As for MO's comments, the other members of Helmet didn't think there was anything wrong with them.
After all, this was Tyloo. They were one of the few teams in China capable of getting stickers.
They were still leagues apart from a professional team like Newhappy.
If Tyloo really couldn't even beat Helmet, they wouldn't even be able to manage a "glorious defeat."
Tomorrow's headlines would be explosive.
After the interview, Helmet's members didn't take it to heart. They were more focused on discussing how to play their upcoming match.
They knew they probably couldn't win, but they still wanted to take as many rounds off Tyloo as they could.
In the Douyu 6657 livestream.
Playing Machine was chatting away to his viewers in his distinctive, charming voice.
"Who does the streamer support in Helmet versus Tyloo?"
"Obviously Helmet!"
"Helmet has the most influential coach in the entire pro scene, former Tyloo veterans MO, DD, and SuDi, Xiaosage, aka Lock, and the most talented young prodigy in CNCS right now, Cousin. I can't even imagine how they could lose."
Playing Machine was about to spout a few more ridiculous claims, but before he could finish, he cracked up laughing.
[Anyone who says Helmet can win is a huge troll, even Playing God]
[Isn't this the biggest gathering place for trolls?]
[Honestly, I think they've got a real chance]
[I'm curious where Ma Xixi's cousin will go after this RMR. His talent is kind of ridiculous]
The chat was abuzz with discussion. Playing Machine soon heard the audio from the broadcast feed quiet down, and immediately switched back to the match.
The moment he did, the map veto screen appeared.
"Tyloo picked first, and they went straight to banning Nuke. It's a map they never play," Playing Machine said, sounding a little wistful.
Back in the 1.6 days, that map had once been a source of pride for CNCS.
Now, even the strongest team in China wasn't willing to put much effort into it.
After some thought, Helmet banned Overpass.
They hadn't practiced Overpass at all.
Tyloo made their first pick.
"?" Jiang Yang was a little surprised. "They locked in Dust II right away?"
He couldn't help wondering if Tyloo knew that Helmet had been winning a lot on Dust II lately.
Seeing Jiang Yang's confusion, DD explained, "It makes sense. Dust II is one of Tyloo's best maps, too. They don't need to change their pick just because they're up against us."
It was harsh, but Helmet wasn't a team Tyloo needed to fear.
Still, that was good news for Jiang Yang.
MO asked over voice, "Which map do you guys want for the second one?"
Jiang Yang spoke up. "How about Dust II? It's a simple map, and it's not too hard for us to play."
More importantly, Dust II was a map where snipers could shine.
Jiang Yang could show off his skills there. On a map like Small Town, even if he wanted to, it was hard for him to make an impact.
Both teams banned another map, leaving Ancient Ruins as the third map.
The veto was over. Playing Machine told the audience he'd be right back, then went to the bathroom.
When Playing Machine returned, the score was already 0:1.
"What the heck? How did the pistol round end already?" he asked in surprise.
[Exactly. This really is 6657's stream]
[6657 missed the pistol round again. A constant reminder!]
[6657, look at what you've been protecting all this time!!]
Playing Machine wasn't a young guy anymore. He wouldn't say things like "I'm so hard done by." His skin had grown thick over the years.
The viewers' teasing didn't faze him at all. He launched straight into his introduction. "All right, welcome to this Asian RMR matchup. I'm your commentator, Playing Machine!"
"While I was welcoming you, Tyloo took the eco round without losing a single player, bringing the score to 0:2."
"The match is about to move into the first full-buy round. Now we'll see if Helmet has a way to counter them."
Tyloo had taken the first two rounds with ease, putting Helmet under some pressure.
MO began thinking through a response. "For this round, I want Little Sheep and DD to hold A. At the start, let's try pushing up B once."
They didn't have a Big Sniper, and Jiang Yang didn't have a good spawn, so MO decided not to build the round around him.
Jiang Yang had no problem with that. After considering it, he said, "Then I won't go for mid info. I'll stay with DD on the CT Base side of the Bomb Site."
If they weren't going to contest mid, they might as well commit to a plan.
After they'd discussed it, everyone moved to their assigned defensive positions.
DD threw an A1 molotov to stop a rush, while Jiang Yang casually tossed a Flashbang toward Mid to put some pressure on it.
But to their surprise, the moment they threw their utility, a volley of grenades came flying in from Terrorist Base.
"A-site execute!" Jiang Yang warned. "DD, let's fall back to CT Base first. Tyloo's just throwing themselves away this round!"
DD had planned to throw a defensive smoke to buy time and play around it.
He didn't understand why Jiang Yang said Tyloo were throwing themselves away, but he still followed his call and fell back.
Jiang Yang had a clear plan and immediately reminded his teammates, "Don't use your utility yet. The captain has a HE Grenade. We don't need to rush this round."
"Once the CT Base and Connector smokes fade, we'll use our utility to clear out Dead Point and a few other spots. Then we'll smoke A1 and A2 to split them up."
Jiang Yang's instructions gave the rest of the team a clear idea of what to do.
On Dust II, executing onto A was simple. But if all you did was throw the standard ranked-match utility without taking Jump Platform or the CT Base angles, then even if you got the Bomb Site, you'd be in a very vulnerable position.
Especially if you hadn't traded much utility early on.
So when Jiang Yang saw Tyloo execute so early, he thought they were just throwing the round away.
From the observer's perspective, Playing Machine saw Helmet hold their ground and handle the execute calmly. His eyes lit up.
"That execute worked, but Tyloo also threw away all their utility."
"Helmet still has all their utility. Can Tyloo really withstand a counter-clear here?"
"Fire at Dead Point, a HE Grenade at Short Box—two players hiding at Dead Point get melted by the utility!"
"A2 is smoked off. Baicai at A1 has no choice but to take the fight, but young swings out from CT Base and instantly kills him!"
"Now it's just danking on A2 and Little Ghost left. Little Ghost tries to push through the smoke and make a play, but young is holding the angle!"
"Danking is hiding in the smoke and still wants to try something, but the youngster gives him no chance. He sprays through the smoke and kills him!"
"Helmet just scored an ACE in the first full-buy round!" Playing Machine exclaimed. "MO's calling is looking good. Their discipline is surprisingly on point today!"
Meanwhile, over Helmet's voice chat, the whole team was shouting excitedly, "Little Sheep, you're insane!"
"That call was incredible. Way better than Liu Ke!"
"Exactly! We should let him call and AWP from now on. Let's bench Liu Ke!"
MO's face darkened at that. "You guys never stop giving me a hard time."
Everyone laughed. No one took the comment seriously.
MO didn't mind the question of who got to call, either. On Helmet, most of the time, the shot-caller was whoever could shout the loudest.
And Jiang Yang had to be given credit: he'd spotted the opportunity and made the right call.
Winning was what mattered.
Jiang Yang glanced at the score above. It was now 1:2.
They were still behind, but for some reason, he had a feeling.
Tyloo seemed pretty prone to making dumb mistakes.
Were they treating this like a ranked match?
I've gone quiet. The nearby internet cafes have lost power too, so I've got no choice but to type this on my phone.
That's all for today. I'll post more tomorrow, around 8K.
So sorry.
Before you continue