Chapter 170: Xantares: Let Vitality feel the pure dry-peeking!

February 7, 2019, Thursday, Paris weather is sunny.

Finally, a big sun came out in winter, and the pedestrians on the street were visibly increased.

"After this match today, let's go out and bask in the sun." RpK suggested.

Zywoo drank a can of milk, smiled and nodded, "Actually, I want to go out and

"That won't do," Xu Beifang teased with a smile. "If you go out and soak up the sun now, your Superman energy will be full in the server later, and the other side won't even be able to play!"

"Hahaha!" The Vitality members all chuckled.

Zywoo, the object of the praise, scratched his head in a goofy way.

It had been almost half a month since they qualified for the Major.

Vitality hadn't had any large-scale tournaments to participate in recently, but they had finished the qualifiers for various major events long ago, and today's match was still a qualifier for a major tournament.

It was from one of the top CS: GO tournaments—the IEM Sydney station.

Today, Vitality had to secure one of the main event spots among the eight teams in the IEM Sydney European Qualifier.

Just looking at the tournament format, one could already smell the blood.

Most of their opponents were also old acquaintances from the top tier; apart from a team called 3DMAX which wasn't very famous, the other participating teams were OpTic, G2, HR, North, BIG, and forZe—all regulars in top-tier tournaments.

Today, Vitality had to face the London Major top-eight team—the German tank, BIG!

Although it was a qualifier, this tournament was very meaningful for the current Vitality to train, because in this European qualifier...

Except for 3DMAX, which was ranked 30th in the world, the world rankings of the other teams were generally between 11 and 20.

Vitality's world ranking was currently 19th. From the perspective of paper strength, everyone else was stronger than them, but only by a limited margin.

So this qualifier was just right for them to see the results of their recent training.

【Suggestion Mission: Play more actively in the match, difficulty 4 stars, completion grants a C-grade treasure chest...】

【Suggestion Mission: Use some novel utility in the match to make everyone's eyes light up, difficulty 3 stars, completion grants a D-grade treasure chest...】

This was the advice the fans had provided to Xu Beifang that day. If nothing went wrong, he planned to complete it during this IEM Sydney qualifier.

And after incorporating Hampus's understanding, he was also very curious about what he could achieve if he went all out in the match.

……

Inside the CSBOY live stream.

After Ma Xixi and Lao Shuai Ge finished their ladder games, they realized the match was about to start, so they adjusted their state and entered commentary mode.

"Alright, the match between Vitality and BIG is about to begin. This match is definitely worth watching." Ma Xixi took advantage of the time before the match started to introduce the matchup to the audience.

"Although Vitality's lineup remains the same, according to inside information, Vitality's recent form is very good. Also, Xiao Xu recently rushed to No. 1 on the FPL, he is as self-disciplined as ever, and he has also shown a very high level in the qualifiers. Zywoo on the same team also has a high Major rating of 1.26. The performance of these two big brothers is enough to make this match worth watching."

As a neutral commentator, Lao Shuai Ge quickly downplayed Vitality a bit on the side; otherwise, if they didn't perform well, Xiao Xu would definitely have to take a lot of heat after the match.

"However, BIG is not weak either. Xantares, the big brother from the former SS team, has joined BIG, and they sold the pressure-monster Smooya to Renegades. The whole team is currently in a honeymoon period, and their strength is quite terrifying."

"Is Xantares a strong player? A single Xantares Peek tells you the answer!"

Ma Xixi nodded and replied: "IEM Sydney, this is the tournament where our CNCS rose. In Sydney last year, Tyloo once took a map off the peak FaZe, and that was the time that let us see the hope of rising."

"I hope Xiao Xu can bring us some surprises today."

……

Inside BIG's German base.

Xantares was practicing his aim rapidly in a Deathmatch map, making final preparations before the match, when he heard the notification sound for a message.

S1mple: You guys playing Vitality today? Can you handle it?

S1mple: I just bet a breakfast with Fire Boy.

So who bet on me winning? Xantares was a bit curious.

S1mple: Our bet didn't go through because we both think you're going to lose!

Xantares was so angry he typed back: You f***ing, don't come and disgust me, okay!

S1mple::), no way, I just tallied it up. Recently, when I'm on the same side as Nice, I've won 5 games net, and when I'm on your side, I've lost 3 games.

S1mple: Fire Boy also has a good relationship with Nice, and they both bet on Nice to win, so this bet naturally couldn't happen.

Xantares: Angry! Today I'll let you see my true strength!

After finishing the reply, Xantares closed the chat software.

His originally great mood was ruined by that jerk S1mple, and he felt inexplicably irritable.

He finally understood why the Fuhrer and the others would log out of social software early before a match; it was because of such scumbags!

He acknowledged Nice's level; after all, to be able to achieve such high fame in FPL, it was impossible without strength.

And last year's Top 9, the record was right there.

But as fellow riflemen, who would ever be convinced by the other?

Xantares glanced at the camera that had to be installed for the online match and was speechless.

It was just that he couldn't smoke under the camera, otherwise he would have given Vitality a pure, innocent dry-peek, letting them feel the power from Turkey!

Because of their seeding from the qualifiers, Vitality became the first-side team for this match.

They still banned Train directly.

After considering it, BIG removed Nuke; their strength on this map was also weak, and they weren't sure about Vitality's level yet, so they didn't dare to let it out casually.

After discussing, Vitality chose Mirage. Although they had recently lost to ENCE on this map, the gap wasn't large at the time, and they wouldn't doubt their own level because of this small setback.

BIG's choice was the same as always, taking their beloved Dust II. One could only say that the senior sister was still that senior sister.

Both sides removed one more map each, and finally, BIG chose to leave Inferno.

……

"The final BO3 maps are confirmed as the old three!"

Ma Xixi's eyes lit up. "These three maps can be considered the basic skills for all professional teams. Whether the tactics are excellent, whether the snipers are powerful, and whether local utility is used effectively can all be reflected in them."

"This BO3 really has a lot to watch!"

Amidst the analysis by CSBOY, both sides began to enter the server and started the duel for Map 1.

Map: Mirage

Vitality vs BIG

T: apEX, NBK, RpK, Zywoo, Nice

CT: gob b, tabsen, tizian, nex, Xantares

……

Fans of both teams cheered for them in the bullet comments.

Xu Beifang also adjusted his state and entered the game.

It was Vitality's map pick, and they started on the offensive side.

"For the pistol round, I'll buy a set of utility, everyone else buys half armor. Nice, you take a P250 and hang out at T Spawn at the start."

"Later, I'll go cut off A1 alone, and in the second timing, we'll group up in the Sewer and go up to the Archway, a 4-man Archway push combined with an A1 pinch on A site."

apEX added: "If nothing goes wrong, we'll play like this. Nice, you hang out alone, be careful. If someone comes to rush you, the Sewer will speed up to help immediately."

This was an Archway grouping tactic extracted from NaVi's footage, focusing on fighting for Mid control and crushing through with momentum.

They made slight adjustments and played it a few times in practice matches, and now it was ready for the big stage.

The countdown started, Xu Beifang picked up the P250 and went straight into the T Spawn fake door, exposing only half his body to hold Mid directly.

There was no movement in Mid at first, and the teammates in the Sewer were slowly pushing forward.

"Sewer pushed!" Before RpK even finished reporting the spot, he saw the CT in front of him suddenly drop dead. "Good shot, Zywoo!"

【Zywoo used Glock to headshot kill tabsen】

Xu Beifang glanced at the kill feed in the top right corner and knew that the opponent might have set up a forward-pressure formation in Mid, so he had to coordinate with his teammates.

He strafed out from T Spawn and immediately locked eyes with the CT at B Small.

"B Small! B Small!"

While reporting the spot, Xu Beifang fired wildly at the CT at B Small with his P250!

However, the CT at B Small had very agile movement and didn't intend to duel Xu Beifang; he only took 3 bullets from Xu Beifang before safely retreating behind cover.

"Someone at B Small, you guys be careful, I'm helping you hold VIP," Xu Beifang said.

Mid was under pressure from the Terrorists. Xantares and nex at A site hurriedly turned their eyes to the Archway. The forward push in Mid wasn't going well, so they had to actively get kills next.

Xantares stood by the Jump Platform, directly holding the Sewer, his crosshair set with a lead, guarding against the possibility of the opponent wide-peeking.

Soon, a Terrorist rushed out within his field of vision, and the shadow behind him told Xantares that there was a second enemy covering.

"Bang!"

【Zywoo used USP pistol to headshot kill Xantares】

He had only fired his first shot when the opponent used the USP they had picked up to headshot him instantly.

"At least two at Archway!!" The fierce man reminded quickly in the voice chat.

Zywoo continued to push forward with the USP. He originally only wanted to get information in the Archway, but the opponent's vigilance was maxed out, and their crosshairs were already set on the Archway headshot line.

As soon as he peeked, he was headshot and taken down.

【nex used USP to headshot kill Zywoo】

"One left at A site near Long Box!" After being killed, Zywoo hurriedly passed on the information so his teammates could judge better.

"1 A, 2 B, it's also possible one is left near the Supermarket/VIP, ready to cover both sides at any time." Xu Beifang summarized the information he inferred.

apEX thought for a moment. "I'll throw the Link smoke and A site high flash, then we'll hit B site."

Now with a 4-on-3 man advantage, as long as they didn't get read by the opponent's site-stacking, the frontal attack would be very smooth.

"Also be careful of B2 and the Sewer," Xu Beifang reminded. "The opponent is at a man disadvantage, there's a possibility they'll push out directly."

Astralis's excellent performance on the field had allowed many concepts to gradually become popular among professional teams.

Staying steady and not being reckless when having a man advantage, and actively looking for people when at a man disadvantage, were among them.

RpK, who was under the Archway, heard this and actively pushed back into the Sewer.

"There really is one!" RpK didn't rush the first wave, but instead gave up the gun position.

tizian, who was pushing forward, was very uncomfortable at this moment; the distance in the Sewer was too long.

He was in this position now, it wasn't easy to push forward, and retreating also required a certain amount of time.

He could only force a shoulder-peek duel with RpK at the Sewer entrance.

"Bang!"

【RpK used Glock to headshot kill tizian】

tizian was flustered; it was already a relatively passive position, and in the end, he couldn't find an opportunity.

"4-on-2, we can speed up to B directly!" Xu Beifang said. "One person at B site was hit by 3 of my P250 bullets, they don't have much health left now."

While speaking, he began to push towards B Small.

Inside the CSBOY live stream, seeing the result after a fierce battle in Mid, Ma Xixi exclaimed: "Not bad, Vitality! This pistol round today is very methodical, and their gunplay is also very solid. Zywoo came up and got two kills directly, RpK counter-held and killed tizian who was pushing forward in the Sewer."

"Now they know there's one at A and one at B, and the one at B site is low health, so they're coming over to find them directly."

"nex is still holding B Small directly at Long Box. This time Nice crosses, whether he can kill him will be the key to this clutch."

"The first shot didn't hit the head, nex shoulder-peeks to continue dragging it out, hmm?!"

Xu Beifang's crosshair was originally holding VIP. After the Sewer firefight, he thought the opponent would move closer to B site.

Although he didn't expect the opponent to still be a "ghost" at Long Box, the P250 gave him sufficient confidence.

He turned his head and fired two slow shots at Long Box.

【Nice used P250 to headshot kill nex】

"This aiming ability, the reaction is too fast!" Lao Shuai Ge was a bit surprised.

From nex's positioning and Nice's pre-aim, they thought nex had the advantage, but didn't expect Nice to counter-attack and kill nex instantly with one shot.

"Vitality won the pistol round quite easily. Their form today is quite good!"

……

"This Sewer shot is really one-tap!" The Fuhrer was a bit speechless.

He originally intended to use an unconventional play to steal one in the Sewer, but didn't expect that just by peeking for a glance, he would be headshot and killed by Zywoo instantly.

Xantares was also a bit helpless. "I was also instantly headshot, this Zywoo really doesn't act like a human."

nex added: "About the same, but I was killed by a P250."

Several guys who were one-tapped were exchanging their inner thoughts. gob b's expression froze as he watched this scene.

……

The easy victory in the pistol round made Vitality feel happy.

apEX reminded: "The opponent should force-buy this round, so be careful when controlling the map later. Nice, I'll send you behind the Sandbags at the start to hang out, everyone else slowly controls the map on both sides, hold for a while against their forward pressure before doing anything."

The countdown ended, Xu Beifang bought a rifle and came to Mid, then with the help of apEX's crossing smoke, tried to jump towards the Sandbags.

But while in the air, he heard a "bang".

He made it to the Sandbags, but only as a corpse.

【tabsen used SSG 08 to shoot through the smoke and headshot kill Nice】

Cheating??

Xu Beifang was a bit speechless. Sometimes your opponent is hot-handed, and this Scout shot through the smoke for a headshot—if you're unlucky, there's nothing you can do.

However, although he gave up the first kill, NBK inside A2 was carrying a Galil and killed both nex and Xantares who were pushing forward.

Vitality immediately decided to speed up the Archway push. After a not-so-difficult battle, they easily won this force-buy round.

The score also smoothly reached 3:0.

There will be another chapter later, eating takeout first. There's a young lady next door watching "Tian Tian You Xi" at the internet cafe, which is really distracting me.

(End of chapter)