Chapter 366: Nice, you really are a troll!

"Coach, your luck is as bad as ever," Xu Beifang teased.

XTQZZZ looked indifferent: "If I said I did it on purpose, you definitely wouldn't believe me."

"Our map pool overlaps somewhat with Faze's, and given Faze's current form, we have a fighting chance on any map, so choosing the side is more important than choosing the map."

Zywoo widened his eyes, as if seeing the bald coach for the first time: "So the coach even considered this point; truly meticulous!"

Xu Beifang rolled his eyes: "What he said was already outrageous enough, but what's even more outrageous is that you actually believed it."

shox smiled: "Shushu is so cute."

However, the bald coach's reasoning was sound; if the map pool is relatively shallow, it is very easy to be targeted on a map in a BO1.

Just like the first round of the Challenger Stage, in the match between G2 and Tyloo, the Overpass that was eventually selected was a map neither side knew how to play.

If one side were proficient in the map Overpass, they could have effectively targeted the other.

"Everyone, get a little tense; don't drop the ball once the match starts." NEO noticed NIKO's state felt a bit off and took the initiative to offer a reminder.

This stat line, no matter who it belongs to, is incredibly explosive.

……

Hearing this, NEO caught a fleeting glimpse of that confident, genius teenager from the Mouz era.

By comparison, Nuke was easier to accept.

"It's our turn." XTQZZZ performed the BP on his phone, "We're definitely not playing Train. As for the other two maps, my thought is to ban Mirage first; NIKO's performance on this map is still very outstanding. Is there any other map you all don't want to play?"

Vitality vs Faze

Map: Nuke

"Alright, the match has started, the streamer is about to start casting."

Leon Kai almost lost his composure amidst the teasing in the chat, but fortunately, the match finally started, allowing him to shift his emotions.

However, Xu Beifang's actions made him grin as well.

He tentatively said: "How about... Jack, get me a Zeus x27?"

……

NIKO shook his head: "Don't worry, Vitality should be afraid of a relaxed me!"

21 kills, 0 assists, 0 deaths

"The Pistol Round has started; let's see what the pistol round setups are for both teams," Leon Kai began his routine spiel, "On Faze's side, they've prepared two smokes, two flashes, and a fire; the utility setup is quite sufficient. As for Vitality, only JackZ has a flash and a Defuse Kit. Wait... is that a Zeus x27 in Beifang's hand?"

Xu Beifang raised his hand to speak: "We can skip Dust II; the opponents are all a bunch of old dogs. On a classic map like Dust II, they have plenty of tricks up their sleeves."

Faze didn't even hesitate, directly removing Vertigo.

T: NIKO, NEO, rain, GuardiaN, olofmeister

CT: Nice, apEX, JackZ, ZywOo, shox

"Happy hour has begun, brothers, let's get hyped!" JackZ shouted excitedly.

Vitality members: "???"

"JackZ, you buy a Defuse Kit, and Beifang, do you want Dual Berettas? If you do, we can buy a pair for you."

On the Faze player bench, NIKO watched the opponents' actions and couldn't help but quip: "Aren't they afraid of getting nearsighted?"

At the time, it was Faze against Liquid, and on the map Dust II, rain once put up the most outrageous KD Ratio in CSGO history.

Leaving Nuke and Vertigo for Faze to choose from.

"Playing Dust II against this bunch of old dogs, we really don't have much of an advantage." XTQZZZ nodded and pressed to remove Dust II.

A very reasonable line of thought; Faze doesn't play Overpass much these days, and as for Inferno, no one wants to provoke Vitality at this point in time.

apEX began setting up the Pistol Round tactics: "Faze used to like playing Outside in the pistol round, but since NEO arrived, they play Nuke less, so my idea remains the same: everyone focus on Sanlou and Iron Plate, focusing mainly on playing the Retake."

The most outrageous instance was in April of this year, at the finals of Blast Miami.

Those dull and tedious training hours were now playing an important role, giving them enough confidence before the match even began.

Xu Beifang wanted to agree immediately, but ropz's sunny smile suddenly flashed through his mind.

Knowing that Vitality would definitely pick Inferno if they had the chance, they didn't even have the desire to waver.

As Vitality's practice partners, they knew all too well how strong Vitality was on this map.

If Xu Beifang's proficiency on Inferno is World No. 1, then rain's proficiency on Dust II is on the same level.

Faze's first round of map bans directly removed Overpass and Inferno.

Although rain is a lazy dog, his powerful talent means he only needs to try a little bit to reach the peak of professional play.

He paused, then teased: "Besides, I don't want a torrential downpour on Dust II later!"

Seeing the confirmed map, Xu Beifang rubbed his hands and began to adjust his sitting posture.

JackZ turned his head to look at Xu Beifang, waiting for his reply.

This talent freak on the map Dust II is always able to put up all sorts of outrageous stats, causing sudden torrential downpours on Dust II.

Even someone as strong as Xu Beifang would be wary of a diligent rain on Dust II.

"Alright." Having had his off-the-cuff lie seen through by his teammates, XTQZZZ quickly changed the subject, "Let's see Faze's map pick."

Inside the livestream.

Thanks to Kai Zi Ge's reputation for "sleep-inducing commentary," many viewers used his stream as a bedtime radio.

But Leon Kai's sudden shift in emotion, combined with the mention of a "Zeus x27," made many netizens who were already feeling sleepy curious.

【???】

【What's going on with Beizige?】

【Starting to troll directly against his old captain?】

【Beizige isn't treating this like a Performance Match, is he?】

【He's up to his weird antics again】

【It feels like Beifang is starting to act up; buying a Zeus x27 in the Pistol Round is simply messing around.】

The comments in the livestream were mixed, but the appearance of the Zeus x27 got the viewers watching the stream excited.

They were very curious whether this Zeus x27 could actually shock someone, or if Xu Beifang was just purely trolling.

In fact, even the players on Vitality felt it was absurd, but they still chose to trust Xu Beifang's judgment.

They knew this guy must have thought of something again.

Under the communication between Xu Beifang and apEX, they arranged a rather special positioning.

113

Xu Beifang stood alone inside the Yellow Room, while Zywoo watched the Iron Door and Zhengmen from Sanlou.

The remaining three people were performing a heavy defense at the Iron Plate.

"Little Xu's Zeus x27 is a bit much; you have to realize this is the Berlin Major stage," Leon Kai couldn't help but complain.

"However, Faze has chosen to silently creep toward the Iron Plate, though they still left one person in the Terrorist Hall. Are they preparing to execute a pinch on the Iron Plate from the Terrorist Hall?"

"But can they really get into the Iron Plate this time? There are three people defending the Iron Plate heavily!"

Leon Kai's voice was filled with anxiety.

"shox is acting as bait at the front, he is frantically jiggling and pulling, and the opponents have taken the bait, but NEO's Flashbang was excellent; apEX on the right side of the Iron Plate was completely Flash-ed, and Rain searched the spot without error, taking down apEX with one shot."

"But JackZ, having recovered his vision, peeked out from below Sanlou, took one down with a Handgun, then two—it's over, this attack has been dismantled by JackZ's Gunplay!!"

NEO's Reaction was fast; the moment JackZ secured two kills, he read the information on Vitality's positioning.

"Rotate back to A, push directly, Olofmeister can move first to get information, NIKO and I will be there immediately."

According to his original plan, it was to feign an attack on the Iron Plate, and after gaining control of the Iron Plate, turn back to execute an explosive attack on B.

Now, because the opponent was heavily defending the Iron Plate, they couldn't get in.

But the initial arrangements still allowed the subsequent tactics to be pushed forward well.

After all, with a heavy defense at the Iron Plate, the formation at A site would be relatively looser.

Olofmeister's execution was also very strong; the moment NEO gave the order, he opened the Iron Door and quickly began searching the area.

……

"Olofmeister has entered the Iron Door, he has my information." Zywoo said while jiggling and Firing at the Iron Door, passing information to his teammates.

JackZ asked: "Do I need to rotate to cover Sanlou?"

apEX vetoed: "Just watch the Iron Plate; the opponents' final route probably hasn't been decided yet."

The attacking side still had the possibility of going through the Guandao; if they were caught by an opportunity, shox would be in a very difficult spot.

Therefore, maintaining the basic formation was enough.

The Iron Door and Sanlou were in constant combat, but Xu Beifang was not in a hurry to help.

He was just holding the entrance to the Yellow Room with the Zeus x27, nothing more; after all, the information on the remaining two people hadn't been obtained yet, and it was still too early to act.

"Olofmeister and Zywoo on Sanlou are fighting intensely. Are NIKO and NEO going over to follow through the Guandao? They aren't; they intend to push A directly!"

"Could it be that Beifang's Zeus x27 can actually shock someone?"

In Leon Kai's view, NIKO didn't even dampen his footsteps and strode directly into the Yellow Room.

Because Olofmeister had been in a firefight for a long time and there was only that one piece of information at A site, NIKO naturally assumed there was still one person Outside or at K1.

Then, the moment he rushed into the Yellow Room, his peripheral vision caught a fly-head crouching there.

The Zeus x27 in his hand released a violent blue current.

Xu Beifang: "Ohayo!"

NIKO: "Ah~"

【Nice used Zeus x27 to kill NIKO】

NIKO shouted anxiously in the voice chat: "Trade Kill, he's right inside the Yellow Room!!"

NEO also rushed in holding a Glock to start a Trade Kill.

"Little Xu shocked Young Master N to death with the Zeus; this is the Berlin Major stage! NEO rushed into the Yellow Room wanting to trade kills, but he didn't win the head-to-head duel against Beifang. This was a double kill in the Yellow Room, and the bomb was dropped inside the Yellow Room too."

"Olofmeister is already stunned; how did he bait for so long only for his teammates to all die?"

"Beifang fired wildly toward the Guandao, successfully affecting Olofmeister's judgment. Zywoo peeked out from Sanlou, seized the opportunity, and successfully won this Pistol Round!"

Although he was a Faze fan personally, this round made Leon Kai laugh too.

"This is truly a Mindset breaker; pulling out a Zeus x27 at a Major and even shocking NIKO—NIKO is speechless."

The livestream was filled with 【Hahahaha】; the appearance of an abstract weapon kill instantly mobilized the enthusiasm of the netizens.

【Laughing to death, this actually worked】

【Ni, you are truly unlucky】

【Vitality really has big hearts, daring to play like this in such an important Pistol Round】

【Do you understand what is called the imperial status within the team?】

【Ni: This old six!!】

【Vitality is laughing so happily】

Along with the round victory, Xu Beifang let out a shout of victory in excitement.

apEX couldn't hold back his laughter either: "This actually worked!"

When Xu Beifang suggested buying a Zeus x27 to play around with, apEX was internally resistant.

Because he felt that one shouldn't mess around at a Major.

But as an in-game leader, he had to take care of his teammates' emotions, so if this Zeus x27 hadn't served a purpose, he was prepared to correct Xu Beifang's train of thought.

Yet he didn't expect that Xu Beifang's Zeus x27 would actually serve a purpose.

JackZ was even grinning: "NIKO has started typing question marks in the public chat, haha."

In terms of ropz's experience and insights, he actually didn't quite understand why ropz could smile like that, knowing that in the eyes of the public, he was generally a cold and intellectual youth.

But after zapping NIKO, a sunny smile unconsciously appeared on his face as well.

Sure enough, the love of smiling cannot be hidden.

Although Faze lost the Pistol Round, they were also grinning from ear to ear.

No one expected Xu Beifang to buy a Zeus x27 in the Pistol Round, nor did they expect NIKO to fall for it in the end.

They were simply laughing in a group.

However, the match continued to progress, entering the second round.

It is worth mentioning that in this round, JackZ did not buy a gun, but instead held a Full Armor USP at the position under Sanlou.

This position can help provide cover for Sanlou and also help pull attention for Iron Plate; it is a very good position.

And Faze chose to buy a heroic Desert Eagle this round, wanting to try and pick people off at Outside.

Xu Beifang had to admit that NIKO's Desert Eagle was still fierce; when he was coordinating with Zywoo to get kills at Outside, he was caught by NIKO and finished off with a Headshot.

But thanks to their gun-buying strategy, JackZ directly picked up the M4A1 that Xu Beifang dropped, so there was basically no loss in this wave.

Coming to the third round, JackZ directly returned the M4A1 to Xu Beifang, and then threw a Sniper Rifle to Zywoo.

JackZ had almost emptied himself out in this wave.

apEX changed to a Rifle himself, and since shox was responsible for defending Iron Plate, he could still make do with what he had.

This resulted in Faze choosing to enter the Long Gun Round rapidly.

In the first Long Gun Round, their overall configuration did not seem very good.

You have to know that under normal circumstances, when the attacking side chooses to ECO very decisively after losing the Pistol Round, they should look like they are crushing their opponents in terms of weaponry and utility.

But this round made many pro players watching from the stands feel that the match was starting to get interesting.

Since a Sniper Rifle had been brought out, it certainly had to be used to actively seek an Entry Kill.

At the start, Zywoo went directly to the Outside Warehouse, using the Sniper Rifle to try and hold the crossing point, waiting for the Terrorist to be careless and cross, so he could collect a toll.

Xu Beifang, on the other hand, went from Iron Plate to K1 at the start, making plans to counter-peek Outside in the second timing.

"Beifang has arrived at K1, can Zywoo collect the toll with the Sniper Rifle in the Warehouse?"

"But Faze gave Vitality full respect at Outside, throwing a set of line-of-sight smokes immediately, with no intention of dry-peeking at all; it seems the Sniper Rifle won't be of any use this time."

Seeing the line-of-sight smoke fly over, Zywoo did not hesitate at all, directly pulling out a molotov and throwing it toward Red Box.

He had anticipated this possibility; Faze shouldn't have made such a low-level mistake in the first Long Gun Round.

It's just that they thought of the first point, but didn't think of the second.

Zywoo arrived at the top of Sanlou with extreme speed, then opened his scope to hold the Outside line-of-sight smoke.

With enough patience, plus an understanding of the line-of-sight smoke, he successfully saw a Terrorist crossing.

The Sniper Rifle made a slight adjustment to the left.

"—Bang!"

【ZywOo used AWP to Headshot kill GuardiaN】

"Zywoo bought a sniper?"

The sudden sound of the Sniper Rifle made the Faze voice comms somewhat surprised.

According to their calculations, they had killed Xu Beifang in the Long Gun Round, and the opponent hadn't gotten many kills with the MP9, so they shouldn't have had any Long Guns.

This is also why they chose to throw the line-of-sight smoke further out in this wave; they wanted to take a look at the information on top of Sanlou.

Unexpectedly, this look directly caused GuardiaN to give up an Entry Kill.

apEX, staying at Zhengmen, saw the kill and threw a high-explosive grenade near Red Box.

Xu Beifang was at the corner of K1; his original plan was to have his teammate throw a flash and send himself out to counter-clear.

But after thinking about it, the timing was a bit inappropriate.

Now the opponent's attention was likely all on the front.

Xu Beifang prepared to jiggle-peek at the second angle to get information and stall.

But while standing in K1 looking through the gap for information, Xu Beifang suddenly remembered that he had previously shredded people in this position from K1, and the Pre-aim here was inspired by NIKO.

So after considering it, he chose to stand half a body-width to the right.

"GuardiaN is crossing at Outside and was picked off by Zywoo's Sniper Rifle; the foreshadowing of JackZ saving money has arrived!"

"Now Beifang has rotated to K1 and is looking through the gap at the corner!" Leon Kai, as a loyal Faze fan, had seen NIKO create too many miracles in this position.

"Beifang's movement is a bit dangerous, can NIKO just insta-kill him??"

After arriving at K1, NIKO walked at the very front of the team, starting to look for reference points on the wall.

After confirming, he directly peeked one body-width to the right.

In this position, he had shredded too many pro players.

Pre-aim, Positioning Control, and Headshot Line—he had done them all to the extreme.

In the process of pulling out to the right, he saw it: there was someone standing there in K1.

With an almost mechanical peek, NIKO thought he would be able to hear the feedback of a Headshot sound.

But after the peek stopped, he already felt that something was wrong.

Why didn't he see the head?

NIKO felt like pulling out another body-width, but at this moment, he saw the opponent also pull out a body-width.

"Da-da-da!"

Although it was a simple game of positioning and movement, NIKO was already somewhat panicked.

Only a truly top-tier Rifleman knows how deadly the details are here.

The opponent was playing entirely against him; his movement trajectory in this wave had been predicted.

He thought the opponent was on the first floor, while he was on the second.

He never expected the opponent to be on the fifth floor!

Xu Beifang's focus was highly concentrated; in a duel between top-tier players, Gunplay actually accounts for a minority, while it is more about timing, the choice of positioning, the anticipation of subsequent exchanges, and only then the fundamentals of Gunplay.

This time, he anticipated that NIKO would peek to watch K1, so he deliberately stood to the side, exposing only one shoulder; the moment he saw NIKO's arm, he immediately moved again, shaking off the subsequent adjustment of NIKO's Crosshair.

He had already gained the advantage in terms of strategy and decision-making, so in the subsequent duel, naturally, there would not be any mistakes.

"NIKO failed to take down little Xu at the K1 corner, but was instead juked by little Xu; this frontal engagement is a bit disastrous!"

"Little Xu took down NIKO, and Rain followed behind wanting to Trade Kill, but was also pinned down by a burst of bullets from Beifang; NEO followed up to Trade Kill and finally succeeded, but he himself became heavily damaged; this round is already getting difficult."

Leon Kai watched, somewhat stunned; if it could be said that the AWP suddenly pulled out by Zywoo helped Vitality secure the Entry Kill and information, opening up the situation.

Then this defense by Xu Beifang inside K1 made it completely impossible for Faze to play.

NEO also had a headache; for the first Full Buy Round, their idea was to probe a little.

Primarily focusing on scouting and gathering information.

He originally thought Vitality would be like the match against G2 yesterday, following the previous logic, with Xu Beifang stably defending Zhengmen and playing Outside, leaving K1 completely empty.

Yet he never expected that in the first Full Buy Round, Xu Beifang would come directly inside K1.

And this frontal engagement was slightly exaggerated.

Although the space here in K1 was indeed a bit narrow, under the circumstances of three people quickly performing Trade Kills, he took down two and a half; this was truly somewhat difficult to deal with.

The bomb had been exposed inside K1, and NEO himself was still in a low-health state.

Olofmeister, as the Lurker, was holding from the Terrorist Hall.

NEO chose the most rational decision: "Olofmeister, you hold from the Terrorist Hall and see if you can steal a kill; I will plant the bomb down below. If I can't trade for a kill, you should just Save Weapon."

NEO moved quickly; after opening the Iron Door, he threw a smoke and planted the bomb in the B site.

On Vitality's side, Xu Beifang had already put up astonishing stats in the frontal engagement, and his teammates did not let him down; after killing NEO, they cautiously defused the bomb and easily took this round.

In the situation where NEO failed to trade for a kill, Olofmeister could only Save Weapon with the AK47 to preserve strength for subsequent rounds.

The score reached 3:0.

Originally, this was just the rhythm that should follow after losing the Pistol Round, but NEO felt the pressure had already risen.

He had done quite a bit of preparation before the match and had already thought of tactics to target his little brother.

But Vitality displayed quite a few new things in the match, such as the Zeus x27 play in the Pistol Round, or the AWP appearing in Zywoo's hands, and K1, where he didn't like to leave people, suddenly had Xu Beifang standing there.

Two huge changes left NEO deep in thought.

He understood that it was impossible for Vitality to change all their tactics, and they would certainly use their original things in some subsequent rounds.

It was just that this increased the difficulty of this match for them.

According to his logic, he wanted to make Xu Beifang run around the map through the pulling of attack directions.

Under the condition of constant running, star players could only respond to attacks in a rush, and their performance at such times would certainly not be as good.

But now Xu Beifang's positioning was no longer fixed, and his idea of wanting to make Xu Beifang run could not be deployed in a targeted manner.

Taking another look at the score overhead, NEO felt a bit of a headache.

……