Is he on another level? [Arrived late but arrived again]

With CS2 changing the MR15 format to MR12, the pistol round's outcome became crucial.

However, Greywu didn't dwell on it too much. Ancient was always a CT-sided map, and getting five rounds in the first half would be considered passing.

What confused him, though, was when Nip's playstyle became so aggressive.

The opponent proactively pushing out from the A site to seek kills had indeed caught them off guard.

Following that, ENCE's force buy didn't yield good results. A Tec-9 with flashbangs directly to B was easily shut down by headtr1ck's MP9.

Fortunately, kalar's timely plant amidst the chaos meant ENCE only needed to hold one more pure eco round to be fully equipped.

The score quickly became 3-0, and the teams faced a crucial full buy round on the fourth.

Greywu considered for a moment before giving his command: "This round, let's fake a B site pop-flash first. Use utility to control B main, putting pressure on their B site.

"Once we trick them into rotating back to B, we'll slowly push through mid to take the donut, and if we can pick off the players on A, we can easily complete the plant."

Hades hesitated upon hearing this: "Isn't the new player Arrow defending A? His KD is 5-1, he's playing pretty hot. Are you sure we want to go A?"

Greywu chuckled: "What are you afraid of? He's still a rookie. One of his five kills was in the pistol round, and another was an eco-round pick. This kill count is normal."

With that explanation, the ENCE members no longer had any worries.

Greywu, however, sighed inwardly – he was better suited to commanding an all-Danish team. Back when he was with Team Liquid, no one ever questioned his tactics.

This round, however, es3tag didn't need ENCE to use utility to force him out; he had already set up a 3-1-1 defensive formation from the start.

K0nfig and Su Zhe executed a small two-man coordination at the start, first throwing some damage utility into connector and then attempting to get the opening kill.

Upon finding no one in connector, k0nfig warned on voice comms: "No one in mid, B main might be crowded, be careful."

After that, he and Su Zhe returned to their respective defensive positions.

Time ticked by, and ENCE's default approach was putting a lot of pressure on the Nip players.

REZ suggested: "Why don't we clear out dark room first? Otherwise, if they decide to pop-flash into the site, it'll be tough for the three of us to defend."

Es3tag hesitated, and just as he was about to agree, a smoke landed at his feet in second mid.

"ENCE faking a pop-flash on the B site. Will Nip fall for it and rotate back? If they leave young Arrow to defend A alone, they won't be able to win this full buy round!"

After a second of deliberation for Nip, Wan Jiqi's anxious heart finally settled.

They had indeed been tricked into rotating back, and it was Su Zhe and k0nfig together, planning to go through the donut and flank from mid.

Wan Jiqi suddenly understood why Nip's recent record had been so poor.

Was this a humanly possible rotation? They hadn't even seen anyone on the B site, yet they were moving on A. But since they were here, he had to cast the round with gritted teeth.

"Arrow and k0nfig are going through the donut to flank B, but ENCE is doing a slow push through mid!"

"Connector is coordinating with B short to pincer the A site. Will k0nfig realize someone is holding him from B short?"

"He realized it! He pre-aimed and pulled out, taking down dycha from B short, but hades from connector was also very timely!"

"Only Arrow is left. He just needs to fall back to the donut and wait for his teammates to rotate. Huh? He's actively pushing out to seek a kill?"

Wan Jiqi's eyes went dark. He really wanted to yell, "Are you a CT or a T? What's the difference between pushing out like that and just giving yourself up?"

Upon hearing k0nfig report two people in connector, Su Zhe unhesitatingly pushed out aggressively.

At that moment, Greywu in connector was about to throw a flash to help his mid teammates push into the donut for a kill.

To his surprise, the opponent unexpectedly pushed out aggressively.

Hades, in the first position, quickly adjusted his crosshair to lock onto the CTs after spotting them, but Su Zhe had pre-aimed his push and only needed a slight adjustment before opening fire.

"Tsk tsk tsk~"

[Arrow] used M4A1 Silenced to kill [hades]

Behind him, Greywu, holding utility, frantically tried to draw his AK, but he was a step too slow.

"Tsk tsk tsk~"

[Arrow] used M4A1 Silenced to headshot kill [gla1ve]

"This..." Even Wan Jiqi was left speechless for a moment. Could this young player be playing on another level? He realized he could catch the opponent's timing, but this was too risky!

"Arrow successfully got two kills in mid. Only kalar and Goofy, pushing from A long, remain."

"It's a 4v2 clutch, Goofy successfully planted the bomb, but the number disadvantage is too great. Kalar took down REZ, who was rotating from spawn, but was then caught from the side by es3tag, who flanked from ruins."

"With only Goofy left, he was also unable to do anything and was eliminated. ENCE will force buy again next round, making the score 5-0!"

[Holy crap! I knew Arrow was good since he was a kid. I never expected him to get a double kill this round!]

[Indeed, his awareness is incredible. He managed to catch their timing.]

[7-1 KD! Definitely the core of the team!]

[Is anyone from Tianlu in the stream chat!? Just asking if you regret it!]

Arrow's crucial double kill sparked much discussion among the viewers in the livestream chat.

And the moment the round was secured, cheers erupted from the Nip's team booth.

Es3tag bumped fists with Su Zhe, saying, "Awesome! You're the key player again! If it weren't for that double kill mid-lane, we probably would have given them the points."

Headtr1ck excitedly exclaimed, "Looks like we'll have no problem taking down ENCE and entering the winner's bracket!"

The significant lead completely boosted the morale of the Nip players.

Only the coach, djL, standing behind them, frowned and remained silent.

He had watched the entire match from Su Zhe's perspective just now. Although this play was crucial, he felt something was off.

He pinched his chin and pondered for a long time before figuring it out: "We're already up by five points, why am I still bothered by this? As long as we win, that's what matters!"

They could discuss the replay after the match!

Following this, ENCE called their first timeout of the round just as they entered their second long-round setup.

During the timeout, Grev still couldn't understand why both crucial engagements were lost to Arrow.

From his many years of professional experience and accumulated knowledge, Su Zhe's decisions could only be described as reckless.

How could he play like this? How was it possible to play like this?

Yet, because of this player, they found themselves at a significant score disadvantage from the start.

"Next round, let's control the small dark room and flank B..."

After the timeout, ENCE finally secured their first point on the attacking side.

Just as they thought things were turning around and they would start a comeback, in the next round, while controlling the B connector, they received dire news from Goofy, who was playing default in A garden.

"They're pushing out from the front of the A bombsite! I can't win the gunfight..."

Grev: ...

The loss of control over half the map made it easy for the Nip players to guess their attacking intentions.

Under pressure, Grev could only hastily execute a rush on B with utility, but when it came to trading kills, Nip, who were already prepared, secured the victory.

The huge score difference forced ENCE to call another timeout. After Grev made another targeted adjustment, they started to score again.

However, they still knew too little about the habits of the rookie player, Arrow.

Ever since this rookie joined Nip, the entire team felt strange. Under the pressure of the score, they, ENCE, had too few opportunities to experiment.

In the end, as the first half concluded, the score was fixed at 8-4.