead, shouted urgently into the mic.

Nip squad: ??

What just happened? How were you almost done wiping them?

Es3tag snapped to first. He glanced at the minimap, saw the B bomb site teammates were almost in position, and swung out to look for kills himself. Spotting the bomb carrier trying to fall back into VIP, he quickly tapped him twice in the body with his USP to put him down.

The last terrorist, dycha, was still outside A hall, planning to wait for his teammates to take CT Spawn before pushing out A site for a crossfire. But in the blink of an eye, all his teammates were dead.

A 3v1 post-plant, the bomb already spotted—he didn't bother struggling much. After one attempt, Nip's trio cleaned him up.

"Bro, that was insane! Three kills right off the bat!" K0nfig, who'd died early, bumped fists with Su Zhe excitedly.

"Nah, they whiffed and gave me the chance." K0nfig's blunt praise made Su Zhe a little embarrassed.

Honestly, he hadn't expected them to be that bad. When k0nfig dropped first, his first instinct was to trade. After getting one kill, he thought about falling back, but then another terrorist stepped up. The guy missed two shots to the head and handed him another kill.

Then he realized this duel intensity wasn't even as high as his "Simulation Training Ground" before bed...

After that, he just got greedy. He'd already bagged two kills, so he might as well go all the way.

Es3tag wanted to warn Su Zhe about team discipline, but the way these two were talking left him at a loss for words.

Because getting three kills was a huge contribution to the team. Otherwise, a 4v5 retake would've been a real pain.

Wan Jiqi, casting the match, was stunned too. He'd just been about to say the rookie lacked experience when the whole situation flipped in an instant.

He didn't know how to judge that anymore, so he quickly pivoted: "This young gun... his aim is pretty sharp!"

"ENCE planned to speed up through mid and pinch A. They got k0nfig's kill cleanly at the start, but the moment they hit CT Spawn, Arrow's USP just mopped them all up!"

"A triple kill in one go completely shattered ENCE's offensive plan! This is a pure victory of raw gunplay!"

The viewers in the live room couldn't hold back either—moments ago, they'd even started wondering if Su Zhe was somehow related to Nip's boss.

Otherwise, how could he have inexplicably made it onto Nip's main team?

But then, right from the start, a pistol round triple kill stunned them all!

This guy wasn't here to coast at Nip—he was here to be the carry!