Chapter 385: Sit down, everyone, Teacher Nice is about to take attendance with a Desert Eagle!

There was no special opening ceremony for the semi-finals; the members of Vitality and VP simply walked onto the stage, but the live audience was not affected by the lack of a ceremony, still giving them the most intense cheers and support as they entered.

As the music started, Xu Beifang led his team out of the player tunnel, and as the dome lights focused on them, a storm of excitement erupted throughout the venue.

Xu Beifang had a smile on his face; he raised his hand to greet the audience beside him, and at such close range, he could even hear their heated discussions.

"Nice, you have to win!!"

"Vitality, please protect my Golden Coin!!"

"Nice, look over here!!"

"Defeat VP, I want to see your performance in the finals the day after tomorrow!"

"Vi~ta~li~ty~~"

The audience on both sides of the player tunnel was very passionate, though he felt that VP's fans surely also hoped they would teach everyone at the Berlin Major a lesson and pull off a dark horse miracle of the century.

There were even some troublemaking spectators looking forward to VP crushing them and then crushing Astralis to win the championship, creating a Berlin miracle at this September Major.

Dust II and Train are the highlights for countless Snipers.

As long as there are no major issues with the map veto, they are actually the side with the advantage, relying on their excellent map pool.

Whether a team has an outstanding Sniper has a huge impact on this map.

When they found out their opponent was VP, they even conducted a simple, temporary special training session.

Jame shook his head and, while the opponent was still hesitating over the map veto, explained simply: "Because our overall map pool is not as good as Vitality's; if we don't let Inferno through, then if they pick maps like Mirage or Overpass, the gap in our comprehensive strength will be too large."

A commotion also broke out in the venue; any spectator who followed these two teams even slightly knew that something was a bit off.

However, he thought about it carefully: "Actually, picking Dust II is acceptable. I'm telling you, Vitality isn't weak on Dust II. In their team, the little fatty's Sniper Rifle is decent, and then this Secondary Sniper, Xu, can also hold his own."

Da Jin Ya shook his head: "You really have no memory; you can forget today what Jame said yesterday."

Jame withdrew his gaze.

"Coming to the first pick, VP is still performing normally, taking the Dust II we are familiar with." Xiao Bo nodded when he saw this.

"As for Inferno, although their overall strength is very strong, they have also exposed a lot. Recently, I've also discovered that Vitality seems to put their 'Twin Stars' in the same area. As long as we seize the opportunity and attack the B site fiercely, we have a chance to score, so there is still a certain chance of winning."

"They are truly the kind of rare team that can have two top-tier Snipers."

……

XTQZZZ felt a little discouraged; a BO1 match isn't particularly important, but the map order in a BO3 has a huge impact on the match.

"We also don't know if they have any backup preparations on those maps."

Qikert, standing to the side, asked in confusion: "Why let Inferno through?"

"The first pick is VP's Ban Map. According to convention, they should have banned Inferno. After all, how terrifying Vitality's Inferno is has been shown in this tournament; they've already had a winning streak of over ten games..."

At this Major, VP's greatest weapon is Dust II. Relying on Jame's playstyle, combined with Jame's good form, they have crushed many teams at this Major.

The early preparations were good, but it is a pity that they failed to take the first-hand map veto for this BO3.

As an old-school esports person, he still pays quite a bit of attention to Xu Beifang; after all, Xu Beifang is currently the only lone seedling in top-tier events, and he is quite looking forward to a Chinese person standing on the Major final stage.

XTQZZZ frowned, also feeling that the situation was a bit off; this first-hand map veto from VP was beyond their expectations.

Most of the duels on Dust II are at medium-to-long range, and the terrain of the long-distance corridors allows the Sniper Rifle to perform very well.

Xu Beifang spent a few minutes finishing his equipment check, confirming that he could enter the game and that all microphone drivers were compatible, and then he entered the Aimbotz map to start warming up.

Furthermore, on such overly classic maps, anyone can have a few tricks up their sleeve.

Da Jin Ya also smiled: "Their Inferno winning streak can't go on forever; there will always be someone who breaks their undefeated golden body. Why can't it be us?"

So Xu Beifang was actually quite confident.

Could it be that their recent winning streak on Inferno hasn't beaten these people into submission yet?

He looked up at the opposite side in confusion and immediately locked eyes with Jame's dead-fish eyes.

On the map of Inferno, Vitality has exposed a lot of things, and he can also specifically target them; there is still room to maneuver.

Jame withdrew his gaze; this was a last resort. Although there is a certain gap in the comprehensive strength of both sides, he still did what he could to prepare for this match.

Xiao Bo hadn't finished his analysis when he saw that VP's map ban had appeared on the screen, but it wasn't the Inferno he had expected, but Nuke.

In sakula Wu Runbo's livestream room, he was passionately commentating for the audience.

In the matches over the past two days, VP's Dust II had been targeted and banned, but today Vitality had regular map bans to deal with, so they could only let it through for them to play.

Because if that happens, there really won't be any Diamond Coins for this Berlin Major!

However, Xu Beifang didn't have that much time to interact with the audience; they had to hurry up and make their final pre-match preparations to ensure the equipment wouldn't have any problems in the game.

"Brothers, the unboxing segment is over for today. Now the match has started, let's focus our attention on the match!"

If they could take the lead from the very beginning, everything would be quite perfect.

"Did VP pick the wrong one, or are they playing like this on purpose? Actively letting Inferno through, could it be that they've done a lot of targeting?" Xiao Bo was a bit confused.

Xu Beifang and the others didn't particularly care; after all, their map pool is deep, and they aren't afraid of being targeted by their opponents.

However, their worries were unnecessary. Although Vitality hadn't played Dust II in matches recently, they hadn't neglected it in training.

Qikert then remembered that Jame had indeed mentioned this yesterday.

The opponent's move was strange, but they still proceeded step-by-step to ban Train.

"Holy crab, what is this VP doing?"

Besides, it had been a long time since he played Dust II in a match, and it actually made him feel a bit nostalgic.

"How should we pick?" JackZ asked.

XTQZZZ smiled: "How else to pick? Just lock in Inferno."

The opponent's map veto just made him feel a bit abrupt, but Astralis had faked out Liquid once, and they had held meetings to discuss this matter; they all felt confident in their own strong maps.

Playing too much on strong maps means exposing things is inevitable. Under certain specific circumstances, it is impossible for opponents to let maps you don't play through; at such times, targeting their strong maps is inevitable.

At times like this, you can only see the real results in the match. If you are truly defeated by your opponent, then you can properly review and find the problems later.

Watching Vitality lock in Inferno, gasps of surprise erupted throughout the venue.

Vitality has already achieved an astonishing 17-game winning streak on the map Inferno, and they are constantly working to break their own record; many spectators on-site feel they might be witnesses to this record.

Both sides removed one map each, and ultimately, Overpass was left as Map 3.

This BP result is acceptable for Vitality, and the overall direction is still within their control.

Next is to see the real results in the match.

In the stands, the audience waved their cheering sticks, looking forward to the match about to begin.

Xu Beifang took one last look, put on his headset, and began to officially enter the match server.

Map: Dust II

T: Jame, qikert, AdreN, SANJI, Buster

CT: apEX, Nice, ZywOo, shox, JackZ

The match officially begins!

apEX began issuing orders: "All four of you buy armor, then play 2A2B; I'll hang out in Mid, and I'll be ready to Retake either side at any time."

Having said that, he purchased a Defuse Kit and two Flashbangs, already prepared to perform a Retake next.

The countdown ended, and Zywoo took the initiative to speak: "How about you hold an angle on the Platform later, Beifang? I'll hide behind the Blue Car, and we'll do a bait-and-switch."

It was a simple bit of coordination, but if it worked, it could produce very good results.

They had planned it out well, but their opponents did not play by the book at all.

VP took control of Long A in the second wave, and then they didn't rush to push; instead, they used their bullets to crazily wallbang the Blue Car, directly shooting Zywoo until he was bleeding. Zywoo was forced to stand up and fight back, but was instantly held down and killed by five people.

In the second wave, VP threw an A-Short smoke and an A-Short CT Spawn smoke, cutting off their Retake and completely isolating Xu Beifang.

Xu Beifang asked for a Flashbang from apEX and forcibly traded two people, which seemed to bring suspense back to the match.

But then qikert, holding a P250, erupted; three bullets, three headshots, directly winning them the Pistol Round.

The score came to 0:1.

After losing the Pistol Round, Vitality only bought one SSG 08, and apEX called Xu Beifang and Zywoo to the A Platform, attempting to use a rotating SSG 08 strategy to pick people off and create a miracle.

But although VP played slowly overall, their utility management and pushing rhythm were flawless.

After gaining Map Control, they chose to push in a wave from Long A.

Relying on constant Flashbangs, they successfully pushed to the Slope, and the ultimate utility player SANJI even used his submachine gun to get a Four Kill, maxing out their economy.

Third round, arriving at the first Long Gun Round.

Xiao Bo glanced at the match UI and exclaimed directly: "Jame actually bought an AWP in the third round! SANJI just wiped out 4 with a submachine gun, and as a result, he dropped an AWP for Jame at the start; this treatment is too exaggerated."

Fortunately, in this round, apEX made a prediction about the Terrorists' attack direction, guessing that the Terrorists hadn't swapped out their submachine guns and might target the B site.

So he gave up Mid early on, and relying on utility to stall, plus the rapid Retake from Zywoo and JackZ, they ultimately pulled off a 0-for-5 ACE and successfully reclaimed a point.

Fourth round, Xu Beifang reminded them: "The opponents should still have one person with a bankroll near 5000; Jame can still afford an AWP this round, so be careful when crossing points. I'll throw two Flashbangs from Long A to help you contest it."

Because the firefights in the previous round were too fast, everyone didn't calculate the opponents' utility very precisely, which made it hard for Xu Beifang to calculate the economy, so he could only offer a reminder.

He had reminded them, and shox was especially careful when crossing the point, but he still got hit.

"What's the situation?"

After throwing his Flashbang, Xu Beifang looked at shox in confusion.

shox was also helpless, giving a shrug: "What can I do? I jumped in the air and got picked off by one shot, and I even had an Overpass Smoke."

Xu Beifang took a close look at the kill feed.

【Jame used AWP to Wallbang and shoot through smoke for a Headshot kill on shox】

Wallbang + through smoke + Headshot; there was truly nothing to be done.

apEX carefully crossed the point and began throwing anti-rush utility toward the B site, but as the sounds of fire-extinguishing and Flashbangs appeared, he knew his biggest fear had come true.

Xu Beifang hurried toward the B site, but apEX was killed even faster.

Losing two people at the start, and it being a hell-level Dust II B site Retake, this was impossible to play.

Starting 3-on-5, Dust II Retakes are already hard to play, and with the opponents having so much utility, there was simply no room to maneuver.

Xu Beifang could only handle it calmly and began to Save Weapon.

The Terrorists had no intention of coming over to hunt for weapons; they just quietly held angles inside the B Bomb Site, and as the C4 exploded, the score reached 1:3.

"As expected of VP's strong map; the pressure they apply head-on is so intense," apEX said.

Whether an opponent knows how to play can be clearly felt from within the match.

In these few rounds of maneuvering, both sides were mostly playing tactically, and the only variable was the AWP Jame suddenly pulled out, which scored an Entry Kill in an unexpected way and disrupted the situation.

In the following few rounds, VP slowly grasped the rhythm on the map Dust II.

They began to constantly play around the Sand Pit and Mid, pulling them apart to score points.

The constant shifting of speed and fast attacks made them very frustrated.

Xu Beifang and Zywoo were running themselves ragged, always on the way to a Retake, and in some rounds, they didn't even have the chance to Retake.

This was quite painful.

"These two stars haven't had any head-on duels; always being on a Retake is just too miserable." As the score reached 1:7, Xiao Bo couldn't help but complain.

The live stream chat also entered a discussion due to this exaggerated score gap.

【They are completely avoiding Beifang; they know you're guarding Long A, so they keep hitting B. The only round they hit A was a fast A-Short explosion after getting info.】

【Definitely avoid Beifang; otherwise, if this guy gets his feel for the game, how are they going to play later?】

【What about the mystical score? Is there a chance?】

【Forget it, there's no money to use this round.】

【Have to say, this VP playstyle is really solid.】

On the map Dust II, the CT economy is the hardest to build up, not to mention that in a situation of crazily losing points, it is even more painful.

After the Force Buy failed in the previous round, Vitality could only enter an ECO this round.

"Let's try to take down as many of their Long Gun Round weapons as possible this round." apEX's brow was furrowed with anxiety; he was struggling to think of a way to break the deadlock, but their tactical reserves for this map were truly insufficient, or at least, it was hard to find an opening against VP's variable playstyle.

Xu Beifang nodded; he felt it too—the opponent had come fully prepared for today's match.

Jame's playstyle was also quite logical, avoiding him and Zywoo to focus the attacks on the B site.

Then, in some eco rounds, they would come over to A Long to bully them for having no guns, suppressing his and Zywoo's feel for the game.

It was very logical, but as VP's opponents, they were indeed feeling disgusted by it.

"Shushu, come with me to A Long. I'm going over to take a gamble and see if I can kill one."

Zywoo nodded: "Then I'll stay behind and Anti-Flash, ready to Trade Kill for you at any time."

With the opponent playing this way, he felt anxious inside as well.

But the more it was a time like this, the more one had to keep a steady Mindset.

"The CT economy on this map, Dust 2, is too poor; Vitality has no choice but to go for armorless Desert Eagle, and JackZ is even armorless USP."

"Knowing the opponent has no money, the Terrorist side is proactively pushing A Long at the start of this round. The 'Twin Stars' seem to want to come over and take a gamble. How will this play out?"

Flashbangs kept popping; Xu Beifang counted the seconds in his heart, seized a moment, turned his head, and strafed out to the left.

Within his field of vision, an enemy had just emerged from the A door; he immediately adjusted his Positioning and performed a Flick.

"Bang!"

The bullet accurately struck the opponent's skull, securing an Entry Kill for the team.

【Nice used Desert Eagle to Headshot kill qikert】

"Beifang takes qikert out with a single shot!" Xiao Bo, who had been casting casually, instantly perked up. "Only 'Old 7' came over to contest A Long this round; does Beifang have a chance to pick up that AK?"

"If he can get that AK, then it's really hard to say—this guy's 'Hero AK' is quite exaggerated!"

Xu Beifang peeked back and saw that the opponent didn't have anyone covering, so he intended to go pick up the gun immediately.

But the Flashbangs at A Long were endless, eventually forcing him and Zywoo to retreat.

The opponent didn't intend to let them pick up the gun, so the two of them had to quit while they were ahead.

Zywoo returned to walk toward the A Bomb Site, while Xu Beifang remained hanging at A Long, wanting to clash with the opponents again.

If he could continue to kill one, or even just leave one wounded, Zywoo would have a chance to Trade Kill later.

However, after several bold jiggle-peeks, he discovered that the opponents didn't dare to continue pushing A Long.

But that AK had been dealt with.

The hope for a 'Hero AK' was dashed, and many Vitality fans Under Platform sighed.

Xiao Bo didn't sigh; although he felt it was a pity, he had to maintain the rhythm of the commentary: "Old 7 was still clearing angles at first, but he didn't expect someone to strafe out from the A Long corner and shoot him instantly. I didn't expect Nice to be so daring."

"Coming to peek you with an armorless Desert Eagle—that's just Nice for you. But there's no helping it; if they don't proactively find ways to get kills, they really can't win. The pressure today is huge!"

"But it seems like VP intends to hit A in the second wave, or they still plan to come over and cause trouble, but these Desert Eagles..."

He felt the hope was a bit slim.

Xu Beifang kept scouting A Long, and finding that the opponents had no intention of acting, he reminded his teammates to be careful.

Then, when the time reached 1 minute, he finally decided to proactively push forward.

But just then, JackZ's shout came through the voice chat: "Lots of people at A Small Channel, I just heard two sets of footsteps! The opponents might still be hitting A!"

The variable emerged again, and Xu Beifang's plan was forced to be interrupted.

"Shushu, you hide at the Platform first. I'll help bait from the A Long road later; let's try to see if we can trade a few."

"I'll be at the Slope; I'm afraid they'll throw an Incendiary Grenade at the Bomb Site later."

The two quickly communicated their tactics, and almost as they finished speaking, an Incendiary Grenade flew out from A Small Channel, followed by a smoke grenade Under Platform.

Immediately after came a continuous barrage of Flashbangs.

"Zywoo is holding the head-peek angle again; VP is pushing out hard with a flash-pop, preparing for a fast rush to the A Platform."

After Anti-Flash, Zywoo stood up and Firing immediately, but the first Desert Eagle shot didn't hit the enemy.

After buster called out the position, he didn't stay in place but quickly pushed toward the Bomb Site, spreading out the formation.

Xu Beifang held the A Small Channel crossing at an angle and Firing the moment he saw buster.

He had long been prepared to shoot, just waiting for the opponents to come over.

"Bang!"

【Nice used Desert Eagle to Headshot kill buster】

"The Terrorists are ready at A Small Channel; the 'Twin Stars' are playing a little bit of a pull-and-bait at the A Bomb Site, but they only have armorless Desert Eagles in their hands. How many can they take down?" Xiao Bo said with quite a bit of anticipation.

"Nice One-tap killed 'Old 8' (buster) directly, but Zywoo's position is exposed, and Jame threw an Incendiary Grenade at the Slope to burn him."

"Zywoo can barely save himself, and Beifang's position is exposed after getting one kill; now he can only rely on himself!"

Xu Beifang killed one and knew the opponents would definitely be watching his direction.

But now that Zywoo couldn't help him bait, he could only rely on himself.

So he proactively performed a repeek to scout for information.

His main task now was to keep the opponents on the A Small Channel and stall for time.

Only by letting his teammates get into position would they have a chance to get more kills.

The moment he strafed out, he saw a Terrorist appear two body-widths to the left of buster's corpse.

His Headshot Line had been held on the A Small Channel the whole time without moving, so it was just a horizontal micro-adjustment.

"Bang!"

【Nice used Desert Eagle to Headshot kill AdreN】

Gasps erupted at the venue; Xu Beifang's consecutive Desert Eagle Headshot kills let the audience see a glimmer of possibility.

Not just a glimmer—Vitality already had the ability to Reset!

Although Zywoo was traded by the opponent's HE Grenade, because Xu Beifang had killed three with his Desert Eagle, the round had already become a 4v2 Clutch.

Although the firearms were at a disadvantage, the CTs still had four members, so there was still room to maneuver.

The audience in the stands held their breath one by one, watching the big screen with expectant eyes.

While taking down Da Jin Ya, he also saw a Terrorist attempting to come out for a Trade Kill.

Xu Beifang immediately pulled back.

But this return was not to survive, but to bait out the opponent's Pre-aim and make the opponent move.

Then he peeked out again and saw the opponent moving toward the Ninja Spot.

Xu Beifang did not rush this shot, but waited for the moment the opponent stopped steadily and prepared to fire, then used his Desert Eagle for Positioning and Firing.

"Nice's Desert Eagle took down Lao 8, another shot for a Headshot to take down another, he pulled out and took down one more!" Xiao Bo, who was commentating in the livestream, had his voice crack.

"This Nice got three kills on A-Short with an unarmored Desert Eagle!! This Desert Eagle, he stood in the middle of the road alone and killed all the Terrorists crossing A-Short, he saved the Clutch all by himself!"

Cheers, shouts, screams!

At this moment, countless waves of sound exploded from the stands; all the spectators watching this match had not expected such a scene to occur—a thunderclap on flat ground!

"Only Jame is left now, he is pushing forward while hugging the wall with his AWP, he knows there is only one person on A site, if he takes down Nice he still has a chance to play this Clutch! The AWP has pushed over, does Nice know? He actively peeked!"

Accompanied by the crisp Headshot sound of the Desert Eagle, Xiao Bo's face was full of smiles: "The Desert Eagle missed! But the AWP missed too!! But there are still two bullets left in the Desert Eagle, Nice still landed the final Headshot!!"

He could not believe what had happened before his eyes in these few seconds.

Facing such an outrageous scene, he used everything he had learned in his life.

Xiao Bo: "What the f***!! Holy s***!! Is this Desert Eagle really not a lock?"

The $700 Desert Eagle, as the most favored weapon among CSGO players, is precisely because this gun has the characteristic of a one-shot Headshot, and it can create countless miracles.

But they also could not have imagined that Xu Beifang could really use the Desert Eagle to call out names and Headshot the entire VP team with a single magazine.

On camera, apEX held his forehead with one hand, looking unable to believe the scene before him.

This scene was very funny, but everyone watching the livestream could understand, because it really was just that exaggerated.

……