Chapter 209: 213. Chapter 209: Nice

213. Chapter 209: Nice: "Think about what s1mple would do!"

Wednesday, February 20, 2019.

The Lantern Festival had just passed; as the beginning of the year, people who had gone home for the New Year were starting to return to the cities where they worked, and things were gradually becoming busy.

The weather in Katowice was cloudy turning to sunny; the winter sun finally poked its head out from behind the clouds, letting people feel a hint of warmth.

But Xu Beifang didn't have much time to be greedy for the sunlight outside the window, because with the end of the Lantern Festival, their days off had also officially ended.

After completing tasks like sticker signature designs and promotional photo shoots, they officially entered the Legend Stage matches.

Vitality was quite clever; their match was the first one, serving as the opening of the Legend Stage.

At 7:40 that evening, the CS: GO national server began its pre-show, and Wanjiqi along with a group of commentators appeared in the stream.

"The short break is finally over. The Lantern Festival has passed, and I believe everyone has already entered their work phase. Our Legend Stage matches have also officially kicked off. The first match coming up is one we are very much looking forward to: a match featuring Vitality. Their excellent performance in the Challenger Stage makes us look forward to their subsequent showing."

Wanjiqi added: "According to rumors from A Short, Vitality has been exceptionally diligent these days. Also, from Nice's match history, one can see that his form in FPL has been maintained very well. It can be seen that they have certain ambitions for the upcoming matches."

Zheng Zhewei, acting as a commentator, nodded and said: "This next match will be Vitality versus the German machine, BIG."

"A week has passed, and Vitality's world ranking has already reached 12th, while the German machine opposite them is ranked 14th. The gap between the two rankings is not obvious in this level of competition; it depends more on the form of both sides and the map selection."

Wanjiqi asked with a smile: "Where do you think the key point of this match will be?"

Zheng Zhewei thought for a moment, then said seriously: "The key point might lie in the form of both sides. Vitality and BIG are not teams that are particularly specialized in tactics; their requirements for the individual performance of their players are still very high."

"In a situation where neither side's tactics are too lackluster, Nice and Zywoo on Vitality's side, as well as Xantares and Tabsen on BIG's side, are all variables. Whether their form is good or bad will affect the entire course of the battle."

Wanjiqi nodded; Zheng Zhewei still had skill, whether it was his understanding of the game or his grasp of the data, both were quite good.

The two discussed some of the players' recent data, and only then did the broadcast feed begin to show images.

At the BIG player station.

Beside Xantares's monitor, a pile of spherical white tissues had already accumulated.

But even so, he still felt his palms slowly sweating.

Facing Vitality again, he had some subtle thoughts in his heart. If you want to say it's seeking revenge against Vitality, the last time they faced each other was in the IEM Sydney Qualifier, and they hadn't even reached the final contention yet, so it couldn't be called revenge.

But because of s1mple's previous provocation, Xantares had a deep impression of that incident. When entering the Major, there was more or less a thought in his heart of getting back at them.

Because BIG was in the Major Top Eight last time, they didn't have to fight their way up from the Challenger Stage, so they had plenty of time recently to study their opponents.

As one of the teams with the strongest performance in the Challenger Stage, Vitality naturally became an object of their study.

gob b noticed Xantares's nervousness beside him; he clapped his hands, drawing everyone's attention in the room over.

"Nothing to be nervous about. We've done a lot of preparation before the match. Vitality's core strategy right now is to let Nice push forward to disrupt the opponent's offensive rhythm. As long as we execute our Default at A Site properly, Nice won't have much room to perform."

After hearing the IGL's words, their hearts gradually settled down.

Whether it was that match in the IEM Sydney Qualifier or the subsequent study of Vitality in the Major Challenger Stage, they reached a conclusion:

Once Vitality falls into a predicament, then Nice, this sharp blade, will start to thrust forward, using bold playstyles to gain significant benefits for the team.

They didn't ask to restrict Nice too tightly; as long as they restricted Nice from running around on the CT side, the pressure of the head-on confrontation wouldn't be too great.

Xantares's nervous mood seemed to improve, or perhaps it was because the tissues he brought were almost used up, and he then sank into aim practice.

gob b nodded when he saw this scene. Xantares was a quite pure person; as long as he had confidence, he could produce outstanding performances in the match. Just don't let him get nervous.

Next, it was about the map BP.

For today's Bo1, their goal was quite clear: as long as they didn't play Inferno, other maps were acceptable—they discovered in their research these days that Nice's Banana map control was just too terrifying.

The dominance was simply comparable to electronic's Pit, ropz's A2, and flamie's Iron Plate.

But Banana was the core area of Inferno; in terms of tactical needs, letting it go once or twice was fine, but it was impossible not to contest it every round.

So after consideration, they still chose not to provoke Vitality.

After a round of quick BP by both sides, the final match map was determined to be Mirage.

Besides the maps they each didn't play, BIG didn't want to let Vitality pick Inferno.

Vitality also didn't want BIG to pick Dust 2; they both respected each other quite a bit.

So the final map selection settled on Mirage.

"Nice, let's go!! Take the first match of the Legend Stage!"

Xu Beifang looked up; MiCHu and byali were not far from the player station, cheering him on.

VP's match was in the second round today, so they weren't in such a hurry for the time being and specifically ran over to cheer for their former teammate.

Xu Beifang waved at them with a smile, then put on his headset and officially entered the match server.

Because it was the map Vitality finally chose, BIG obtained the right to choose sides. They didn't play any fancy tricks and honestly started on the CT side.

"According to what we just said, execute a first-timing A Site grenade set. NBK, give the Arch Smoke. Nice, you take the P250 and play around A2, don't rush out." apEX repeated the pre-match tactical setup to deepen their impression.

The countdown ended, and Xu Beifang picked up the P250 and headed straight for A2.

After entering A2, his crosshair was locked tightly on the position where they might push A2, guarding against any unconventional moves BIG might make.

After waiting for two seconds, he then pushed forward with a silent walk, preparing to start coordinating with his teammates at A1 for a synchronized attack.

Before he reached the corner of A2, his teammates at A1 had already engaged in a firefight.

【gob b used USP to get a Headshot kill on RpK】

【gob b used USP to get a Headshot kill on Zywoo】

"One at CT Spawn, tapped my head." After Zywoo reported the position in voice chat, the numbers had already reached 3 vs 5.

At the same time, Xu Beifang actually saw a guy pushing forward in A2, raised his P250, and started a firefight.

Tabsen had originally heard a bunch of footsteps at A1 and wanted to sneak into A2 quietly, but he didn't expect there to be someone lurking in A2.

He had no intention of counter-killing in a duel and immediately ran away to save his life first.

The opponent's exaggerated escape speed meant Xu Beifang couldn't kill him, but he still chased after him to avoid the opponent hiding in the two corners of A2, as that would make his teammates at A1 too passive.

"Click."

The opponent jumped directly down from A2, and Xu Beifang heard the crisp sound of footsteps.

Moreover, the opponent did not mask their footsteps, allowing him to determine their location below A2.

"Someone under Second Floor, watch out," Xu Beifang reminded his teammates while wall-banging with a P250.

He was quite lucky here, even landing a headshot through the wall, but unfortunately, due to the damage reduction from the Wooden Board, it did not deal fatal damage.

But apex was very sharp; he knew there was someone at CT Spawn who had been tagged in the head, and the footsteps under A2 were retreating inward, so now was the perfect time for them to push A1!

apex quickly moved to the A1 Jump Platform to hold an angle on the area under Second Floor.

Although being suddenly wall-banged in the head was terrifying, it only dealt less than 30 damage to him; tabsen's playstyle was still quite bold, as he deliberately made a footstep sound for the opponent to hear before silently stepping out to gain information on A1.

Although gob b was heavily damaged, relying on the CT Spawn box, he could still help him gain vision of A2.

If nice had the skill, he could use his handgun to shoot through the board and kill him; otherwise, he didn't need to worry about his head.

But he hadn't expected apex's speed to be so fast, having already moved to the A1 box; his silent push outward was already a disadvantageous angle, and being held meant he was directly headshot.

【apex used Glock to headshot kill tabsen】

"The Leader wants to catch a psychological blind spot and actively go to A1 to gain some vision; after all, he is the only one in A Site with healthy HP, but he didn't expect apex to already be holding an angle on the area under Second Floor!"

"However, his teammates' Retake is already in position, and he has also gained the information, so there isn't much of a problem at A Site this round."

The CTs on the minimap had mostly arrived for the Retake; even with tabsen killed, it was still a 3-man heavy defense at A, and with B Small even on the way to Retake, Vitality's attack was still not easy to execute.

The CS: GO Pistol Round is a very important part, and it is also the round that demands the most from Gunplay and Positioning Ability.

As BIG's Retake arrived, Xantares and nex peeked out from the Jump Platform and Bench respectively, wanting to use a double-peek Trade Kill to take down the apex at A1.

"The two CTs on Retake chose to take the initiative; they don't have any utility, so they don't want to let the Terrorists enter the Bomb Site! But apex took down nex, and nice, who was on A2, also used a P250 to instantly kill the Turkish powerhouse~"

"Hiss~" Wanjiqi drew a breath and continued his commentary: "BIG's Retake was fast, but they were still pushed back by Vitality's individual skill."

Securing two kills in an instant, the situation reversed in a flash.

In the voice chat, rpk shouted excitedly: "It's already 3 vs 2!!"

The Vitality trio moved quickly; nbk went straight into the Bomb Site to Plant, while apex strafed all the way across, going directly to cause trouble for the Jump Platform and Archway.

Xu Beifang remained unhurried, just quietly holding an angle on VIP.

The opponent had revealed gunfire at CT Spawn at the start, but there had been no movement during the second exchange of fire, so Xu Beifang judged that they might have grouped up with their teammates.

【apex used Glock to headshot kill tizian】

apex was quite crazy today, erupting with a triple kill in the Pistol Round.

"Vitality's form is excellent today, and the firefights on the front line are going very smoothly." Wanjiqi watched gob b's position from the god's-eye view, his tone somewhat worried, "But there has been one person at CT Spawn who hasn't died; will this become a foreshadowing for this round?"

Even though gob b's HP was very low, there are many highlights of low-HP players in Pistol Rounds; his position was very mysterious and might bring some surprises to Vitality.

"gob b is very cunning, waiting until the third second to peek out, a one-tap headshot with the USP, not giving nbk any chance."

Upon hearing this, Xu Beifang adjusted his Pre-aim and peeked to the right.

"Bang!"

【nice used P250 to headshot kill gob b】

1:0

The Pistol Round was taken without any danger.

nbk turned his head and said to Xu Beifang: "I thought you would hold an angle for me."

"My bad," Xu Beifang explained, "His HP was so low, and there was no gunfire from CT Spawn during the second round of firing, so I thought he had grouped up with the others."

"No worries, no worries!" apex patted his chest and said, "I'll carry this round; my form is exploding, brothers!"

Scoring a triple kill in the Pistol Round and starting from a passive position, the "Bean" (apex) got two consecutive kills, which could be considered solving the problem; it was clear his touch was indeed hot.

Xantares pursed his lips as he looked at his 0/0/1 stat line.

Starting the tournament directly from the Legend Stage gave them plenty of time to conduct research.

But those teams that surged up from the Challenger Stage possessed a hot touch that they couldn't compare to.

This front-line firefight was a typical example; both he and nex were one-tapped, so how could they play?

Now he could only comfort himself that he would slowly find his touch later on.

In the second round, led by gob b, BIG chose to Force Buy.

They started with a HE Grenade barrage on Mid, wanting to use tabsen's SSG 08 to make a play.

Three HE Grenades killed the unlucky rpk, but subsequently, apex and Zywoo rushed directly into B Site from B Small; tabsen had been waiting with his SSG 08 for a long time, but the opponent's SG553 didn't give him a chance to fire a second shot. In the end, this Force Buy round only resulted in a 5-for-2 trade.

The score smoothly reached 3:0, and the first Long Gun Round arrived.

"Let's group up and control Mid, and we can just give up the two sides," apex's whimsical ideas began again.

But the others thought about it carefully and found that there really wasn't any problem.

In the first Long Gun Round, both sides were still in the probing stage, so it was relatively rare to see a team use such unconventional tactics directly.

BIG was not a team with an extreme style like FURIA or AVANGAR, so Default Defense was perfectly fine.

As the countdown ended, Xu Beifang's spawn position wasn't great, so he chose to stay at the Terrorist Spawn to throw a smoke.

He quickly aimed and threw a VIP Fast Smoke.

Since the VIP Fast Smoke tactic had already been exposed, there was no need to hide it anymore; netizens on forums and pro players were all frantically running maps, trying to figure out the VIP Fast Smoke for every spawn point.

Even if they hid it, it would be useless; using it cleanly in coordination with their own tactics was actually better.

The Smoke Grenade was released, flying rapidly through the air, and quickly landed inside VIP.

tabsen, carrying a Half Armor and an AWP, had arrived in VIP early, preparing to gain some early information.

But he didn't see a single shadow before a Smoke Grenade exploded directly in VIP; tabsen became instantly vigilant: "Something's wrong, the opponents might be doing that tactic of rushing VIP fast!"

As tabsen spoke, he retreated directly to Jungle, holding an angle on VIP with his AWP.

Xantares at the Archway immediately threw an Incendiary Grenade toward B Small, attempting to block the opponent's advance.

But after waiting for a while, he did not see that Smoke Grenade that was supposed to seal off the Archway.

Xantares and tabsen looked at each other, only then realizing they had been too nervous.

They had originally thought the Quick Vip Smoke was Vitality's ultimate move, but now they discovered it was nothing more than a basic attack.

apex and Zywoo entered behind the Mid Sandbag at the first opportunity, and seeing the fire thrown by the opponent at the B Small passage from the Archway, they were also confused, not understanding what purpose that utility served.

Could it be that they wanted to throw a flashbang??

apex did not know what tricks the opponent was playing, so he continued to execute his tactics according to his own rhythm.

"After this wave of utility in Mid ends, Zywoo, throw an Arch Smoke on the inside, then we'll burn the Archway to take control of Mid."

"After confirming no one is in the Archway, we will all five push forward from B Small together."

Xu Beifang wanted to laugh a little upon hearing this tactical arrangement from apex; his train of thought remained as unconventional as ever.

A conventional B Site play usually involves a 3-2 pinch, but apex just likes to go against the grain, using reverse psychology to keep the opponent from reacting in time.

Vitality followed their own rhythm and launched a second round of utility control in Mid.

Facing the incoming Arch Smoke and VIP Smoke, tabsen and Xantares really had no choice but to concede control and retreat to the back site to defend.

tabsen had bought a Half Armor and a Sniper Rifle this round, without a single piece of utility.

And Xantares did not have much defensive utility either; having given up that Incendiary Grenade too early, he had no room to fight back against the Terrorists' subsequent Map Control and was forced to give up the Archway.

Otherwise, what would be waiting for him would be the opponent clearing the site with utility.

"BIG is still clever; Xantares and tabsen lost vision of Mid, so nex, who was defending B Site, proactively pushed up to the front of B Small to scout."

"An active peek, he saw three people at B Small; Vitality's offensive intent for this wave was completely read. nbk in VIP caught a pop-flash, directly letting the main force clear B Small."

"BIG is also very smart here, knowing there are many people in Mid, tizian in B2 Floor pushed out directly. Now it all depends on nex at the Bomb Site." Wanjiqi took a breath, "How many people he can take down will be the key to this BIG defense."

"nex takes down the first one, Xantares has already rotated to the Supermarket, used an AUG to spray through the choke point, and brought Zywoo down to low health. tizian from B2 Floor finally took action, he directly traded the kill and took down Zywoo. nex took down another one, RPK, who was in front, but nice has already rotated to the Sofa, his Trade Kill speed is very fast!"

"tizian inside B2 Floor also came over to trade, he has already seen nice's side! But what!!!" Wanjiqi gasped, "This nice turned around and insta-killed tizian too!!"

"nice's performance has turned this Full Buy Round into a 3v2 situation. On the Terrorist side, it's nice at the Sandbag and nbk who rushed over from B Small. As for the CTs, two have already rotated back to the Supermarket, but there is still one flanking the long way, rushing from the Terrorist spawn toward B2 Floor."

Xu Beifang's position had already been locked down; he was in no rush to act, just holding the Supermarket Window, waiting for the opponent to peek.

nbk, who was watching the flank, walked over from B Small, picked up the bomb, and with his Crosshair held on the Supermarket Window, inched his way over.

"Da-da-da!"

【nbk used SG553 to Headshot xantares】

nbk got the kill, and Xu Beifang also found a wide angle at the Sandbag, shaking his position with a tiny movement.

"—Bang!"

The sound of the Sniper Rifle rang out, and the bullet hit the wall behind him.

"There's a Sniper Rifle on the left side of the Supermarket Window."

Xu Beifang had roughly guessed the opponent's position; now he just needed to confirm it.

"I'll hold B Small for you, you plant the bomb at B Site." Xu Beifang communicated the play quickly.

nbk didn't dawdle and went straight into the Bomb Site to start planting.

As the C4 was successfully planted, no enemies appeared at B Small, and Xu Beifang roughly judged the location of the opponent's last player.

"The last person might be at B2 Floor." Zywoo's judgment was the same as his own.

Hearing this, nbk chose to move in a crab-walk, holding the Supermarket Window while pushing toward the B Small Archway.

As long as he could move to the B Small Archway and find a cheeky angle, this Clutch would basically be secure.

But as a German Gunner, tabsen was much smarter than he had imagined.

As soon as the bomb was planted, tabsen had long since moved to the left side of the Supermarket, holding the angle from inside the Supermarket toward the right side of the Bomb Site.

tabsen wanted to use his Sniper Rifle to narrow down the positions of the remaining two Terrorists as much as possible, so that the flanking gob b could perform better.

—Bang!

As the Sniper Rifle rang out, nbk fell on the way to B Small.

"There's one more at the Sofa!" Xantares watched his teammate's kill, and his tense nerves relaxed a little.

Although the early stage wasn't handled well, at least they were gradually gaining the advantage in this Clutch. It was a 2v1 and they had locked down the position; as long as the two of them traded well, there wouldn't be any problems.

gob b also said: "Wait for me to get into position, let me take the info first."

tabsen's position had already been exposed and he was highly likely to be held down by the opponent, so letting someone who hadn't appeared yet take the info was clearly more appropriate.

The C4 ticked away, and Xu Beifang frowned.

nbk being killed really put him in a passive position.

Xu Beifang pressed against the wall on the right side of the Sofa, peeked at the Supermarket entrance, and then slowly pushed toward the Supermarket with silent steps.

"The enemy at B2 Floor still hasn't appeared, so nice chose to take the initiative!"

"But is this really a good choice? tabsen also noticed this possibility; the Sniper Rifle moved back and forth between the Window and the entrance, waiting for gob b to act."

The Vitality members watched Xu Beifang's play, not daring to breathe, looking forward to the upcoming head-to-head duel.

Whether this Clutch was won or lost would likely be decided in this exchange of fire.

Arriving at the Supermarket entrance, Xu Beifang understood that tabsen hadn't made a move for so long, likely because he was guarding against him.

A wide swing?

Or a jiggle peek to bait a shot?

Several ways to deal with a Sniper Rifle flashed through his mind, but the C4 was ticking away, urging Xu Beifang to deal with it as quickly as possible.

The opponent wouldn't wait for him to process all the information.

Immediately after, the arrogant face of s1mple inexplicably appeared in his mind, along with an imaginative play he had once pulled off on Dust 2.

Xu Beifang made a prompt decision, flicked his view upward, and threw his SG553 out.

……

tabsen's expression was highly tense.

It was a 2-on-1 Clutch, and the remaining opponent, nice, was not an ID that could intimidate anyone in a Clutch situation.

It was just that nice's playstyle was aggressive, and tabsen knew he was highly likely to come over and challenge him to a duel, using his Gunplay to tear open the Clutch.

That was why he was being extremely cautious.

gobb had already arrived at the B2 Floor, but at first glance, he did not see any information directly in front of him.

tabsen immediately turned his perspective toward the Supermarket entrance, his Consciousness highly focused.

But the moment a black shadow appeared within his field of vision, he subconsciously pulled the trigger.

——Bang!

At this moment, tabsen could clearly see the bullet from the sniper rifle hit the body of the SG553; Valve's physics engine was truly outstanding at this moment!

But tabsen felt a sense of suffocation!!

"nice has arrived at the Supermarket entrance. tabsen already knows his position this round and is ready to Blind Shot at any moment."

"He must deal with it quickly because the enemy from behind has already arrived, but nice directly dropped the 553; he successfully tricked tabsen!!!" Wanjiqi held his head in his hands, and at this moment, he had goosebumps all over his body.

"P250 right in his face!! tabsen couldn't hold! nice switched to the sniper rifle, not moving a muscle."

"gobb has already started defusing the bomb, nice jumped out from the Supermarket Window, his footsteps were exposed, gobb wide-peeked out, and was taken away by a Blind Shot!!"

When the last enemy fell to the ground, Xu Beifang shouted excitedly: "Holy crap, I actually won this? My Clutch is really possessed by s1mple!"

In front of the Vitality player bench, the two VP players could also see the content of the match through an arm-length screen in the studio.

When Xu Beifang dropped the 553 during the Clutch and used the P250 that his teammate had dropped for him in the Pistol Round to one-tap tabsen, they looked at each other, already sensing what was about to happen.

But seeing the Clutch actually won, they still couldn't help but exclaim.

"Holy crap, it's been so long, he's still as monstrous as ever."

"Are they playing around? BIG is practically being toyed with!"

The two professional-level spectators let out exclamations in front of the player bench at this moment.

Then they saw apex, who was sitting in the very center of the Vitality player bench, take off his noise-canceling headset and shout at the BIG match room next door: "1v2!! 1v2!! What are you guys doing??"

byali and michu could no longer hold back their laughter.

This nice is getting kills in the Clutch, and apex is out here trying to break their spirits!!

Although the match had started for less than 10 minutes, BIG had already called for their first Tactical Timeout.

……