Chapter 206: 210. Chapter 206: Looking forward to nice developing a Third Stage! (8200

210. Chapter 206: Looking forward to nice developing a Third Stage! (8200

In both maps of the BO3, Vitality displayed considerable combat power.

The moment the match ended, Ma Xixi shouted excitedly:

"Damn!! Congratulations to Vitality!"

"2-0, Vitality was in explosive form during this fourth round match. Even on the map FURIA chose, they still managed a 16:10 scoreline. This was something none of us expected before the match. Looking at the paper strength, this BO3 should have gone to Map 3, but that's how CS: GO matches are. It's not just about tactical maneuvering or the disparity in player strength on paper; it's also about the eruption of individual ability."

"Watching these two matches, FURIA's tactics were very novel, but in terms of player explosiveness, Vitality was still a cut above."

After Ma Xixi finished his analysis, the handsome veteran beside him smiled and took over:

"nice is still strong. His stats on the first map were explosive; he was getting kills the whole time, putting up an astonishing 36/2/17. Entering Inferno, although his kill count wasn't as high, those tricks on Banana still gave FURIA a massive headache, forcing them to go and bother A Site."

"But there's still a Zywoo on A Site, isn't there? Usually quiet, yet Zywoo can also put up exaggerated numbers. We can look forward to their Legend Stage journey."

Ma Xixi watched the replay of the highlights on the stream and turned to ask: "Honestly, mo, I'm a bit curious. How did you, back in Tyloo, deal with a monster like nice?"

mo replied: "Well, we didn't really play against him."

【LMAO, I thought mo was going to recount his glorious professional career, but he just said he didn't play against him, I'm dying.】

【That must have been when nice had just started playing professionally.】

【This Xixi really knows how to poke at sore spots.】

【Seems like it was IEM Shanghai, Beifang wasn't even the main star of the team yet, Tyloo got toyed with in the semifinals.】

【It was indeed a pity back then, Tyloo was so close to winning.】

mo continued to explain: "We didn't feel much pressure when we ran into VP back then. Although nice was a genius kid, who among those playing professionally isn't a genius kid? Wasn't qka also a genius kid?"

"And Xu Beifang hadn't played many matches, so we were actually confident we could confuse this 'newcomer'."

"But sometimes, a person's talent just can't be hidden. nice's speed of adapting to the match was much faster than we imagined. In the end, it was actually him leading VP. Even though nice's strength wasn't that high when he first debuted, we still lost by a hair."

The handsome veteran asked with some curiosity: "What kind of player is Xu Beifang exactly?"

He hadn't had much contact with Xu Beifang, so he wanted to ask for the thoughts of mo, a former Professional Player.

"nice's talent... it's not exactly in the highest tier."

Before mo could finish his sentence, the live stream chat was filled with skepticism.

【And you call that not high talent?】

【Top 9 in half a year, and you tell me the talent isn't high?】

【mo is looking down on people a bit too much.】

Glancing at the chat, mo continued: "When he first debuted, he really couldn't be considered a player with very high talent. Everyone knows it only took him a few months to go from a nobody to a pub star, but for a Professional Player, that really doesn't count for much."

"Take rez from NIP for example; when he first played CS: GO, it only took him 30 matches to reach Global Elite. That's what you call gifted."

"And nice and danking came to Tyloo Youth Training for a trial. In the trial results back then, nice didn't even perform as well as danking. Compared to professional players, nice's talent is relatively low."

mo stated his objective feelings first, then added: "But this guy nice has one thing that others can't compare to."

"nice is very pure. You can see him spending 10-plus hours a day on CS: GO, and he never tires. Perhaps because he's a university student, his thinking is more open. After the IEM Shanghai match ended, he even asked Xiaogui how to learn things like smoke tricks."

"This guy's talent isn't the highest, but his learning ability and judgment are top-tier. He can identify the weak points in his own ability and then spend time practicing to strengthen them. That is the most terrifying thing..."

"It was quite surprising that nice became a Top 9 in 2018, but I personally believe that him becoming a top player was inevitable."

Xu Beifang didn't know that mo had become his fan.

The moment the match ended, he excitedly took off his headset and high-fived his teammates to celebrate.

"Brother, you played really well today!" rpk reached out and bumped fists with Xu Beifang.

The victory on Map 1 gave them immense confidence.

Entering Map 2, they were unstoppable.

CS: GO matches are sometimes just about playing with confidence.

We won the opponent's map pick, so when it comes to our own map, isn't it just a slaughter? — With this mindset, they performed exceptionally well on Inferno, which is also why Xu Beifang's stats on Map 2 were relatively plain.

There is a saying in CS: GO: "Don't let others think you are weak, unless you really are weak."

Once you are labeled as a weakling by your opponent, the performance of a momentum-based player will exceed your expectations.

"Great job today, go shake hands with the opponents, don't keep them waiting," the bald Coach reminded them.

apex led the team toward the neighboring match room.

Watching the Vitality players walking toward them, Art felt a bit helpless.

Although FURIA could always maintain a happy mood during the match, the frustration after a loss would not let them go.

Both maps today were played very stiflingly.

On their own map pick, they managed to get quite a few rounds through their offense, relying on Inner Site executes as the core, constantly pulling between Outside and Iron Plate, easily securing 7 rounds, though they could have had more.

But after switching sides, the tall guy with the ID "nice" in front of them exerted too much pressure on the front line, making it impossible for them to construct an effective defense.

If only there were a Rifleman of this caliber on the team.

But he also understood that an Entry Fragger of nice's level is rare and hard to find.

It's hard for Brazil to produce a second fer, and it's impossible for an international player to fit them.

Even if there were one, a small outfit like FURIA might not be able to afford them.

On the second map, Inferno, nice proved that he didn't just have Gunplay.

If he were well-read in web novels, Art would definitely blurt out, "This kid is terrifyingly strong."

When shaking hands with nice, Art even took the initiative to ask in English:

"nice, how do you manage to make several styles blend so harmoniously?"

Xu Beifang looked at Art, feeling a bit surprised.

He did not expect that Art had actually discerned the changes in his various playstyles.

It seemed that the outside world always considered him the most aggressive Professional Player, but Xu Beifang did not think so; he believed he was actually quite steady.

He simply did specific things in specific rounds, and he would construct different playstyles based on his own state.

Speaking of aggressive, the guy in front of him who would take a Sniper Rifle and jump through smoke to find people was the truly aggressive one.

"Is it hard to answer?" Art indicated that he understood; some things were indeed trade secrets, and it was normal not to be able to respond.

Xu Beifang shook his head: "It's more based on tactical needs. If I can hold the Inner Site, I won't take the risk to go out, but once I feel the pressure is too great, I will take the initiative to help my teammates get kills outside. Aggressive peeking is just a tactical means; ultimately, it serves to obtain more information and to win."

Hearing this, a look of contemplation appeared on Art's face.

Xu Beifang waved at him as he left: "Looking forward to our next encounter."

"Same here."

Watching Vitality's departing figures, Art fell into deep thought, muttering to himself: "Information... victory."

……

After the post-match handshake session ended, Xu Beifang returned to the Vitality player area and began to pack up his peripherals.

But before he could finish packing, he and Zywoo were grabbed by the host for an interview.

In the Major Challenger Stage, every team that successfully advanced to the Legend Stage would accept an official interview.

The host smiled and said: "Vitality went all out in today's match and secured the victory against FURIA. How does it feel right now?"

Xu Beifang nodded: "We secured the qualification for the Legend Stage, which feels quite good. FURIA is a special team that keeps one's nerves on edge. Art is a special player; his playstyle is quite aggressive, and many times I was surprised by his choices."

"From my perspective, you played an absolutely incredible match. Your performance on Map 1 was simply off the charts. How did you do it?" the host continued to ask.

Xu Beifang thought for a moment, "I just tried my best to play every round well and get every kill possible. For me, Map 1 was still relatively difficult."

The host looked at his cue card and continued to ask: "Let's talk about an interesting moment on Map 1. FURIA's Art once jumped through smoke to kill you in a round and then knifed Zywoo. After this round ended, you pulled your monitor very close. What is the significance of this action?"

Xu Beifang's special off-stage action had indeed been noticed by everyone—because it was so peculiar, what was originally a normal perspective became something where, after he pulled the screen closer, he looked as if he were about to be swallowed by the monitor. The broadcast director was not blind, and they had recorded all these scenes.

Furthermore, in this match, Xu Beifang also produced quite a few highlight moments.

After a highlight moment, the livestream room would usually show the footage inside the player's booth.

But when it cut to Xu Beifang, one could only see a monitor and half a glowing face; the memory point was too obvious.

Xu Beifang scratched his head and then replied: "It's a method to concentrate. After pulling the screen closer, I can better enter that state of 'Flow State'."

"Just like s1mple; you see him always being able to be startled by his own kills. I pull the screen closer to enter that kind of state."

【Damn, there really is a Second Stage!!!】

【I previously thought Nice was just messing around; this way of increasing concentration is too outrageous.】

【Nice always manages to give us some fancy tricks.】

【Got it, from now on Nice will be the CS: GO team strength inspector. Only those who can force him into the Second Stage are truly top-tier teams!】

【Laughing to death, they exhausted all their efforts to finish the First Stage, thinking it was all over, and then Nice just went into 'musou' mode.】

【Looking forward to Nice developing a Third Stage~】

Although Vitality's match was over, many people were still in the livestream room waiting to watch the next one.

As a result, upon hearing Xu Beifang confirm the 'Second Stage', a group of meme-loving netizens instantly couldn't sit still.

The host also quickly understood what Xu Beifang meant.

There were many highlight kill clips of s1mple in the community; a casual recollection would bring to mind the image of s1mple firing a shot to kill an opponent and then shaking all over.

The host raised an eyebrow; he felt this was very interesting, but he also noticed the key point, "Then why not pull the monitor close right from the start of the game?"

"Because my eyes would get sore; otherwise, I would want to play with an explosive state the whole time." Xu Beifang added, "Netizens, don't try this casually; this is very personal, and it doesn't work for everyone."

The host had an 'I don't believe you' expression; he felt he had found the key to improving at CS: GO and planned to go rank up after getting off work.

Carrying the satisfactory answer, he handed the microphone to Zywoo.

Zywoo's first-grade professional English level was not very ideal, but looking at the language expert beside him, he still confidently took the microphone.

"Hello everyone, standing beside me is Zywoo. His performance today was excellent. Zywoo, what do you think of your own performance?"

Zywoo held the microphone and said: "Nice, translate for me."

A mischievous smile appeared on Xu Beifang's face, and he quietly moved two steps to the side.

The host didn't think much of it; most people in the circle knew Zywoo's English ability was poor—'I don't know' wasn't just a saying.

"Zywoo, what is your goal for this Legend Stage?"

Facing the microphone extended toward him, Zywoo could only use a smile to cover his embarrassment: "Nice won't translate for me, I don't understand!"

The host thought Zywoo had answered in all seriousness in French, nodded, and with a sincere face, shook Zywoo's hand and said:

"Thanks to Zywoo and Nice, thank you for taking the time for this interview."

Beside them, Xu Beifang was almost laughing like an idiot.

The communication between the two was primarily each speaking their own language, and one dared to ask while the other dared to answer, yet they were still able to reach the point of barrier-free communication.

……

After the host left, Zywoo used his chubby fist to give Xu Beifang a punch directly.

After punching his bad-egg teammate, he recalled the scene just now and couldn't help but laugh himself.

The two walked back to the lounge, laughing and talking all the way.

The others had long since packed their things, and seeing them return from the interview, Apex's face was stiff from laughing.

"Nice, you're really bad; you should have helped Zywoo translate."

They had entered the lounge early and watched the live broadcast on the lounge TV, seeing Zywoo's explosive interview in its entirety.

As a Frenchman who knew a little English, he understood just how explosive the scene had been.

This was top-tier in any interview.

Xu Beifang joked: "That won't do; Zywoo's 1000 Euro salary wouldn't have much left if he paid me translation fees."

Apex was also taken aback upon hearing this, then said earnestly: "After finishing this Major, let's go find xtqzzz and discuss Zywoo's salary level together; this wage is truly too low."

"Indeed, otherwise G2 will make a move," xtqzzz laughed, "And all of our salaries will rise a bit; it is reasonable to get a raise after achieving results."

"Otherwise, we'll go on strike."

The level Zywoo has displayed has always been one of Vitality's ceilings, and now that they have obtained the Legend Stage qualification, it is truly unjustifiable to keep letting Zywoo get by on a monthly salary of around 1000 Euros.

Zywoo turned his head to look at Xu Beifang, warmth rising in his heart.

Xu Beifang gave him a reassuring look. The group boarded the business van provided by the tournament organizers and began driving back to the hotel.

xtqzzz flipped through messages on his phone, then clapped his hands to attract everyone's attention, "Announcing the itinerary for the next few days; it's still early when we get back to the hotel later, so don't rush to eat yet, we're going back to the training room to start reviewing the match."

Speaking of this, xtqzzz saw the excitement on the players' faces fade away.

He smiled and continued: "After the match review is finished, I'll give you all a day off! We won't start training until the day after tomorrow morning!!"

"Oh!!!" There was a cheer inside the van; everyone was very happy about having a day of rest.

The continuously intense schedule kept everyone's competitive spirit high, but at the same time, they were also feeling somewhat exhausted inside.

Xu Beifang breathed a sigh of relief; during these past few days, time had been surrounded by training and matches.

He had no time to properly review the problems in his own matches.

However, thinking of this, Xu Beifang suddenly thought of the Suggestion Mission from before the match against FURIA.

【Beep!】

【Suggestion Mission: Let art see what is called the world's number one hold, suggested difficulty 5 stars, reward C-rank Treasure Chest upon completion...】

【Do you wish to claim the reward?】

"Yes!"

【Congratulations to the host for obtaining Beginner Map Understanding, please select one from jks's Dust II-B2 understanding, rain's Nuke-Outside understanding, ropz's Inferno-Banana understanding, or Boombl4's Train-Red Stairs understanding to gain insight.】

This kind of localized map understanding was something Xu Beifang quite needed.

Even though he spent a large amount of time on POV reviews, because of his position, it was impossible to understand the different playstyles for every area on the map.

This kind of insight could allow him to understand what choices different players would make in specific positions, used to strengthen himself.

First is jks on the map of Dust II in the B2 area; Xu Beifang quite likes this player jks, otherwise he wouldn't have chosen his Clutch technique before; that big spinbot-style clearing of angles helped him in many of Xu Beifang's Clutches.

But jks's Dust II doesn't seem to have made much of a name for itself, and Xu Beifang considers his own Dust II play to be decent, and he doesn't play the B2 area poorly, so he decided to shelve the first one for now and keep looking further.

The second map understanding is rain's insight on Nuke Outside techniques.

Xu Beifang's impression of rain's Outside is still quite deep.

After all, his performance determines the weather Outside; as a top-tier talented player, Xu Beifang still quite yearns for rain's expressiveness Outside, it's just that the position conflicts a bit for now, so he is a little hesitant.

Next is ropz's Banana insight; even though he quite likes the player ropz, Xu Beifang still wouldn't choose this insight.

Because he considers his own Banana to already be a specialty; today in the second half, even under poor conditions, he was able to use various tactics to play FURIA to death, and he can learn others' experiences and handling later.

But for this kind of experience and insight, unless it's a player of the caliber of NiKo or electronic, there's no need to choose it.

Finally, there is Boombl4's Red Stairs insight; this player who hasn't joined NAVI yet later relied on his agile movements to make a name for himself at Red Stairs.

After summarizing, Xu Beifang finally placed his focus on Boombl4's Red Stairs and rain's Outside.

After considering, he finally placed his focus on rain.

After all, Vitality never plays the map of Train, while Nuke can always be used.

And rain's Outside understanding seems to be in a league of its own, aside from NiKo.

Even though Xu Beifang is currently a defender who plays the Inner Site, there will still be a need for Outside on the offensive side.

【Selected rain's Nuke-Outside understanding, loading simulation space...】

The scene shattered, and Xu Beifang began to enter into rain's field of vision.

This is a match against NAVI; rain's countdown ends, and he heads straight for Outside.

At the start, he throws a grenade at the opponent to bleed them, then turns his head to look at the Iron Door, confirms no one is at the Iron Door, and then incidentally wall-bangs the Yellow Room.

His opening set of actions has already applied pressure to the three areas of Outside, Iron Door, and Yellow Room.

From rain's inner thoughts, Xu Beifang knows this round is biased toward a conservative playstyle, so he doesn't need to be too aggressive Outside.

In the next round, rain no longer throws grenades Outside, but instead throws fire toward the Sniper Position, directly applying full pressure to Outside.

After throwing the fire, he was flashed white by the opponent for a moment, and immediately after, he jiggled at the Zhengmen to check for Outside crossing information.

He successfully jiggled into electronic, who was coming to contest Outside, and killed him.

rain didn't stop his footsteps, directly mixing into the opponent's first-line smoke, and asked his teammate for a Flashbang.

Coordinating with the Flashbang, he gathered all the information near the Red Box, confirmed no one was there, and only then did he mix into the K1 entrance, successfully relying on unconventional positioning to catch three NAVI enemies.

In the next round, rain threw the same set of utility, but retreated to the far point of the Glass Room to hold Outside, letting the Sniper cover the Zhengmen.

Xu Beifang watched the screen, feeling rain's inner thoughts, and gradually became familiar with the playstyle for Outside.

Compared to NiKo, rain's playstyle lacks explosive power, but he is much more stable than NiKo.

A flexible, stable, and varied playstyle is the reason why rain can display dominance Outside.

With theoretical knowledge maxed out, the next step for Xu Beifang is to slowly integrate and master it through practice.

Inside the hotel training room, the Vitality group is discussing the review of today's match.

After taking a quick look around, xtqzzz frowned and said: "The Inner Site feels like there's no problem; nice's main defense and various responses are all quite good."

xtqzzz held an iPad with a tactical map of Nuke on it, and he used a stylus to draw a circle on the Outside position.

"The main problem is still here Outside; I just tallied it up, we lost a total of 7 rounds in the first half, and there were 3 rounds lost due to the loss of Outside control and missed timing Outside; we need to pay attention to Outside."

On Nuke, Vitality's previous understanding was to group up to defend the Inner Site and Iron Plate first, and let Zywoo's Sniper Rifle defend Outside.

It's best if his Sniper Rifle can get kills; if not, it doesn't matter, they just need to rotate back early to cover K1.

But looking at it now, this Outside control is still too weak; out of the 7 rounds lost, 3 were lost because of Outside, so we must think of a way to adjust.

"Once control of Outside is lost, I have to run down to Sanlou, and many times I can't coordinate with rpk," Zywoo explained his own feelings.

Regarding Nuke Outside control, only a very small number of teams don't throw smokes and dry peek.

Otherwise, the First-line smoke and Warehouse smoke must be thrown; otherwise, Zywoo's big sniper rifle cannot gain vision.

One even has to guard against the opponent pushing through the smoke, forcing a retreat to the Sanlou area.

Vitality's current strategy of half-abandoning Outside has actually caused many of them to fall into a passive position.

rpk rubbed his nose and said somewhat helplessly: "The pressure Outside is very high; I don't dare to try things at will, fearing that if I don't play well, it will affect you all."

Because of the rhythm of Map Control, the CT side often faces an onslaught from a crowd of people Outside.

One must guard against crossing the Red Box, guard against the terrorist Sanlou Water Tank, and even guard against guys who use that ropz-style glide to push directly through the smoke.

rpk did not want to become the team's breakthrough point, so he could only play in a relatively conservative way.

Xu Beifang turned his head to look at rpk, "Don't say such discouraging words; not every attempt can succeed, and it's very normal to lose a duel and get hit with an Entry Kill by the opponent."

rpk felt a warmth in his heart.

He knew his own situation best; inconsistent form was his old problem. In this situation, being too proactive in trying things might lead to more instances of the team starting 4v5 than bringing back good news.

"How about you, rpk, try playing a more 'oily' position? For example, go defend Iron Plate and see?" Coach suggested.

"Let apex come over to play Outside?"

Changing positions before a match is not a rare thing; even in the old days of French CS: GO, their command authority was frequently changed, so just changing positions is nothing to make a fuss about.

Everyone in the room fell into thought.

Xu Beifang looked at his teammates' expressions and suggested: "How about I try this Outside position? I've watched quite a lot of NiKo's POV before, and I feel quite confident."

"You go Outside? It's not impossible," the bald Coach pondered, "but the problem is, who will defend the Inner Site?"

The match review had just ended, and he understood very well that the points taken in the first half were closely related to the A Site being able to withstand the pressure.

With Xu Beifang's frontal ability, as long as he could adapt to Outside, it would never let them be this passive.

But if he were moved to Outside, the Outside problem would be solved, but the Inner Site might face quite a bit of pressure.

Xu Beifang cracked his knuckles, listening to the crisp sound, and stated his thoughts:

"The Inner Site actually isn't that reliant on Gunplay. In my experience, the Inner Site requires more of a player's split-second Reaction; once the opponent executes a bomb drop, it's more important to know when to counter with utility."

"To put it bluntly, the engagement distance at the Inner Site is so short that my Gunplay performance at the Inner Site is actually limited."

Once Nuke's Inner Site faces a bomb drop, the utility is literally raining down.

Dealing with utility is more important than Gunplay.

Xu Beifang believed that apex and nbk had more experience than he did.

"Besides, I can help out from the front at any time."

After careful consideration, Vitality felt this proposal was worth a try.

Just as Xu Beifang said, the Inner Site was not that reliant on Gunplay, and nbk and apex's defense could always manage some trades.

Furthermore, nbk was a Weapon Master of his generation.

His proficiency with submachine guns and Shotguns was quite high, and the position on Yellow Room had a relatively short engagement distance, which was suitable for the performance of such submachine guns and Shotguns; having nbk come to Yellow Room could be considered making the best use of everything.

However, for a temporary adjustment, Vitality could only find a second-tier domestic team to invite for a few temporary practice matches.

After one Nuke match ended, apex exclaimed: "Nice, your Outside play is really good!"

After adjusting positions, Xu Beifang's offense and defense Outside went quite smoothly.

Although the strength of this second-tier team was a bit weaker, Xu Beifang's kill situation Outside was clearly much better than rpk's.

Moreover, playing smoothly Outside also liberated Zywoo's big sniper rifle, allowing him to coordinate with Xu Beifang to get kills Outside, and also to rotate to help at the Inner Site Sanlou; their combat effectiveness became even stronger.

Not only that, rpk and nbk were also playing more comfortably.

The auto-shotgun and submachine gun that nbk was good at played a huge role in the Yellow Room area.

And rpk, at Iron Plate, also slowly found his own rhythm.

The Iron Plate position is very special, with two different ways to play.

If you are Hand-hot, you can duel the opponent and trade kills.

If your form is bad, just throw utility and run away.

rpk had gradually adapted to the playstyle of this position, and the follow-up would just be to slowly build up his level through match experience.

Overall, after a round of adjustments, Vitality's position arrangement on Nuke became more reasonable; as for whether their level would improve, that would still depend on subsequent matches and facing other teams.

After the practice matches ended, everyone was starving.

It was already very late, so the group didn't plan to go out for a meal and just headed to the hotel's buffet restaurant to make do.

Xu Beifang put his arm around Zywoo's shoulder and asked:

"We've already entered the Legend Stage, and in a few days it will be time to design the Sticker; have you thought about how you want to design your signature?"

Since Valve changed the Sticker rules, entering the Challenger Stage actually meant stickers would be released, but the specific design time was after the Challenger Stage ended, when designers would come to ask for the players' ideas.

Zywoo nodded and said with a smile: "I've thought about this; I'll just use the 'z' from my ID to wrap around the 'ywoo', keep it simple."

He was quite serious about this.

"I'm planning to add some Chinese character elements; I don't want it to be as plain as last time," Xu Beifang explained his thoughts to Zywoo.

"I think your signature last time was quite interesting!"

"I'll make some changes this time, otherwise wouldn't my Katowice Major be for nothing?"

"..."

Coach walked behind the players, watching them discuss their victory results, and a satisfied look appeared on his face.

Being a Coach for the First Time, and leading a team into the Legend Stage for the First Time, Coach felt proud inside at this moment.

Even though there were no stickers for a Coach, watching a team grow from nothing and seeing these young people slowly achieve results in influential tournaments gave him a sense of joy in nurturing them.

But looking at nbk in the distance, who was chatting with some old players, Coach felt a bit uncomfortable again.

As a Coach, he clearly knew that nbk's strength was declining; rpk could at least occasionally explode with performance, and even if inconsistent, he could still play the role of a role player, but nbk was already becoming a bit of a liability.

After this Major, nbk might have to leave the team, and Vitality must reinforce their roster.

Otherwise, with this lineup, having the potential to win a championship is completely useless!

To become a top-tier team, the road Vitality has to travel is still very long.

……