This Damn CS2!

"Those two were practically hugging back-to-back and still didn't notice each other! Arrow only spotted the barrel after getting two kills! He's sweeping around—two! Three! Four!"

"He's on a roll! One sweeping spray transfer gets him a quad kill! Nip's hero M4 has turned the round around!"

Ma Xixi's deep, excited voice rang throughout the Live Room.

The whole thing had looked ridiculous at first. The two players had been pressed right up against each other without noticing, but the quad kill that followed was downright shocking.

He emptied an entire magazine, and when Su Zhe got snax's kill, all 30 rounds were gone.

"How could he be so bold about pushing up? That flank was devastating for GL!"

Mo had identified the key to winning the round. Spray transfers were second nature to most pros and even to top Ladder players.

The main reason they'd gotten the quad kill was Su Zhe's early push.

His unreasonable play gave the impression that he had no Game Sense, yet somehow he always managed to seize an opportunity.

Mo thought back to what 259 had told him about Arrow. Could it really be that "idiots" countered the best players?

That crucial comeback brought the score to 5–3, and after picking up the guns, Nip had built their economy back up.

More importantly, in the rounds that followed, snax had to invest resources in the Side Path to stop Su Zhe from pushing up again.

Their previously smooth attack began to feel sluggish, even though Su Zhe didn't find any good opportunities afterward.

As long as his portrait hadn't gone dark, GL had to keep their backs covered at all times.

The pressure this ID put on them was simply too much!

By the end of the First Half, the score stood at 7–5.

During the break, acoR leaned back in his chair, his eyes dull. "What kind of playstyle does this rookie even have?"

They hadn't fallen far behind in the First Half, but the game had been exhausting. On attack, they had to worry about the defense in front of them while constantly watching their backs.

They'd had someone watching their flank as usual, but there wasn't a reliable fragger on the team. Whoever stayed behind often just gave away a kill, leaving their teammates to cover for them in the end.

At acoR's words, snax wore a wry smile too. Ultimately, they couldn't figure out the rookie's movement habits. Aside from avoiding him or committing a lot of resources, they couldn't think of another way to deal with him for now.

"Hopefully he won't be this ridiculous on the attack side of Inferno."

After a few minutes' rest, the second half got underway.

"Let's speed up and hit B this round," Es3tag said, calling the play during the buy time. "At the start, we'll push straight into Banana Path. We'll take control of Close Point first, then throw our utility. Arrow, stay at T Spawn and hold the usual angle for now."

After briefly laying out their plan for the Pistol Round, the Countdown began. Su Zhe bought Half Armor in the shop and headed for T Spawn.

"Looks like Nip plans to hit Banana Path this round. GL has opened with a 3A2B defense."

"AcoR aggressively crossed Stone Slab to look for someone at the start, and he actually got a kill! But k0nfig was quick to trade him out from behind! One for one."

"Let's see how snax's dual pistols do from Sandbags. He gets one—can he get another? Es3tag trades him out! A two-for-two trade is a great deal!"

With both CTs on Banana Path down, es3tag wasn't going to waste any time. "Use our utility, get the bomb down, and find our angles! They'll be retaking any second!"

Inferno was a small map, so rotations were quick for both the attackers and the CT Side.

As his teammates fought on Banana Path, Su Zhe followed the team into the Bomb Site. With CT Spawn Smoke and Coffin Smoke up, REZ quickly planted the bomb.

But they'd underestimated how fast GL could retake. GL had set up with a position tilted toward the connectors this round.

REZ had barely finished planting before a Flashbang flew over from CT Spawn. He hadn't even had time to find cover.

"GL are throwing a Flashbang straight through the smoke! REZ is completely blind and gets taken out! Es3tag trades him from Three Boxes, but isak is out too! After a one-for-two trade, only Arrow is left behind the first box!"

Su Zhe had been holding directly into the smoke, but after getting fully blinded by the flash, he retreated behind the first box.

By the time his vision cleared, es3tag had just been killed.

With his best chance to trade gone, Su Zhe peeked and fired a Pre-fire shot. After confirming the enemy's exact position, he swung wide again.

"Bang, bang!"

[Arrow headshot isak with a Glock]

Isak's death made volt, who was about to push through the smoke behind him, hesitate. He didn't dare come straight out, afraid he'd get killed the moment he showed his head.

CSGO was a strange game. When you had confidence, everything went your way; once you lost your nerve, it was hard to win a straight-up duel.

Volt decided to wait for the smoke to clear, then circle around the church to the Bomb Site. But Su Zhe had already repositioned to Banana Path. All he had to do was wait for the bomb to start ticking.

As the C4's beeping grew more urgent, volt knew he had no chance without a defuse kit.

So he gritted his teeth and headed to Banana Path to take on Su Zhe. The moment he swung out, he heard the sound of his own head getting blown off.

"Bang!"

[Arrow headshot volt with a Glock]

After losing the Pistol Round, snax decided to force-buy Desert Eagles and gamble on B.

Es3tag might not have been a great mid-round caller, but he wasn't the sort to call for a speed-up on a whim.

After k0nfig was traded out as soon as he peeked into B Tunnels, es3tag quickly called for a rotation.

Su Zhe, playing as the lurker, held his position at the connector to cover their flank. In the end, thanks to their superior guns, Nip comfortably won GL's force-buy round.

After Pure E gave away another round, the score had reached 10–5.

The first Full Buy Round of the second half might also be the last.

"Come on! If we win this round, we're into the Main Tournament! We're guaranteed at least ten thousand dollars in prize money!" K0nfig's words made everyone laugh.

Many pro players had entered the industry out of passion, but that only worked if they could make a living. Only after becoming financially secure could they focus on pursuing glory.

Su Zhe was no exception. After all, he still had debts to pay off. His current weekly salary of 400 euros sounded like a lot when converted, but with Europe's high cost of living, he couldn't save much each month.

"Let's go!" Es3tag encouraged them before laying out their attack for the Full Buy Round. "We'll try to take control of Banana Path again. Arrow, hold the usual angle on Side Path first, but be careful. They'll probably have a Big Sniper this round."

Su Zhe nodded. Even after CS2's changes, the Big Sniper had lost much of its advantage over rifles, but it was still a piece of cake for someone going alone—unless they were so bad they couldn't even hit an easy shot.

When the Countdown ended, Su Zhe bought all his utility and headed straight for Side Path. He stood inside it and shoulder-peeked the Spiral Staircase.

"Good thing I didn't stand at Tree right away!" K0nfig said, retreating to T Spawn with lingering fear.

He'd stayed at T Spawn for just one extra second, and three grenades had already flown over from behind Stone Slab. He would've been dead on the spot if they'd hit him.

"Looks like a 3B opening. Smoke off Stone Slab to stop them pushing, then we'll take control of A2 Floor." After analyzing the situation, es3tag adjusted the plan.

When REZ joined him on Side Path, Su Zhe went outside Red Door and readied a flash. As soon as he threw it, REZ jumped onto VIP and moved quickly, checking left and right.

"No one close on A2 Floor. Not sure about Balcony."

As he spoke, REZ pushed straight up to Boiler Room, threw a Molotov under the horse, then waited for his teammates to get into position before moving.

"GL have chosen a 2A defense this round. They've given up Mid and are holding Second Floor directly with their Big Sniper and a rifle. Looks like snax is worried about Nip speeding up and about Arrow aggressively going for a solo push."

"They heard the fire under the horse. GL think someone's already gotten into Mid. Isak is pushing up Second Floor to Catch a Timing! But a mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind it! Isak glanced at Spiral Staircase, then went to check Boiler Room! He tried to Catch a Timing, but got caught instead!"

As soon as Su Zhe reached the corner of Spiral Staircase, he spotted a big, exposed back. There was no reason to let that easy kill get away, so he put a bullet straight through the player's head.

"Pop!"

[Arrow headshot isak with an AK-47]

Isak jolted as he died, his back straightening in alarm. "They're coming up Spiral Staircase! AcoR, watch out!"

AcoR, holding a direct angle with his Big Sniper, was at a loss. His teammate had rotated to Archway and secured the connector, but with the information on Side Path already lost, he didn't dare blindly rotate back to Balcony. All he could do was focus on killing the terrorist coming up Spiral Staircase.

After getting the kill on isak, Su Zhe didn't let his guard down. His Game Sense might not be great, but during a Full Buy Round, a rifleman usually wouldn't push up alone from A2 Floor. Otherwise, the terrorists could easily trade him one-for-one, which would be a huge win for the attackers.

"Get ready to explode onto A Site. Can you sync up from Second Floor?" Es3tag asked over voice chat.

"I haven't cleared the far end of the Second Floor hallway. I'll give it a try."

With that, Su Zhe pre-aimed the radiator, saw no one there, then lined up his crosshair on the wall and quickly swung out.

AcoR only saw a figure flash across his scope, but he was holding a Small Stance!

"Pop!"

[Arrow headshot acoR with an AK-47]

"This Damn CS2!" Enraged after getting Headshot by an AK, acoR slammed his desk. Getting ripped apart by an AK was a sniper's humiliation, especially when he'd been ready for it.

Snax glanced at acoR's movement, then knew the match was already slipping away from them.

"Arrow just ripped apart the Big Sniper with an AK! GL's entire A Area is wide open now. Voit at Archway wants to try pushing into the connector, but there's nothing he can do! Headtr1ck's Attacking Sniper has already reached the Bomb Site!"

"Voit gets picked off by the Big Sniper! The two players at B give up on the retake and save their guns, but are those two rifles really going to help? Next round, acoR won't even have a defensive sniper."

After winning the most crucial Full Buy Round, Nip's players finally felt all the pressure lift.

The next round, sanx chose to force-buy to support the two rifles they'd saved, but their firepower was simply no match.

After Nip reached Match Point, they took the match in one go.

Map Two, Inferno, ended with a score of 13–5.