First ACE in the Qualifiers

Seeing the harmonious scene among the members in the lounge, djL felt reluctant to spoil it.

But as a coach, his duty compelled him to remind them, "Inferno is GL's pick, we can't let our guard down. We need to win two maps to take this Bo3."

Hearing this, the Nip members calmed down a bit, but smiles still lingered on their faces.

"Is GL strong on Inferno?" Su Zhe asked curiously.

Es3tag nodded beside him, "GL had a 73% win rate on Inferno last year. Even after changing their in-game leader and main player, they've still beaten strong teams like Faze on this map. They're quite capable."

DjL nodded, "That's right, but it's best if we can try our best to win Inferno. Compared to Inferno, we're less comfortable on Death Arena."

K0nfig stood up and stretched his joints, "What are we afraid of! As long as we play like we did on map one, winning 2-0 will be no problem! Let's go! Guys! Time to get on stage!"

After a short halftime break, both teams returned to the stage.

GL's members also temporarily mended their broken spirits from being crushed on map one.

After all, their team still had three members who were runners-up in the previous Major, and with an experienced player like snax, they wouldn't just give up after losing one map.

Mirage was just a matter of their score difference being too large, but Inferno was their own pick, so there was no reason to lose mentally before the match even started.

On Inferno, Nip chose to start on the defensive side.

"Let's go! Aim for seven rounds on defense! Eight would be even better!" Es3tag cheered his team on before the match officially began.

Inferno is considered one of the few maps in CSGO with a relatively balanced offense and defense.

For either side, getting six rounds in a half is considered passing, but after winning map one, they were naturally unwilling to settle for just a passing score.

"This round, we'll start with a Faze smoke, gambling on a 4-man A execute to push the side lane," Es3tag briefly explained their defensive strategy for the round.

Faze smoke is a utility developed in CS2 after the removal of air-wall mechanics.

It can block the middle section of mid immediately at the start of the round, preventing Terrorists from gaining control of mid, and also helps CTs get information on the side lanes more effectively.

"Arrow, you'll go down the stairs and push forward. K0nfig, you'll help him bait them out at VIP."

"REZ, you'll go with me through mid and rotate to the side lane for support fire."

After detailing the pistol round tactics, the countdown ended.

Except for headtr1ck, who went to the B site alone at the start, Su Zhe followed his teammates towards the A site with the other four.

K0nfig jumped up to check mid. Seeing that the Faze smoke was thrown correctly, everyone nonchalantly began to position themselves according to the plan.

"One on second floor! Two by red door!" K0nfig, who had entered VIP, wanted to get the first kill for his team, but seeing so many Terrorists, he didn't dare to peek.

Es3tag rotated to the side lane and peeked. The moment he exposed himself, he saw bullets flying towards him.

"Just don't lose the trade, buy Arrow some time!"

Although trading kills at long range wasn't a disadvantage, es3tag still wanted to play it safer.

"Nip's opening has a design, perfectly countering GL's offensive tactics. Now, GL's best response is to fall back and fast-push B."

"But snax at the T-spawn is bold! He's planning to just go through the smoke! Is anyone watching the smoke? No one is!"

"Snax actually caught the timing! He directly got two backstabs on the two pushing mid! Nip's synergy isn't good enough! How could this happen?"

Ma Xixi couldn't believe that such a beautiful defensive start was ruined by internal discipline, leading to two deaths. Es3tag and REZ's attention was focused on the side lane to prevent the Terrorists from pushing further, and they overlooked that smoke isn't a wall.

With the two players in mid down, k0nfig's position also became a death trap, unless he got incredibly lucky and their shots all missed.

Es3tag and REZ, who had been eliminated, both switched their views to Su Zhe.

Whether the pistol round could be turned around depended entirely on how many kills Su Zhe could get at his forward position.

At this moment, Su Zhe was silently creeping towards the T-second floor. AcoR, who was holding VIP from the second floor, also sensed something was wrong.

"I'm dropping the VIP crosshair, checking the side lane... Someone's coming!"

Before acoR could finish speaking, he saw a CT figure emerge. He hurriedly adjusted his aim, but it was still too late to fire.

"Pfft pfft!"

[Arrow used USP to kill acoR with a headshot]

"He won the direct duel!" Ma Xixi, watching the live commentary, couldn't help but feel tense with the game's progression. "But this position is a bit too risky, and the Terrorists on the side lane were alerted beforehand. Let's see if he can get another kill!"

After getting the kill, Su Zhe first peeked to get information on the side lane. After confirming their exact positions, he didn't falter but instead pre-aimed for a wide swing.

"Pfft pfft!"

[Arrow used USP to kill isak with a headshot]

Volt, outside the red door, immediately locked onto him to trade the kill, but found that the CT on the T-second floor had suddenly turned towards him.

"Pfft pfft!"

[Arrow used USP to kill volt with a headshot]

"Holy shit! What kind of monster is this!" Ma Xixi, watching the director's first-person view, couldn't help but curse. "They must have stuffed something into the computer!"

After getting one kill, the screen suddenly shifted, and the crosshair locked onto another kill.

What's the difference between this and aimbot!

Even the referee behind them couldn't help but crane their neck forward.

"Arrow single-handedly took out everyone on the side lane, and that wasn't even when they were playing from behind! But snax, who just came out of the smoke, has already circled around to the boiler room and got k0nfig's kill!"

"After getting a triple kill, he still left Arrow with a 2v2 situation!"

After k0nfig was eliminated, he immediately shouted: "Didn't see the bomb carrier! They might still be at the T spawn!"

After hearing his teammate's information, Su Zhe first held VIP for a few seconds. Seeing that snax had no intention of re-peeking, he quickly walked from the T second floor towards the T spawn.

At this moment, headtr1ck had already pushed out from the banana alley. He first jiggled to check the information inside T spawn, and coincidentally, snax, who was returning the same way, caught him with a side-body timing.

Su Zhe had already reached the close angle of the stairs. He aggressively peeked out and, upon seeing the Terrorist holding him from under the stairs, immediately aimed and fired.

"Puchi puchi!"

[Arrow used USP to headshot and kill Keoz]

But he himself took a headshot, leaving him with only one HP. The best news was that the bomb had also dropped on the ground.

Now both sides' positions were clear. In this situation, even snax couldn't help but become nervous, constantly telling himself that he just needed to land one body shot to get the kill.

Upon entering T spawn and seeing the bomb, snax first did a small peek towards the stairs, confirming that the CT hadn't moved. He then directly crouched and peeked, trying to avoid the headshot line.

As soon as Su Zhe saw the Terrorist's figure, his crosshair quickly flicked downwards.

"Bang! Puchi!"

[Arrow used USP to headshot and kill snax]

The moment the kill was secured, the tense Nip players finally couldn't hold back. K0nfig excitedly shouted: "Arrow! You're f***ing amazing!"

The rest of Nip also frantically shouted Su Zhe's ID. This round was purely won through individual skill!

A five-kill ACE! This was the first ACE in the Katowice Challengers Stage matches!

And this was in a situation where they were so disadvantaged from the start!