You Said It Was an Explosive Attack-So Why Are You All Lying Down on Banana Path?

"Arrow got the kill on Keoz from an unfavorable angle! But he's down to a sliver of health! Snax is coming! Can he hold him off? He only has time for one shot!"

"That reaction! That flick! A perfect headshot! An ACE—a five-kill round! Did he have an aimbot on?"

Ma Xixi shouted excitedly, amazed by the sheer skill it took to pull off that five-kill round!

Especially the final duel against snax, who crouch-peeked out. Arrow had still managed to react and adjust his aim a second time.

"Absolutely!" Mo chimed in. "GL handled that round really well. They had a massive advantage in numbers early on, but they still let Arrow turn it around all by himself!"

The viewers in the Live Room hadn't expected the Pistol Round to end like that, either.

[What's the difference between this five-kill round and a 1v5? I thought he was flanking, but after all that, every kill was straight-up!]

[I thought Xiao Zhe got into Nip through connections. Now I'm starting to think Nip doesn't deserve him.]

[I hereby proclaim you the new A God!]

[After a single Bo3, Xiao Zhe's Highlight Reel is going to be longer than someone else's entire career, isn't it?]

[I hope he can keep this up. Don't let people hear your ID and only think of that five-kill round against GL!]

[Hahahahaha! Snax is completely stunned. You've got cheats on and you still play like that?]

[.]

The five-kill round right at the start of Inferno had immediately fired up the entire Nip roster.

After losing the Pistol Round, snax chose to force-buy Tec-9s and rush Second Floor, but it didn't work out.

K0nfig in Big Pit and Su Zhe at the Bomb Site farmed kills off them, earning a Quad Kill between them. Headtr1ck, holding the Connector, then took out snax, who'd been left to cover their retreat.

After Nip won GL's force-buy round, the early game settled into a rhythm that saw Nip picking up the points.

The score reached 3–0 before the two teams finally got their first Full Buy Round on Inferno.

GL clearly understood this map. Es3tag had planned to start with three players at B, taking control of Banana Path and seizing the initiative on defense.

But he hadn't expected GL to throw grenades over the Stone Slab right at the start and blow them apart.

REZ died on the spot, blasted into pieces. Es3tag was left at half health, and Nip's defensive setup had no choice but to fall back.

GL then executed an explosive attack on B point, trading two for two. Su Zhe and k0nfig rotated together, only to be caught by GL's AWP.

Losing the Full Buy Round immediately jolted Nip's players into focus. Fortunately, they hadn't spent heavily on new guns the previous round, so they still had enough money for a full buy now.

"Let's hold our usual positions this round and see how GL attacks," Es3tag said after considering it. They'd been caught off guard right at the start of the last round, and he still hadn't figured out snax's attack patterns.

Once the countdown ended, Su Zhe bought Full Armor, an M4, and utility, then went past Mid and jumped down beneath the Horse Stable.

Headtr1ck pulled out an AWP this round and held A2 Floor, looking to catch any T trying to sneak through alone.

K0nfig stayed close, watching the VIP side in case a T jumped up.

"REZ, come help me clear Banana Path with utility," Es3tag said. GL hadn't used any utility to attack Banana Path at the start, and he was eager to take advantage.

"Okay." REZ threw a Molotov toward Tree, then pulled out a grenade and coordinated with es3tag to blast the Recess.

The two of them successfully took control of Banana Path with utility, then followed up with a smoke at T Spawn.

Es3tag had just started to call out to his teammates at A when a flashbang exploded in the air above Banana Path. Caught off guard, he was blinded, and by the time his vision returned, he was dead.

REZ, hidden behind the Stone Slab, didn't dare swing out to trade without knowing how many opponents were there.

If he went down too, the three players at A would have to save their guns.

Losing the first kill so early put Nip at a disadvantage on defense.

"K0nfig, rotate over and reinforce B Zone," Es3tag said after a moment's thought. He felt GL was still more likely to hit B this round, but he didn't dare commit everyone there.

With k0nfig gone, headtr1ck didn't dare stay alone on Second Floor, so he fell back to Big Pit.

"The Mid smoke's about to fade. I'm going to check Study Room and watch Connector. Hold the front alone for now," Su Zhe told headtr1ck.

"Sure. Go ahead."

Defending both A sites was already tough. Su Zhe holding Study Room would protect his B teammates from behind while also helping headtr1ck in Big Pit keep an eye on Second Floor.

If the other team really did hit B through Banana Path, he'd be able to rotate over and reinforce them immediately.

"Es3tag's put the team's defensive focus on B bomb site. It feels like snax is completely outcalling him on Inferno!"

"GL's grouped up as four and is pushing back through Mid. Looks like they're going to coordinate with their teammate on Second Floor and pinch A through Connector!"

"GL's going straight into an explosive attack. They've put down a smoke in Study Room and flashed Mid before swinging out. They've confirmed A1 is clear."

"Can Nip hold up against all five GL players pinching both A sites?"

As soon as Su Zhe saw the smoke land in Study Room, he stepped forward and held Connector from the first angle.

Kaoe, in the lead, jumped out of Connector to draw fire for his teammates. The moment Su Zhe spotted the T, his crosshair snapped toward him.

"D-d-d!"

[Arrow killed Keoz with an M4A1 Silenced]

Keoz was shot down in midair. Behind him, sanx shoulder-peeked to keep Su Zhe from pre-firing, but immediately took two bullets.

That was one hell of a shot!

But Su Zhe still didn't know how the CTs were set up. To make sure no CT had pushed up Banana Path, he had to speed up and clear out Connector first.

So snax and volt swung out together, one after the other.

When Su Zhe saw the Ts swing out again, he immediately crouched and controlled his spray.

"D-d-d!"

[Arrow headshot snax with an M4A1 Silenced]

[Arrow headshot voIt with an M4A1 Silenced]

He mowed them both down in a single spray!

"Whoa! Arrow's Position Control is so sharp! He keeps moving, making it hard for the other team to line up a shot on his head! And his reactions are way too fast! He barely gave either of them a chance to fire!" Ma Xixi exclaimed as he watched the kills come in.

Mo sounded just as surprised. "That was a complete aim diff! He caught every one of those wide swings, and the bodies are piling up. GL can only blame themselves for looking toward Connector one too many times."

If GL had just sped up and hit A1 with isak coming from Second Floor, they might have already planted the bomb.

After Su Zhe's triple kill, only acoR, holding an AWP in Mid to cover A1, and isak on Second Floor remained.

AcoR would struggle just to save his AWP from that position. REZ had already pushed up from Banana Path, spotted the T's backside sticking out, and finished him off.

Isak's SMG wasn't worth saving, either. He tried to push up to Connector, hoping he could pick up a teammate's AK.

But Su Zhe was holding the angle directly. Isak found no opening and was caught as well!

The score was 4–1.

GL had bought up on utility the previous round, and after losing this one, they hadn't even planted the bomb. Their economy was in ruins again.

Snax opened the Data Panel and saw Arrow's 11–1–1 stats. He was starting to despair.

It was only four rounds in, and Arrow had already gotten a five-kill round and a Quad Kill. How were they supposed to play against that?

After a Half Buy, sanx was back on a full economy and had regained his confidence.

He now admitted he couldn't win a straight-up aim duel against this rookie, but surely he could still beat the other old-timers?

After all, he'd completely outcalled es3tag on Inferno over the first few rounds.

So, after learning that Su Zhe was the main defender at A, snax immediately called for an explosive attack on B the next round.

But with three players defending B at the Second Timing, Nip still couldn't withstand the pressure. Su Zhe was caught from behind while rotating.

"I've figured it out," Ma Xixi said as he looked at the score.

"Figured what out?" Mo asked, puzzled.

Ma Xixi didn't keep him waiting. "Arrow's strong in a straight-up fight, but his Game Sense is lacking! Once he's in a clutch, he really struggles to retake."

Mo thought back over the rounds and realized that was true. He joked, "If Arrow had Zai Wu's Game Sense, GL would probably just forfeit."

That was the thing with aimers. If they had brains too, they wouldn't be aimers anymore.

After snax switched up his strategy, they really did start seeing results. The next round, they first threw utility toward A to make some noise, then doubled back and launched an explosive attack on B.

After losing two rounds in a row, Nip was almost out of money.

Es3tag looked at how little cash everyone had and frowned. "Let's half-buy this round and gamble on 4B."

K0nfig volunteered. "I'll play A alone and cover the site!"

Es3tag shot him a look. "How have you not figured out why snax has hit B two rounds in a row?"

As he spoke, he dropped an M4A4 at Su Zhe's feet. "You play A alone this round. If snax uses the same approach as the last few rounds..."

"We just need to kill a few of their rifles at B. You find somewhere to hold and do your best to save this gun. If they hit A this round, you'll have to rely on your own judgment."

Su Zhe didn't refuse. He picked up the rifle. Since he had the best stats on the team, wasn't it only natural for him to get the team's only rifle?

Once the countdown began, Su Zhe took the best sword in the village—a set of Full Armor, a smoke, and a flash—and headed to A bomb site.

Once he was settled in Little Pit, the empty A Area and complete lack of support didn't make him nervous. Instead, he could almost smell freedom.

It felt like getting a private room after living in a crowded school dormitory—you didn't have to worry about disturbing your teammates.

"They've smoked Big Pit." Watching the utility land, Su Zhe calmly relayed the information. GL had already used this setup for two rounds.

After holding his position for a few seconds and seeing that GL had no plans to enter A1, he climbed onto the Grass Cart and started working his way toward A2 Floor.

"Snax is trying to pull the same trick again. REZ threw a defensive smoke at B Tunnels, but GL isn't in a hurry. They know Nip has no money this round."

"But what's Arrow doing over there? He's already made it to T Second Floor!"

Su Zhe quietly crept down from T Second Floor, watching T Spawn to see if he could catch anyone out of position.

The second defensive smoke at B Tunnels was about to fade. As es3tag waited for GL to attack, he glanced at the Minimap.

Huh? Was he seeing things? Wasn't Arrow almost at T Spawn?

An audacious idea suddenly came to him. "Arrow! Check if anyone's in Mid. If it's clear, stick close to T Spawn. Wait for me to tell you before you swing!"

Su Zhe shoulder-peeked from T Spawn and glanced into Mid. Seeing no one, he followed orders and tucked in close to the angle.

But he didn't spot the T hugging the wall on the right side of Mid.

There was no way GL would leave Mid unwatched, but snax hadn't expected the player on Second Floor to push out so quickly.

Su Zhe and isak were separated by just one wall, but neither could see the other.

As the defensive smoke gradually faded, snax saw that the CTs weren't going to refresh it and immediately issued the Bomb Command.

In Mid, isak faced toward the middle of the map and slowly backed toward Banana Path.

"You can go!" Es3tag shouted the moment the bombsite started raining utility.

Su Zhe swung out right away. He felt like his movement had been caught for a moment, but when he saw three players with their backs to him, he chose to spray and transfer his aim.

"Rat-tat-tat!"

[Arrow headshot acoR with an M4A4]

[Arrow killed voIt with an M4A4]

Isak, backing away, jumped at the gunfire that suddenly erupted beside him. Everyone on his team had an AK this round!

He hurriedly turned around. It was a good thing he did, because Su Zhe suddenly saw a barrel poke out on the right side of his screen.

As if on instinct, Su Zhe didn't stop firing. He snapped around and put the barrel straight into isak's mouth.

"Rat-tat-tat!"

[Arrow headshot isak with an M4A4]

After getting the kill, Su Zhe shifted his aim again. Over at Banana Path, snax had realized someone was behind them.

He spun 180 degrees and saw a stream of bullets flying toward him.

"Rat-tat-tat!"

[Arrow headshot snax with an M4A4]

Keoz, leading the push on Banana Path, swung out right after snax issued the Bomb Command.

But his teammates hadn't thrown him a flashbang. He faced Nip's Desert Eagles and crossfire, managed to kill one player, then got taken down.

As he died, he saw the round loss notification and froze. All he could hear was a burst of noise in his headset.

You said it was an explosive attack—so why are you all lying down on Banana Path?