Chapter 387: This match is no mere bland affair

~31 min read 6,199 words

"This is what a star player is; when they truly reach the brink, they can always create miracles!" Xiao Bo concluded excitedly. "With his aiming ability, VP looked like a bunch of bots, one by one being wiped out by his Desert Eagle headshots."

Xu Beifang had fired a total of seven shots—exactly one magazine—yet he had taken down all five opponents.

Such a proud record would draw question marks from opponents and gasps of surprise from teammates even in a ladder match.

But as the commentary in *Blind Sniper Angel* noted, this wasn't FPL; this was a Major!

Listening to the roars from the crowd, one could tell just how exaggerated this play was.

This was a sequence countless Desert Eagle players dreamed of.

One man guards the pass, and ten thousand cannot open it.

It wasn't just the audience; Xu Beifang's teammates were now acting as the hype squad.

When the firefight broke out in the A-site area, apEX had already been trying to rotate back.

But on his way back, he had already seen the kill feed constantly popping up in the top right corner.

【Laughing to death, Dou Dou, this one really scared Beifang.】

By the time he rotated back to the CT spawn, he hadn't even seen a shadow of the enemy, and Beifang had already finished them all off.

apEX finished his setup, the countdown ended, and Xu Beifang charged toward A Long in the first position.

【Now playing your MVP victory song! — apEX (doge)】

JackZ didn't react in time at first, but soon pulled out a smoke and threw it toward A Door.

But he noticed some issues with the team's defense; he had to proactively point them out and solve them, otherwise, scoring would remain very difficult later on.

【Dou relies on Bei's momentum.】

This round, the opponents didn't even throw a flashbang.

But with utility, it was different; Jame's playstyle didn't falter—gathering information, using utility to pressure, and advancing as a whole.

This round was a textbook example of individual skill shattering tactics.

After the momentary shock, ecstasy surged into his heart. apEX rushed directly to Xu Beifang's side, excitedly planting a kiss on his head.

Nice's individual ability had once again refreshed his impression.

Analyst swani shrugged: "One of the most outstanding players in the world, what did you expect? High-level plays that would be extraordinary for an average Tier-1 player are just standard performance for them."

However, XTQZZZ proactively called for a timeout.

"Is he always this outrageous?" In the Vitality lounge, Nian Lan asked, full of wonder.

He watched his Beifang continuously reduce the enemy's numbers with his Desert Eagle, and apEX could only shout excitedly: "Hold them off!! We're coming right back!"

"Then, have someone from A Long rotate back to help mid in the second wave. We'll see if we can make something happen around mid and proactively launch a counter-flash."

He wasn't a coach who liked to interfere much during matches, and this timeout seemed a bit ill-timed.

Nian Lan took a breath: "This play is truly beyond words. VP had no issues tactically; they made a mistake at A Long at the start, and then decisively shifted their focus to A Short."

At the start, they did their usual anti-rush, and an incendiary grenade was precisely thrown into A Door.

Once his thoughts were clear, he immediately shouted: "JackZ, extinguish that fire for me!"

A Short is a very special position. Without utility, CTs can exert a lot of pressure on them from the platform and the headshot position on the slope.

"I joined Vitality specifically for this guy."

Just then, he had a sudden inspiration: if the opponents didn't want to come to A Long at all, didn't that mean they hadn't invested much attention there?

Netizens in the live stream were amused by apEX.

【"What are you using to fight my dad?"】

"Our defensive rhythm is a bit off; we can't keep locking Beifang at A Long," XTQZZZ said. "Except for anti-eco rounds, VP doesn't make any attempts at A Long at all. This leaves Beifang hanging out there, and the pressure on the front line is a bit too high."

【Nice is too flashy; I still prefer the calm muscle man next to him.】

Yet, unexpectedly, Zywoo only acted as bait to pull them out, and Xu Beifang killed everyone on the A Short platform one by one.

swani listened and smiled, but seeing the 2-7 score, he sighed again: "I hope they seize the opportunity; the situation is still unclear."

Indeed, even with Xu Beifang's highlight play, Vitality was still trailing by five rounds.

【Shouting so loudly, this round must have something to do with him.】

"We must find an opportunity to break the deadlock and disrupt the opponent's rhythm. Don't let VP's offense go exactly according to their plan."

apEX nodded; he had actually considered this before, but they hadn't had the economy to implement it.

"And then he finished them all off with his aim."

The confrontation on the stage continued. Having secured a round with Xu Beifang's highlight, their momentum warmed up significantly.

【I'm blind; Dou Dou is shouting so excitedly, it must be a highlight he made.】

He already had a plan for this round: "This round, we'll leave B open for now. Shox, come over and act as a boost, boost me and Zywoo up. Beifang, you and JackZ control A Long as usual; it should be easy to take."

Hearing the cheers from the scene, his emotions were completely released. He acted as if he were holding a Desert Eagle, firing continuously at the VP player area, while providing sound effects: "Bang!" "Bang!" "Bang!"

"Fire extinguished at A Door, the opponents are rushing A Long. I guess one is hanging out in the Pit," qikert heard the fire being extinguished and turned to push toward A Short.

Jame calmly gave his second decision: "Try walking toward A Short and get the information on A Short and the Mid doors first."

From the spectator's perspective, Jame gave an order, and VP moved like an army, advancing in sync.

Although the observer Zhao Qian was incompetent and couldn't catch the key points, sharp-eyed viewers noticed a detail.

"This Nice seems to be pushing out from A Long!" Xiao Bo exclaimed while watching the minimap. "Is this for real? The timing is so early, he just pushed out of A Door through the smoke."

The observer happened to have the camera on the high angle of Mid, allowing them to observe VP's movements. At this moment, everyone on VP had their attention focused straight ahead; no one was looking toward A Long.

No! qikert turned his head and glanced—it's over!

"What kind of kill-intent perception is this!" Xiao Bo complained.

"—Bang!"

The sound of the AWP rang out, and the kill feed floated by in the top right corner.

"The Dou-Shu duo performed a double boost at A Short. Zywoo's AWP had no issues; he successfully took down Da Jin Ya at B1 and secured the opening kill."

"And crucially, because of that shot, Old 7 turned his head, and Beifang happened to catch a remarkable timing!!"

Xu Beifang controlled his positioning, peeked out, and his eyes lit up instantly.

Because he happened to see an enemy walking forward with his back turned.

Glancing at the kill feed in the top right, Xu Beifang praised: "Shushu has good aim. But I've pushed out from A Long here, brothers, we're going to make a fortune this round!"

Zywoo heard this and understood: "I'm holding A Short directly, Dou Dou, help me trade kills at any time."

Xu Beifang moved forward slowly and silently. The information he gathered grew increasingly clear—

One on the A Short passage, one under Xbox, one on the Mid passage.

Xu Beifang quickly thought about which firing method to use, then heard the sound of an AWP again.

The enemy who peeked the A Short corner was taken down by Shushu.

Just then, buster walked into Mid from B1. He had originally intended to follow his teammates to trade kills and clear Mid.

He walked out from B1 very calmly, then set up his stance, ready to trade kills for his teammates.

Old 7 in front, Jame holding the Mid crossing behind him, Sanji at the oil drum?

No!!

Only then did buster realize the problem—he had caught a glimpse of someone at the oil drum out of the corner of his eye.

But Sanji and Da Jin Ya had both been taken down by Zywoo's AWP, so who was at the oil drum!

"Someone pushed the Mid oil drum!!" he shouted in the voice chat while turning his head.

But it was too late!

"Nice has once again found an opportunity for Vitality!!" the English caster shouted loudly.

But at this moment, the arena was already drowned out by the cheers of the audience.

The audience kept their eyes fixed on Xu Beifang, not wanting him to miss this golden opportunity!

That could only mean those people didn't understand Xu Beifang.

An average of 11 hours of training per day meant that Xu Beifang wouldn't let an opportunity slip through his fingers at a time like this.

In the process of turning, buster had already seen the CT at the oil drum ready. He tried his best to turn, but it was still too late.

Xu Beifang aimed at Jame's head and pulled the trigger.

"Bang!"

The bullet struck Jame straight in the back of the head, the excessive damage easily taking him down.

buster had already turned, but the moment Xu Beifang took down Jame, he immediately shifted his aim and sprayed a burst at him.

"Rat-tat-tat!"

buster also fell to the ground. He could only hope that qikert in front of him could react.

Because of his position, qikert reacted immediately, shrinking back and hiding under the Xbox box.

He knew his position was locked, so he quickly threw a flashbang against the wall and then pulled out directly to duel Xu Beifang.

But the moment he pulled out, he saw Xu Beifang turn his head.

"Bang!"

It was like a slap to the face; he fell instantly, the impact immense.

"Beautiful!! The timing of this push was perfect!" the English caster cheered on the commentary desk, shouting hoarsely, "Nice has once again found an opportunity for the team, helping Vitality take back a round with a flanking triple-kill, and successfully breaking VP's economy, completing an ace!"

The English caster was still explaining his take, but the rest of his words were lost; the arena was filled with cheers, completely drowning out his voice.

The cameraman gave Xu Beifang a close-up in the player area, but Xu Beifang only smiled calmly after reacting.

Everything was slowly getting into the zone.

"That was too bold; Beifang really isn't afraid of taking the blame!" Danking watched from the audience and gasped. This was actually the point he envied most about Xu Beifang.

In a match, besides wanting to win, he always had some baggage on his shoulders.

Xu Beifang's suicidal forward-pushing style—if he were caught and killed, and the opponents found an opening, it would be very troublesome.

Danking wouldn't care about online discussions, but what about the pressure brought to his teammates by giving away an opening kill?

He didn't think he could do what Xu Beifang did, so he was very surprised by Xu Beifang's bold actions.

"At least things are finally looking up."

The screen entered a timeout again, but this time it wasn't called by Vitality, but by VP.

If it were a matter of aim, Jame could actually tolerate it, but this wave was entirely a matter of discipline.

In the end, not a single person paid attention to the rear.

So he emphasized the issue of discipline repeatedly during the timeout.

This team was originally built on discipline; without it, the offensive rhythm could fall apart.

Jame still wanted to keep the rhythm in his own hands.

But he also understood that even if they had enough economy for rifles, the offense wouldn't be easy to unfold.

After all, Nice's playstyle this round was equivalent to sending him a signal—that he might push out from A Long at any time.

Next, when they attacked, they had to leave someone at the back to watch A Long; otherwise, Xu Beifang could push out at any moment, like this round, and kill them all with a single timing.

Truly the most aggressive professional player... Jame felt an increasing headache.

The subsequent matches were indeed harder to handle.

Leaving one person to guard A Long meant less power on the front line, and with Zywoo and Nice moving around the map, their speed-up tactics targeting B site weren't working either.

Nice alone was hard enough to deal with, stealing opening kills from time to time with his strange methods.

But on this map, Zywoo was even harder to handle; that AWP was outrageous, consistently holding angles and picking people off.

VP even felt like they were bumping into Zywoo's bullets many times, with no chance for a frontal duel at all.

The offense became increasingly difficult, and Vitality started a crazy comeback mode, only winning two rounds in the clutch in the end.

Looking at the classic 6-9 score on the screen, qikert comforted himself:

At least it's an advantage!

9 rounds at the half is enough.

But he couldn't achieve Jame's sage-like state, because they could have had more rounds!

You know, they led by 6 rounds early on; if they could have maintained that rhythm, this first map would have been secured.

Then there would be no suspense for the second half.

Now, although they were leading, he felt very unstable.

It's over, it's over!!

Jame glanced at the restless qikert and felt annoyed.

Regardless, isn't this half still an advantage?

"Well played, brothers!" Xu Beifang bumped fists with his teammates to encourage them.

They hadn't played well early on Dust II, leaving them in a passive position, but starting from that Desert Eagle ace round, they found some rhythm and started a wild comeback.

They were still trailing, but 6 rounds meant there was still room to operate.

"It's fine, our momentum is up!" apEX encouraged. "And compared to the defensive side, we are even better at attacking on this map."

Although they didn't have the "North America has no CTs" exaggeration, after swani joined, they specifically compared the map's offensive and defensive data.

On this map, their offensive win rate was about 10% higher than their defensive one; the gap was significant.

Most importantly, now that the momentum was up, they believed they had a chance to turn the game around in the second half.

However, they couldn't relax yet, as they were still trailing.

After a short halftime break, the sides swapped, and Vitality came to the offensive side.

apEX started issuing orders: "Beifang, you should be able to throw the Xbox smoke from this position. Throw a smoke grenade directly at the start, then the main force will go to A Short to prepare for an explosive attack. Zywoo, you hang out at A Long alone to provide support."

Dust II is a map that relies heavily on spawn points, requiring high precision in positioning.

Although Xu Beifang was the team's core, he still had to execute tactics.

Xu Beifang nodded and quickly aimed to throw the Xbox smoke.

Although the fastest Xbox smoke had been banned, the spawn-point Xbox smoke still existed, though it wasn't as outrageous as before.

Xu Beifang threw the Xbox smoke and then jumped directly into the dark tunnel, following the push toward Mid.

He had a flashbang in his hand; he needed to feint later.

"Vitality's main force rushed directly to A Short and launched an attack on the front. This round, VP is in a 3-0-2 setup, with three people defending A site. Although there's a crossing smoke, the front isn't easy to attack!"

"Jame and Old 7 are holding the A Short crossing at the blue car. Jame took down one, two, three!! WTF!! Did he just catch everyone on the A platform?"

The arena was filled with gasps; Jame's aim was indeed a bit outrageous, taking down all three people on the A Short passage with half a magazine.

But when the firefight broke out at A Short, Zywoo, who was hiding in A Door, also rushed out.

He rushed out of A Door directly and quickly cleared the near angles to confirm no one was there.

That was when he saw the side profiles of the two CTs at the blue car.

"Zywoo's support from A Long was timed well, but the main force has already been wiped out, making this support difficult to play."

"Jame didn't even want to duel, he backed up to clear the angle, then called his teammates out to peek together, but Zywoo pulled back a step, continuously jiggling and dueling Old 7, and Old 7 was headshot twice and taken down!"

"Jame came over to trade, but was also played to death by Zywoo with a small jiggle peek!!"

Xu Beifang was holding the rear at Mid and immediately took action when he saw Zywoo's performance.

He jumped onto A Short quickly. The information he had received earlier was that there were three people in the A area.

Zywoo had now taken down two, leaving only one near the slope and the bomb site.

As long as he dealt with this guy, they would have a chance to plant the bomb.

Xu Beifang rushed up without hiding his footsteps. The opponent was also rotating back quickly; now it was a race against time to fight this confrontation.

He quickly cleared the A Short corner, then cautiously used a spin-jump to check the near angle.

"Pfft!"

He didn't know until he looked, and he was truly startled.

The opponent moved very quickly. Realizing Zywoo was at A Long, Sanji had pushed to the near angle of A Short.

Xu Beifang didn't have armor this round, so he quickly pulled back to maneuver.

Sanji was relentless, knowing Zywoo had fired at A Long, he knew Xu Beifang was the only one at the near angle.

Xu Beifang maneuvered while behind cover, firing to try and take Sanji down.

Sanji was pushing forward very fiercely.

Xu Beifang had nowhere to retreat, so he could only fight using close-range movement.

Sanji was very anxious; Xu Beifang's small movements were truly disgusting.

Xu Beifang was to the right of his crosshair, so he immediately pulled his crosshair to the right, thinking he could headshot Xu Beifang with one shot.

But as he aimed and fired, Xu Beifang took a small step to the left.

He pulled back to aim, and Xu Beifang moved in another direction.

And Xu Beifang was also in agony; his aiming ability was fine, but because he hadn't bought armor this round, every time Sanji's bullet grazed him, his entire view tilted upward, making it impossible to aim.

Then, in the eyes of the audience, these two guys looked like they were dancing the tango at A Short.

They kept firing, but the bullets were always missing.

"Sanji is chasing Nice to take him down, but one, two, three shots—all missed! Although Karrigan isn't on the field, his spirit is eternal!!" Xiao Bo couldn't hold back while watching the abstract scene. "Brothers, I could really do this!"

【This battle is no mere bland affair; multiple master chefs are cooking!!】

【Is this the quality of aim at a Major? How come it feels worse than Perfect C+?】

【The Chef King Championship】

【Laughing to death】

【Human-body tracing master】

【Well-matched opponents】

【Haha, Beifang, you have a day like this too】

The arena was filled with the laughter of the audience. Having seen the crazy aim of professional players, occasionally seeing ultimate potato-aim was also one of the joys of CSGO.

But the confrontation on the field wasn't over yet; Sanji's magazine was empty.

Magazine empty, is it? Now it's my turn to play!

Xu Beifang had been in agony being chased by Sanji, and seeing Sanji start to reload, the situation reversed instantly.

Sanji panicked and started to run away.

But Xu Beifang fired a shot at him with his P250 to slow him down, then pulled out his butterfly knife and rushed up.

A heavy slash!

Sanji, who had already been reduced to low health, was killed instantly.

The arena was filled with howls; they hadn't expected to see such an exciting scene at a Major.

For kills with knives, Zeus, shotguns, and R8s—a series of "troll" weapons—the audience loved watching them; at the very least, they were very eye-catching.

After Xu Beifang knifed Sanji to death, he didn't stop, pulling out a flashbang and throwing it against the wall above the ninja spot.

Sanji had delayed enough time for buster and Da Jin Ya to rotate back.

buster was at A Short and, seeing Sanji knifed, also intended to come out immediately to trade.

But just as he got vision, he saw a flashbang explode and immediately turned away to run back.

Xu Beifang quickly picked up the bomb and walked toward the bomb site.

"The clutch has reached a 2v2; Zywoo's health is still healthy, and he has the strength to fight."

"Although the duel at A Short was very abstract, they managed to turn the situation around. Now in a 2v2 clutch, let's see how they operate."

Xu Beifang had planted the bomb at the site, a placement leaning toward A Long.

He had been reduced to low health by Sanji during the duel, and his current state wasn't very good.

Just as the bomb was planted, he heard footsteps from the arena, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw a head peek out from the left.

His brain hadn't even processed the specific information, but his arm had already operated the mouse to flick the crosshair over.

"Bang!"

【Nice used P250 to headshot AdreN】

"Nice is at low health, Da Jin Ya heard his teammate's call, and it seems he intends to jump out and kill him! He only needs to hit two shots and he's dead. What's going to happen..."

"Da Jin Ya only showed a scalp, and he headshot him with one shot?? Is this ID Nice or shox??" Xiao Bo was full of wonder.

As an older-generation player, this scene inexplicably reminded him of shox's operations.

Same position, same kill.

It was truly outrageous.

You know, the opponent only appeared in his field of vision for a fraction of a second.

Even in this wave, they only saw a scalp appear; Da Jin Ya hadn't even reached the highest point of his jump!

He didn't know how to describe it anymore, only that Dust II was indeed a map that tested aim!

In the Vitality voice chat, after Xu Beifang killed Da Jin Ya with a "miracle shot," it was filled with "Huh?" questions.

But apEX reacted quickly, immediately shouting: "The last one is at A Short, Zywoo, come over and help quickly!"

Seeing his teammate suddenly drop, buster was also incredibly uncomfortable, but now in a 1v2 situation, he could only push forward to find an opportunity.

But after Zywoo got into position, the duo easily played him to death with their maneuvering.

The moment he was killed, cheers erupted in the arena, and buster leaned his head back against the gaming chair, a mask of pain already on his face.

Watching his teammate's actions, Jame didn't say anything, because he also understood in his heart that the thing he feared most had finally happened.

In this wave, as the second member to be killed, he understood how everyone on his side had died.

Except for Sanji, who missed due to potato aim, it was hard to say for the others.

They died more to the individual ability of the duo.

Nice and Zywoo had finally found their rhythm.

Jame frowned; the subsequent matches would be a bit harder to play.

His worry wasn't unreasonable; Vitality had won the pistol round, and with Sanji being knifed, their overall economy took off.

This map required high demands for weapons and utility, so Jame was forced to command the team to force-buy.

But they only got one kill and didn't achieve the desired effect.

The eco rounds were even worse; Vitality, relying on the bonus from winning the pistol round, leveled the score.

Coming to the first rifle round of the second half.

The sand pit is an accident-prone area; Da Jin Ya was unfortunately picked off by Zywoo's AWP while crossing.

And A Long was even more painful; three people from A site came to contest A Long, one throwing flashes, two rushing for position, but they were beaten 0-2 by Nice, and neither of them managed to cause any damage to Nice.

Jame had no choice but to choose to save his weapon.

At this moment, he understood that the real difficulty was coming. Vitality's performance on the offensive side was clearly more methodical. Just this A Long contest alone showed they were very confident in sending Nice in alone, but the continuous flashbangs left Old 7 and Sanji unable to open their eyes.

Later, after Jame picked up an AWP, the situation finally improved a bit.

But the defensive side was still quite uncomfortable, especially with the A Long control often being lost, making it difficult for Jame's AWP to be effective.

The scales of victory were constantly tilting toward Vitality.

Finally, with Sanji saving the AWP for Jame again, the score reached 15-12.

"Just one more round!" JackZ clenched his fist. Securing the match point early gave them a safety net.

But without winning the final round, they could only be considered to have an advantage.

With 3 match points, their lead wasn't that large, so the overall rhythm was still quite tense.

Especially since they calculated that the opponents still had economy this round, they had to be even more careful about VP's counter-attack.

"JackZ's spawn is okay this round, let's take A Long," apEX gave the order. "After taking A Long, we'll make moves around the control of A Long."

"I'm more inclined to force them into the bomb site in the second wave, then we'll turn around and push out from Mid to hit B."

apEX gave his general idea for this round, and after the countdown ended, they followed this plan.

Xu Beifang was in the second position, mainly helping JackZ extinguish fires and trade kills.

He threw a flashbang toward A Long, then followed JackZ's footsteps.

JackZ rushed into A Long with the help of his teammate's flashbang.

"Rat-tat-tat!"

【JackZ + Nice flashbang used AK47 to headshot Sanji】

"Good flash!" JackZ praised, then reported the situation, "Only one passed A Long, I'm safe."

Getting an opening kill at the start was good news for them.

"Then you come back, Beifang stay, we might need that smoke grenade of yours later," apEX said.

They left Xu Beifang at A Long and started controlling Mid and A Short.

This map's structure is simple; most teams will come to take control of A Short and Mid in the second wave, even if it's just a feint, keeping the opponents guessing about their information, which would only play a role in the final total attack.

"Vitality rushed directly to A Short at the start, launching an attack on the front. This round, VP is in a 3-0-2 setup, with three people defending A site. Although there's a crossing smoke, the front isn't easy to attack!"