Chapter 172: A turret at the Archway, I'm not kidding!

Hearing the system notification sound in their ears, the members of the BIG player bench were somewhat dazed.

The final round of the first half had just concluded, yet they had only managed to secure 4 rounds.

The score was frozen at 11:4.

Regardless of the map, this could hardly be considered an advantageous score.

Xantares said with some helplessness, "I was at a disadvantage with my weapon just now and got counter-killed; there wasn't much I could do."

Gob b nodded, "I understand. I'm not blaming you guys, I just don't understand why Vitality suddenly became so strong."

Gob b chose to be understanding, but the Turkish hardman himself felt somewhat self-reproachful.

Because Smooya had acted up before the match, he had finally obtained this invitation to a Tier 1 team, and now he cherished this opportunity immensely.

He hoped to perform at the level he was capable of in this match.

12/1/11—this was the only player on BIG with a positive K/D ratio; his performance in the first half was actually not bad.

But the problem was, compared to the 17/2/10 of Nice on the opposite side, he felt he still hadn't performed at the level he should have.

If he remembered correctly, he and Nice had encountered each other one-on-one three times in the first half, and he had only won once.

Nice's ability to pull and maneuver in head-on duels was too strong; he didn't know where he had learned it, but every time he engaged in a gunfight with him, it was disgusting.

Moreover, his operational habits seemed as if they had been completely read by Nice.

It was just very uncomfortable!

Thinking back to S1mple's teasing before the match, his mood became even heavier for a moment.

Gob b noticed the team atmosphere was somewhat low and took the initiative to comfort them, "With 4 points, if we pull ourselves together, there's still a chance. As long as we successfully take the pistol round, there's a possibility to keep playing."

And if he remembered correctly, Vitality's defense could be described as riddled with holes.

As long as they targeted the opponent's B Site with explosive grenade attacks, once the scoring rhythm picked up, there was still a possibility of a comeback.

The halftime break ended, the two sides swapped sides, and they entered the pistol round of the second half.

According to the tactics arranged during the halftime, Xu Beifang went straight to the Bench to take a look at A1.

After seeing no one, he hid inside the Sandwich, sticking to the wall in preparation for a back-flash.

RpK stood at CT Spawn as bait, and Apex stood under A2.

This A Site setup consisted of one bait and two output players.

"BIG is preparing to hit A with a wave of explosive grenades, but Vitality's design is quite clever. Next, let's see how the Germans handle the details."

"Will they check the two positions of the Sandwich and under A2?"

Xu Beifang watched the A1 crossing with his peripheral vision, and within his field of view, he saw a Terrorist use a spin-jump to rush from A1 right in front of him.

Do they even check this spot so deliberately?

He didn't have time to be surprised and immediately pulled out his USP to engage in a firefight with the opponent.

Pulling back and forth at close range, there wasn't much room for maneuvering, and he was taken down by a headshot.

"Hitting A, at least 3 sets of footsteps at A1." After Xu Beifang gave the reminder, he muted his mic and watched his teammates operate.

"You can clearly see this wave was premeditated by Tabsen, but can he guess there's another one under A2?"

"Apex actively takes vision with silent steps, two backs are in front of him, Apex's marksmanship has some errors; after finishing a magazine, he almost paid tribute to Karrigan!"

"Could it be that you, Apex, are also going to be demoted by Vitality?" Ma Xixi teased.

RpK at CT Spawn pulled into position, but the two brothers in front failed to perform at the level they should have; this wave of firefights at A Site could only be described as very painful.

By the time Zywoo and NBK were in position for the retake, only a 2v4 clutch remained.

"NBK is clearing the crossing at Jungle, trying hard to peek and tag one, also acting as bait for Zywoo at CT Spawn."

"He traded one, but no second one? He couldn't hold on! Then only Zywoo is left to face this 1v3 clutch."

Even in a 3-on-1 clutch, BIG remained very cautious.

Only having 4 points meant they had no right to play recklessly.

After planting the bomb, they went to three rear gun positions: inside A1, inside A2, and inside Jungle.

They didn't give Zywoo any chance at all.

Zywoo tapped the bomb, facing three angles pulling out simultaneously.

After holding A1, he was traded.

"A pity, a pity." The Vitality members bumped fists to encourage each other.

Apex looked at the team's economy and analyzed the opponent's movements, "Although the bomb was planted, the opponent should be buying full armor for this point, so their weapons won't be very good. Let's defend against it; we'll focus our defense on A Site."

"NBK, you drop a FAMAS to Nice, and then buy a flashbang. Others can choose their weapon combinations freely, but it's best to have a smoke grenade."

After the previous small internal conflict, Vitality's overall resources were tilting towards Nice.

NBK and RpK, the two brothers, finally admitted that they were no longer in their prime and began to change their role positioning.

Now, it was very normal for them to accept dropping guns to let Zywoo and Nice find opportunities.

Seeing Xu Beifang pick up the FAMAS, Apex reminded him again, "Nice, you go straight to the Archway. If you need utility, just say so."

On Mirage, the most popular tactic nowadays was to continuously smoke the Archway to delay the Terrorists' attack.

This was also the reason why Apex asked everyone else to buy some utility.

"If the opponent speeds up and hits B, then we'll just save our guns inside A2 and play the next round."

Listening to Apex's nagging, Xu Beifang switched to his knife and arrived inside the Archway.

Zywoo took an SSG 08 and exchanged a shot with a Terrorist at VIP, confirming Apex's speculation in the voice chat, "Mid is very fast, saw at least three, I think I hit one."

Xu Beifang wasn't in a hurry to fire or use utility for the time being, instead standing on the right side of the Archway, holding the Archway bottom from a wide angle.

At the same time, this position allowed him to see the gap of the B Small crossing with his peripheral vision.

"Someone in the B Small passage!" RpK, standing at Long Box, exchanged fire briefly with the opponent using a Desert Eagle before retreating.

Xu Beifang walked forward two steps with silent steps, waiting for the timing.

Only then did he peek towards B Small.

A Terrorist was bouncing and jumping to the left side of B Small, with his entire back exposed in front of Xu Beifang.

"Da-da-da!"

【Nice used FAMAS to kill tizian】

The moment he got the kill, Xu Beifang retreated behind the wall, then pulled out a smoke grenade and threw it directly against the wall on the left side of the Archway to cover himself.

"Nice FAMAS took one down, but someone has already arrived under the Archway. The hardman seems to have locked onto his position. Can this smoke grenade save Nice?"

Listening to the footsteps under the Archway, taking advantage of the moment the smoke exploded, Xu Beifang pulled out.

The two sides looked at each other and engaged in a firefight.

"Da-da-da......"

【Nice used FAMAS to kill xantares through the smoke】

"Little Xu got a double kill!!" Ma Xixi shouted excitedly, "Could it be that this FAMAS has really become the foreshadowing for this round?"

After killing the Terrorist under the Archway, someone from B Small quickly came to trade.

However, Xu Beifang's movements were fast; he only took one shot before retreating into cover.

He glanced at his status:

Health remained at 42, and there were 8 bullets left in the FAMAS magazine.

Having taken the FAMAS, Xu Beifang bore the pressure of this weapon.

The double kill at the Archway made him very excited, because it seemed there was a chance to make a comeback in this force-buy round.

He wasn't in a hurry to reload, instead shouting quickly in the voice chat, "Can someone give me a flashbang? Someone is holding me directly from B Small!"

"Right away!" RpK heard Xu Beifang's call for help, pulled out a flashbang, adjusted quickly, and threw it after taking a few running steps, "Given!"

The flashbang left his hand from Long Box, tracing a beautiful parabola in the air, and finally exploded above the Archway.

"Boom!"

Xu Beifang heard the flashbang explode and pulled out from behind cover.

A Terrorist covering his eyes was squatting next to the B Small box, crying while covering his eyes.

"Nice flash!" Xu Beifang praised, and the FAMAS bullets took him down without any surprises.

"This wave, Little Xu is like Niko possessed, playing beautifully at the Archway!" Ma Xixi praised, "A triple kill at the start turned the originally passive situation into a 5-on-2."

"Only Gob b and Tabsen are left; a comeback is really possible this time!"

The fans in the live stream were also very surprised. They knew Nice's recent form was hot and had suggested before the match that he should play more aggressively.

But this FAMAS standing at the Archway, like a turret crushing BIG, was still very exaggerated.

And from their perspective, they could see that Vitality didn't just stay put after gaining the numerical advantage; there was a high chance of a comeback this round!

A FAMAS turret at the Archway, and three people were all killed like the Calabash Brothers saving their grandfather, causing the BIG voice chat to fall into silence.

Although the bomb was dropped at B Small, Tabsen wasn't in a hurry, instead holding an AK47 and counter-holding the path from the Terrorist Spawn.

A fly-head figure appeared in his field of view, and his crosshair pulled up rapidly.

"Da-da-da......"

【Tabsen used AK47 to headshot kill apex】

Having held the pushing CT, successfully getting one kill, Tabsen had just relaxed when he heard the sound of an AK47 firing from Mid again.

【NBK used AK47 to kill gob b】

Tabsen only then reacted that the opponent wasn't just pushing A Site!

Tabsen turned to peek for information, saw that damn FAMAS holding the Archway directly, and pressed down a magazine fiercely.

【Tabsen used AK47 to kill Nice】

But just as he got the kill, a CT holding an AK rushed up from under the Mid platform.

【NBK used AK47 to headshot kill Tabsen】

Tabsen leaned back, covering his face with his hands in unwillingness; the opponent's trading efficiency was too fast, and he really had no good way to deal with it.

After Nice and NBK confirmed his position, they were basically in a vertical double-boost state; as long as Nice died, the guy below would definitely pull out to trade.

Unless he sprayed and transferred to kill NBK below the moment he killed Nice.

But he wasn't a god!

【A real comeback!!】

【Tabsen is numb】

【To be honest, have Apex and NBK also been infected by Little Xu? They really dare to push forward】

【What's there not to dare to push on this point? It's just short guns anyway】

【Little Xu is like a wallhack, wherever he aims, there's someone; it's outrageous】

【Do you understand what a Hero AK is!】

Kiev, Ukraine, inside the NaVi base.

S1mple hadn't lied to Xantares; he and Flamie really wanted to have a small bet, but neither of them thought Xantares could win, so the bet didn't end up happening.

Watching the comeback in the force-buy round on the screen, Flamie raised his eyebrows, "This Nice is getting better and better. I feel like his positioning and handling are much better than before."

"This guy really has level." S1mple boasted again, "He is a hard-working player like me, trading time for level; this is understandable."

"But he has been playing the ladder crazily in the last half year, yet he hasn't picked up the bad habits of the ladder; this is what surprises me the most."

Flamie rested his chin on his right hand, looking at S1mple in confusion, "Bad habits of the ladder?"

S1mple explained, "Actually, it's just some bad habits brought out by smurfing. You know, most of us just play casually in the ladder, rarely going all out, and the skill gap is too big. Once you play too much, you get some bad habits like looking for people to kill, habitually stealing KD... like our youth trainee m0nesy, he has a bit of this problem."

"His sniping positioning is full of problems, all pursuing flick shots. I've told him once, but he doesn't listen."

Flamie asked, "Then what about you? Your ladder time is probably more than m0nesy's, won't you be affected?"

"I'm different." S1mple pointed to Xu Beifang on the screen, "I'm similar to this guy, able to clearly distinguish between matches and the ladder. The ladder is just a means for us to maintain form and practice techniques."

Flamie raised his eyebrows, although the tone was plain.

But as a close friend, he understood that this was already a very, very high evaluation.

The Hero FAMAS triple kill drove the rhythm, and with the pushing Apex and NBK completing the comeback, Vitality's situation became bright.

BIG's subsequent force-buy and eco rounds, although played quite well, ultimately failed to complete a comeback.

The match quickly reached the first full-buy round of the second half.

This round was quite critical for Vitality, because the score had already reached 14:5.

If they could successfully take this point, the match would be almost over.

"Any ideas? You can take the initiative to play now," Apex said.

The 9-point gap made his mood quite relaxed.

"I'll go step on A2," Xu Beifang suggested, "My positioning is still very good, I can grab an opportunity."

"Then NBK, you defend B alone first. We'll start with 3A and wait until Nice gets information," Apex agreed with Xu Beifang's idea.

The countdown ended, and Xu Beifang switched to his knife and rushed towards the Long Box direction.

A spin-jump accelerated him onto the Long Box, and then two consecutive jumps got him onto A2.

The fire RpK gave at A1 covered his footsteps, allowing Xu Beifang to push into A2 boldly.

He pushed in bit by bit, not seeing any enemies at first, but still very cautiously cleared A2 completely.

"No one inside A2, the opponent's map control focus is on Mid and B," Xu Beifang explained the information he had obtained.

Apex glanced at the mini-map and began to mobilize personnel.

"Nice, don't be in a hurry to push forward, hold for a while. Then RpK, you hang out at Jungle. Zywoo, let's retake B Site together."

The time was too early, and even if the opponent didn't control A2, there was still a possibility of hitting A from the Archway and A1. Apex's tactical thinking was very clear today.

Inside the CSBOY live stream.

Old Handsome looked at the personnel mobilization on the mini-map and said, "Nice pushed directly to the entrance of A2 at the start. He has taken all of BIG's information now."

"Only Nex is left on the periphery of A Site doing harassment, but this harassment is meaningless. Looking at their movements, they are still preparing to hit B Site."

"Once BIG attacks B Site, they will find that the opponent has already set up a net. And based on Nice's habits, he definitely won't stay in A2 forever; the limit is 40 seconds, and he will push forward."

"BIG is about to fall into a pincer attack!"

Mid map control was almost done, and at Gob b's command, B Site directly started a vigorous explosive grenade attack.

But the opponent's action of smoking B2 made the attack pause. They didn't expect that after so much utility consumption, the opponent still had smoke grenades.

They had no choice but to flash and force their way through the smoke.

Ke Bai jumped out of the smoke with his eyes wide open, only to be met by a police shotgun in the hands of NBK; for a moment, they couldn't even get out of B2!

The frontal attack was frustrated, and they decisively went through the Sewer and Archway to rotate to A.

But just as they rushed out of the Sewer, the AK47 at the Mid sandbag sprayed, leaving a pile of corpses under VIP.

The word "Match Point" appeared on the screen. Gob b looked at the team's average economy and could only sigh in his heart.

Even in the full-buy round with the most combat power, they couldn't get even a single kill. How could they play the match point without money?

He already knew the result of this match.

Back to the familiar internet cafe.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 173 =====