Chapter 405: XXX has ruined CSGO!

(Previous chapter content has been modified: After the off-season, Vitality's first major tournament is IEM Beijing. Beizige has transitioned from an exhibition match guest to a player.)

Due to rule changes, the Major is now one of the tournaments included in the Intel Grand Slam, so Vitality is only one Intel tournament away from the final goal.)

The remaining time in the off-season became quite leisurely. Every day was spent streaming, practicing aim, or playing on the ladder, giving advice to players stuck in bottlenecks, working out in spare time, and hanging out with family and friends.

However, some things from the off-season were still slowly fermenting.

For instance, the map he created called "Aim-rush" had received widespread acclaim since its release. Now, in the CSGO Workshop, it had surpassed the subscription count of "Only Up" and ranked 7th among all Workshop subscriptions.

A 7th place ranking was already very high.

One must know that the maps ranked ahead were classic maps that had been around for many years, similar to "Aimbotz," which is well-known to CSGO players.

Xu Beifang didn't particularly care about the subscription ranking of this map; after all, his original intention was to make it for his followers to practice with.

Since the map was created, many players had posted about the improvements in their skill levels after practicing "Aim-rush" on Douyin or Bilibili.

Xu Beifang had once relied on the guidance of community players to improve, and now that he could finally create something to give back to everyone, he felt quite satisfied.

More viewers were focusing on the discussions during the transfer period.

There was still some time before the start of the IEM Beijing tournament, and they had to start their training camp in advance, so they had to find a place to stay.

"Is this your speed as a local?"

For example, the new lineups for ENCE, MIBR, and NIP were all about to make their debuts.

"But it's not like I haven't done anything, okay? During the off-season, I was crazily studying the demos from Blast Moscow."

Although he had won the Major championship, he truly felt that these past two years were not as good as his peak period; his competitive form had declined.

Zywoo looked innocent: "The off-season is meant for relaxing; duo-queuing is so tiring."

There were also many players discussing the map graffiti, though it was all just amazement.

"No, Dou Dou, you have to understand, Huaxia is too big, and these past few days happen to be a holiday, so tickets are hard to grab, you know?" Xu Beifang spouted nonsense with a straight face.

Moreover, Zeus had announced in advance that he would retire after this tournament, which also prompted many of Zeus's old fans to come and watch. After all, after this, it would be hard to see that 'Zhuge Zeus' on the professional stage again.

So he simply went to play various new games instead.

"Arrived?"

It was mainly because when duo-queuing with apEX, apEX would abandon his brain and start charging crazily.

apEX looked speechless; was it that obvious?

"It's not like I didn't play any matches, it's just that I played a few, and once the opponents realized it was me, they went full throttle. Honestly, every single match was like playing a Major final, with all sorts of utility management—it was just too damn tiring."

Dou Dou stopped talking instantly. He realized that he was indeed being brainless; why compare effort with a training maniac like Xu Beifang?

When Xu Beifang walked into the room, all his teammates turned their heads.

Hearing this, apEX shifted his focus to Zywoo. He walked right up to Zywoo and pinched the flesh on his cheeks: "It's mainly because I called this guy to duo-queue, and he just ignored me!"

"I'm definitely the first to arrive?"

"I watched that too," shox added. "Zeus's retirement match, it's truly sigh-inducing."

"Don't talk nonsense," Xu Beifang said, putting down his luggage and lying straight on the bed next to him. "I probably spent more time watching demos during the off-season than you spent playing on the ladder."

"Who says a local would be late!" apEX punched Xu Beifang. "We were waiting for you to pick us up at the airport and take us out to play, but you, the local, arrived last! I'll kill you!"

"Yeah." Xu Beifang nodded.

But CSGO isn't just about being ruthless.

"Locals have this speed."

Just like a Big-Silver.

At this point in time, there had already been some roster changes, and many viewers had turned their attention here.

However, Xu Beifang had boarded a plane to the capital at this time, starting to reunite with his teammates.

apEX rolled his eyes at him: "Say whatever you want. I didn't expect you, with your thick eyebrows and big eyes, to become lazy too."

As he spoke, he felt a bit like a rabbit grieving for a dead fox.

However, they were in the off-season and hadn't participated in it.

In order to let their big brother retire gloriously, the NaVi duo had also gone all out in this tournament, performing in an almost full-firepower state.

If one beat apEX, it would be something to brag about—that they had beaten a Major champion.

Although Vitality hadn't participated, many of the new lineups after the transfer period were still quite eye-catching.

"Last place is still a place, right?"

Looking at the silent Dou Dou, shox, who had a buzz cut, seemed to see through something and said in surprise: "Handou, don't tell me you didn't play a single ladder match during the off-season!"

After the Major, the first international tournament was Blast Pro Moscow.

After getting off the plane, he quickly took a taxi to a small apartment rented by Vitality.

The analyst on the side said: "For sure. If you could win one match against him on the ladder, you could brag about it for a year. These guys are definitely disciplined to the max."

NaVi's system at this stage was too poor, and the team they were up against happened to be the most solid system team on the current tier-one stage—VP, led by Jame.

Plus, his Faceit ladder score was already high, so the matches would turn into him and his four liabilities.

apEX stared fixedly at Xu Beifang, walking toward him step by step.

God and his believers might have a poor impression on the audience during the match, but for some tier-one teams, the pressure was truly very, very strong.

In the very end, this world-class commander who had left many marks in CSGO history still retired with regrets.

Zeus's professional career, when talked about, was also quite sigh-inducing.

He was one of the top 50 genius players during the 1.6 era and had even publicly stated that he didn't like the game CSGO, but eventually, he followed the torrent of the times and joined the world of CSGO.

He joined the NaVi team in the early days of CSGO. As NaVi's captain, he had led NaVi into the Major finals several times, but due to various reasons, he always missed the championship.

NaVi was once dubbed the "eternal runner-up."

Then in 2017, he was abandoned by the team he had built with his own hands. That year, Zeus was at the ripe old age of 28.

Ordinary players might have chosen to retire at a fitting time.

But Zeus at that time had already realized the true meaning of life. Zeus had nothing left to lose. He turned around and started from scratch. During his most frustrated time, he led a brand-new team and finally won the championship in Krakow, completing his journey.

Even novel plots wouldn't dare to write it like this.

After winning the Major championship, he returned to NaVi. He forgave the old team for kicking him out. He still wanted to lead this team he had created to win a Major championship, and he still wanted to lead them to become the world number one.

But this time, he still couldn't do it.

"If he could win the championship this time and announce his retirement, the ending would be relatively better," apEX also said with some emotion.

Xu Beifang shrugged: "I actually think it's fine. Winning a Blast championship won't add too many honors to his career. Leaving at this stage can be considered a smooth landing for his career, which is also a good choice."

shox teased: "How come it feels like you're implying something about us?"

The age of the entire Vitality team was actually on the older side. Zywoo was the youngest, followed by Xu Beifang, and the other three were already at the age where they could retire.

Xu Beifang hurriedly said: "Nothing like that, don't turn us into the next C9."

In Boston 2018, C9 became the biggest dark horse of that year and won the Major championship.

But C9 didn't keep the Major lineup intact; instead, they scattered them, which was criticized by people in the circle for a long time.

Xu Beifang didn't want to become the next C9.

"I even feel like I'm about to experience a second spring, shox, it's just you who thinks you're not good enough every day," apEX ridiculed his friend without hesitation.

shox smiled: "It's mainly because RPK and the others left at just the right time, and the fans' evaluation was also very high, which gave me a lot of inspiration."

Having been kicked by G2 once before, he hated that feeling. If possible, he wanted to decide for himself when to retire next.

"But even if I have thoughts of retiring, the conditions don't allow it," shox said lightly. "Right now, French CS is just a pile of crap!"

He evaluated the CS system he was in without any hesitation.

Because there really wasn't any talent in the entire French circle that made people's eyes light up.

Perhaps, just like the jokes on the internet, French CSGO exhausted all its luck just to give birth to Zywoo.

"Without a successor, I won't be retiring for the time being."

He didn't want to see the dynasty team he had built collapse in his own hands.

apEX and JackZ didn't speak either. Although it was cruel, for players of their age, their form might decline in about half a year.

Retirement was a problem following closely behind them.

The youngest, Zywoo, didn't have this trouble, but he didn't know what it felt like, nor did he know how to comfort his teammates.

Xu Beifang could actually understand that feeling. After all, when he first started, he couldn't find a job for a long time. He had deep feelings about that thought of giving up his career at any time and the feeling of being anxious about gains and losses in his heart.

"Everyone is talking about retiring, and then by 2025, maybe they'll still be doing their 'last dance'," Xu Beifang said disdainfully.

"Hmm..."

Everyone in the room was speechless, and then many of them laughed.

This was true; many people in their French group had thoughts of retiring at many stages.

When shox joined G2, he had thought of G2 as his last battle.

But he didn't expect that he would experience a second spring after being kicked by G2.

One can only say that fate is fickle.

"That's enough." XTQZZZ looked at his team members speechlessly. "If they knew that the Major champion members were considering retirement, they'd probably be stunned."

apEX nodded: "So let's talk about the upcoming tournament schedule."

"After the off-season ends, our main goal is the IEM Beijing tournament," XTQZZZ said, looking at the schedule on his phone. "However, because we are a directly invited team for this IEM Beijing tournament, we will start directly from the quarter-finals."

Zywoo took a sip of milk tea and asked: "Starting from the quarter-finals, BO3 or BO1?"

"BO3 single elimination, so if everything goes smoothly, we only need to win three BO3s to take the championship and achieve the Grand Slam."

Just as Xu Beifang explained to his roommates, the Grand Slam prize money wasn't particularly exaggerated for them; they valued the sense of honor and satisfaction that the Grand Slam brought them more.

After winning the second season Grand Slam, they could truly be called a dynasty team.

"So which teams are participating in this IEM?"

Whether the overall process is difficult or not mainly depends on the strength of the opponents. If the opponents' level is lower, they can win the championship very smoothly.

But if the participating teams are strong, they need to prepare more things.

"Don't think about such simple things," Xu Beifang added. "This IEM Beijing has a total of eight main tournament spots: two for Asia, two for Europe, and the remaining four use an invitation system. We have one, and then there's Astralis, Liquid, and Faze—all old acquaintances, so you don't have to worry about the intensity at all."

Hearing this, apEX gasped. With Astralis there, it proved that the intensity was maxed out.

Even though they defeated Astralis at the Major, these Danes were still one of the strongest teams in the world.

Then they would have to put in more effort overall.

"Because we are directly invited, we don't need to spend too much time competing in qualifiers and competitions for spots, which is good news."

"But the bad news is that we have to play BO3 right from the start, which is a challenge for our form. But fortunately, before IEM Beijing starts, we have an EPL Season 10 group stage to play, about two BO3s, which is just right for using matches to train and polish our form."

Unlike most CSGO cup tournaments, EPL is one of the few league-system tournaments in the CSGO tournament system.

At the current stage, the EPL league has 24 teams participating and uses a group-stage BO3 triple-elimination format.

This format, which offers many opportunities, gives many tier-two rookies and new lineups a chance to train, but it also leads to a very long overall schedule.

So most teams use this tournament to train their troops.

This time, XTQZZZ also planned to use this tournament to polish the team after the off-season and train new things.

"So guys, let's start our training!" XTQZZZ said with a smile.

Xu Beifang put down his luggage, then chose one of the computers and started adjusting his equipment to warm up.

Since they had come to the country for a training camp, unless they were willing to endure high latency to practice with European teams, they could only find Asian teams for practice matches.

It's not that finding Asian teams for practice matches is impossible; they had done this before.

At the current stage, there are only two teams in Asia that can play: Tyloo and VG.

They are also participants in this IEM Beijing and have already started playing in the IEM Beijing Asian qualifiers.

Internationally, Tyloo and VG are not very prominent, but in the Asian region, they are quite steady.

This time, there happen to be two spots, which were basically swept up by Tyloo and VG, so in the upcoming IEM Beijing main tournament, they are destined to be opponents.

The format is a cruel BO3 single elimination. Although from a paper strength perspective, Vitality is definitely stronger than Tyloo and VG.

But VG was able to defeat NaVi in the first half of the year; who can guarantee that there won't be an upset?

At times like this, both sides are afraid to show their real stuff in practice matches, so there's no point.

Vitality could lower their requirements, but lowering requirements to find teams for practice matches would result in poor quality, failing to meet training needs entirely.

So their training these days is more focused on regaining competitive form, and those few matches in EPL will be very important practice matches for them, helping them find problems at the current stage.

On the first day of training, they mainly focused on regaining communication and coordination.

After the five of them finished practicing their aim, Xu Beifang asked the 5E officials to help his teammates confirm their qualifications, avoiding the problem of 5E requiring a novice period, and then started duo-queuing to climb the ranks.

At the beginning of the duo-queue climb, the skill bracket was relatively low, so it was quite easy for them, but after a winning streak, the intensity increased bit by bit.

But as the score slowly increased, their matches also had a certain intensity, which also had a certain training effect.

During the day, they mostly trained by duo-queuing on the ladder.

In the evening, after eating dinner together, the coach suggested getting a membership at a nearby gym and having Xu Beifang lead his teammates in training.

In XTQZZZ's view, a training camp actually includes the exchange of feelings between players.

In fact, this was indeed the case. This simple coordination in life slowly removed the estrangement from the off-season, and the relationship between the few became hot again.

After the workout in the evening, it was the most relaxing time of the day.

They gathered in the apartment's lounge, and the coach took out the problems recorded during the day's duo-queuing, and they each explained their thoughts at the time to find more reasonable solutions.

If it was a communication problem, then they would communicate more later.

If it was a gunplay problem, then they would strengthen their gunplay practice.

If it was a tactical problem, then they would modify the tactics.

After the overall explanation, for the last hour, they started practicing their aim or watching demos individually.

The first day of the training camp ended just like that.

On the morning of the second day of the training camp, everyone was eating breakfast and chatting about the content of today's training.

"Today our training focus is Inferno. Brothers, we have to develop some new tactics," XTQZZZ teased. "After all, we have to turn all tactics into rushing the second floor, right?"

"Let's play 10 matches first, and then we'll find time to practice other maps. After all, we have to keep our map pool deep enough. If possible, let's try playing Train too."

Nowadays, among all the active-duty maps, Vitality only doesn't know how to play Train.

Having a weakness in only one map is actually not a problem, but for a top-tier team, being able to play 7 maps is definitely better than being able to play 6. At the very least, they have more confidence, and they will be more flexible during the BP (Ban/Pick) phase.

The coach's thoughts on this coincided with Xu Beifang's.

But Zywoo had a question: "But in such a short time, can we really practice this map out?"

Practicing a map requires a very high cost.

It's not like they can just take it out and use it after playing ten or twenty matches in training.

For the map Nuke, they practiced sporadically for several months before they truly managed to make it presentable and able to compete with top-tier teams.

XTQZZZ smiled wickedly: "Who said we have to take it out in the upcoming IEM Beijing?"

"We can completely release false information, letting those guys think we've practiced Train. In the end, as long as it can slightly influence their BP, that's already a win."

"Cunning enough!" shox cursed, then changed the subject. "But I like it!"

Everyone in the room laughed.

After breakfast, Vitality's second day of training began. The overall mode didn't have any major differences; it was still mainly ladder training during the day, occasionally running the map to explore for a while, and then finding problems and watching demo recordings in the evening.

The days were quite fulfilling.

It is worth mentioning that on the evening of the second day, they encountered a Negev specialist named "Can Sha Top, KILL" on the ladder.

This Negev specialist used one-way smokes and some strange positioning, which truly disgusted them.

Until they finished dinner, apEX was still cursing.

Because in that match, he was killed 12 times by the opponent's Negev, and his mentality was almost blown.

However, Xu Beifang fell into deep thought.

They were all professional players in a five-man stack, and they were still tortured to death by this suddenly appearing Negev.

Although their competitive form wasn't maxed out during the duo-queue, this guy on the other side had indeed caught them off guard.

If you look at apEX's state, you know that the Negev specialist on the other side had succeeded.

So Xu Beifang was thinking, is it possible for them to pull out a Negev in a match?

After the review on the second day ended, Xu Beifang returned to the computer and started experimenting with the possibility of pulling out a Negev.

He checked various data on the Negev. On March 22, 2018, Valve adjusted the price of the Negev.

The current Negev only costs 1700 to purchase.

This price is quite significant. In some force-buy rounds, pulling out a Negev directly might have an unexpected effect.

And as a famous laser gun in CSGO, the Negev has many bullets and an easy-to-control trajectory. Except for the need to warm up the first few bullets, it is really a very good weapon.

If his laser is set up, then the opponent will really explode if they touch it.

Professional players don't like to use this weapon, mainly because the Negev's price was too expensive at the beginning. One must know that before 2017, the Negev's price was 5700, and no one was willing to buy this kind of weapon for a machine gun at that time.

But after several adjustments, the Negev's price gradually dropped to the current 1700.

Then the cost-performance ratio is quite high.

Xu Beifang opened the Aimbotz practice map, bought a Negev inside, and started to familiarize himself with the Negev's trajectory.

The assistant in charge of filming asked curiously: "Beifang, are you planning to play the upcoming tournament like this?"

Xu Beifang heard this and teased: "Watch me wipe out Astralis with one burst!"

As he spoke, he closed the walls in the practice map until only one remained, shortened the distance of this side, and then crazily sprayed at the bots with the Negev.

Other teammates on the side couldn't stop laughing.

The assistant spent some time editing this clip and posted it to Vitality's official account. Under Xu Beifang's guidance, he gave it a title:

"Nice's Ultimate Aim Training Method!"

Sure enough, as soon as this title was released, many Vitality fans received the push and clicked in.

【Holy crap, Grandpa, the blogger you follow has updated!】

【What day is it today? The official account actually updated.】

【They should be in a training camp, right?】

At the very top of the video, many bullet comments floated by.

Then there was the interaction between Xu Beifang and the assistant, followed by everyone seeing Xu Beifang crazily ravaging the bots with a Negev.

They originally clicked in, thinking Xu Beifang had come up with some more solid content.

But they didn't expect it to be this abstract scene, and everyone was having a blast.

Xu Beifang didn't pay attention to the follow-up of that video; saying that at the time was just for fun.

But in the following days, he didn't give up on his research into the Negev.

The other members of Vitality didn't care; they all knew Xu Beifang liked to research new things, but they felt it was still a bit abstract that he planned to pull out a Negev.

But to their surprise, Xu Beifang really understood the Negev.

Time flew by to October 9th, and the EPL Season 10 European region tournament officially began.

In the first match of the group stage, Xu Beifang encountered an old acquaintance he hadn't seen for a long time, the genius sniper from the British Empire—smooya!

As a rookie from the same period as Xu Beifang, smooya attempted a palace coup after the London Major, but after going around in circles, he finally returned to the German machine.

The current German machine's paper strength looks very strong.

With the hard-shooting commander TabseN serving as the commander, smooya as the team's sniper, and Xantares, nex, and tiziaN as the three riflemen.

This lineup looks flawless.

TabseN is a very solid tier-one hard-shooting commander. Although smooya rarely appeared on the tier-one stage last year due to the palace coup, his strength is still very outstanding. If it weren't for his low emotional intelligence and excessive love for taunting, he could choose any team he wanted on the tier-one stage.

And Xantares here also has the title of the number one ruthless man in Turkey, one of the several major FPL instructors, so his firepower naturally goes without saying.

The other two are also tier-one veterans, with maxed-out experience.

Although smooya had left the public eye for a year, as a top rookie from last year, everyone still hoped he could play matches well.

And Xantares here is similar. As the big brother of the former SS team and the most exaggerated ruthless man in FPL, his playstyle is quite popular, but his results were not very good. So after this new Big lineup appeared, they still hoped Big could achieve good results.

Vitality here, the first official major tournament after the off-season, also attracted a lot of attention.

This led to many people discussing it on the forum before the match even started.

【Honestly, this guy smooya really makes people love and hate him. If he played matches steadily, Big might already be in the world's top few. Why go to such lengths?】

【Of the four rookies of London 18, Nice has already won the Major championship, Twistzz also lifted several trophies at the beginning of the year, and ropz also won a trophy under Karrigan's leadership. Only smooya has nothing to show for it; he really brought it on himself.】

"I hope Big does well. I quite like the Leader, but they just can't seem to achieve any real results."

【Looking forward to Vitality's form.】

When all the equipment was ready, both sides conducted a simple BP.

Big got the right to the first Ban in this BO3. They didn't hold back at all and directly removed Vitality's Inferno.

Vitality's performance at the Major was terrifying, and now they have a terrifying winning streak on Inferno. Their level on this map is not outstanding, so they didn't want to let it out to be beaten.

Vitality considered it and then Banned Overpass.

"Not Banning Train?" TabseN frowned as he looked at this scene. The BP not going according to the expected result made him feel uneasy.

"How about we just pick it?" smooya suggested. He likes the map Train very much; an outstanding sniper can swim like a dragon on this map.

TabseN sighed: "Forget it, let's play what we are good at first. If there's Dust 2, let's pick Dust 2."

He was a bit worried about whether Vitality had actively practiced Train and was just waiting for them to pick it.

This probability was very small, but for top-tier teams, the probability would be magnified countless times.

In comparison, playing a familiar map would give them more confidence.

Big had been away from major tournaments for a long time, and even the qualification for a league like EPL was quite precious. TabseN still wanted to achieve something for the folks back home.

If the opponent is Vitality, even comparing basic strength is very difficult, and he didn't want to gamble on unknowns even more.

Big confirmed the map selection, while Vitality directly locked in Train. TabseN wiped the cold sweat from his forehead; he felt that they might be in trouble today.

"I feel like we're going to be beaten to a pulp by Big today," shox said speechlessly.

He didn't expect the coach to really let Train out.

"It's fine, it's just to release this information. Anyway, we are using this EPL to train through matches, so playing a few more BO3s is no problem. Don't have too much pressure." XTQZZZ looked like he had everything under control.

However, they didn't have much confidence, after all, the practice for this map was all through the ladder.

Xu Beifang didn't have any major problems. When he was at VP, he often played this map, and his level was quite good, so he wasn't as pessimistic as shox.

Both sides Banned one more map each, and the final map three was locked as Mirage.

Huya Live Streaming Platform, Room 123321.

Ma Xixi was practicing his aim in deathmatch, intending to work hard, when he saw the bullet comments saying the match had started, so he hurriedly switched to the live stream push.

"Welcome everyone to watch this match between Vitality and Big. I am the commentator for this match, Ma Xixi."

"I am the commentator for this match, captainMO!"

"I am the assistant, Mingrixing."

Ma Xixi shouted: "Sync the time..."

MO: "54, 53, 52, 51..."

"Correct!"

After a familiar opening, they turned their attention to the match.

"The match has started, the map is our familiar Dust 2. Big starts as the attacking side, they are coming up and directly using force to rush B!"

"After a wave of exchanges, B site had a 2-for-2 headcount exchange. The result of this wave is quite good, but Xantares peeked out from the dog hole at the second timing and instantly killed the retaking apEX. Zywoo completed the trade kill, but the dog hole and B door combined forces and pounced on him!"

"The remaining one, Beifang, is late in rotating from A Long, and there aren't many opportunities left for him. There is no defuse kit in this wave, and both opponents are still outside, which is very uncomfortable."

"After Beifang searched a wave, he realized that the opponents were all in the sand pit, so he actively went over to fight, peeked and killed one! Can he kill the second one? But smooya is still circling around the dog hole to pull, Beifang grabbed an opportunity while walking silently and killed smooya, but there is no time to defuse the bomb."

"What a pity!"

Along with the explosion of the C4 at B site, Xu Beifang couldn't escape the fate of death either. No one survived the pistol round.

The score also reached 0:1.

In the round preparation phase, apEX took a breath: "This Big is playing a bit fiercely. After the exchange at B site, they don't even guard the bomb site and directly come out to fight. What the hell is this?"

Big's playstyle in the pistol round was indeed bold.

In the general understanding of professional teams, retaking B site is very difficult. Once you take it, as long as you guard the bomb steadily, you can win.

But Big chose to actively counter-clear at the second timing after taking the bomb site, which indeed caught them off guard.

"The intensity on the ladder really can't compare to this," shox smiled.

Just one round, the professional-level lines, utility usage, and trade-kill efficiency made them feel the difference.

The bald coach's idea was indeed correct. If their form was pulled directly to IEM Beijing, and they were slow to warm up and didn't find their form, it would be a bit ugly.

Entering the second round, apEX started giving instructions: "We got five kills, the overall kill economy is actually quite good. Let's try force-buying and playing, we can buy more Scout snipers to operate."

Xu Beifang was in the position closest to A Long in this round, so he immediately asked: "Dou Dou, can I buy a Negev to grab A Long?"

There was only silence in the training room.

apEX looked at Xu Beifang with an "Are you kidding me" look.

But a few seconds later, he waved his hand helplessly: "Go ahead, go ahead."

Who told Xu Beifang to be the big brother of the team? If they lose the force-buy round, so be it; the big brother's mood is more important!

"Thanks, Dou Dou!" Xu Beifang winked at apEX. "Today I'll show you what a Negev God of War is!"

apEX complained: "You chose the one with the most bullet comments among all the plans..."

Everyone in the room burst into laughter.

Now they had only lost one pistol round, and they didn't feel any pressure; their moods were quite relaxed.

After getting the commander's approval, Xu Beifang spent 2350 to buy a half-armor Negev.

Teammates always said he was whimsical, but Xu Beifang actually felt he wasn't whimsical at all; most of his actions were carefully considered.

This position is the best position to grab A Long.

And Big happens to be one of the teams that likes to grab A Long the most.

So his pulling out a Negev in this wave has a high probability of directly taking A Long.

On the map Dust 2, as long as you take A Long, you've won half the round.

Then wouldn't this Negev make a great contribution!

Do you guys even understand CSGO!

With this mood, the countdown ended, and Xu Beifang rushed toward A Long.

In the CSBOY live stream room, after the pistol round ended, Ma Xixi analyzed the playstyles of both sides, and then saw the bullet comments crazily brushing question marks. He hurriedly turned his head to look at the screen and soon discovered that Xu Beifang's weapon was a bit wrong.

"What is this? What gun is this? Even a Negev came out? What?"

Ma Xixi was still surprised, while MO had already started laughing: "This Beifang is purely trolling!"

Ma Xixi analyzed: "There is no reload, this is intending to use a Negev. The Negev's trajectory is crooked at the beginning, and it's only easier to use at the end. Can pulling this out really have an effect?"

He was still questioning, but MO looked at the mini-map and shouted: "You really shouldn't say that, this round Big is coming over to grab A Long! What about this wave?"

After winning the pistol round, the biggest advantage of the Terrorists is the weapon advantage.

They hold big killers like the AK47, and with a good position, TabseN naturally intends to go over and grab A Long, because if they get control of A Long, they can use AKs to bully short guns.

So, they arranged tactics and directly charged toward A Long.

However, they didn't invest too much utility into A Long, just threw a few flashbangs, plus subsequent trade kills.

smooya was in the first position, directly carrying an AK and charging toward A Long.

He didn't stop his footsteps all the way until he reached the A door exit, where he switched guns and pre-aimed at the A Long corner.

But the moment he peeked out, he heard gunfire from A Long.

"No, this gunfire is wrong!!" smooya shouted in the voice chat.

But the ruthless man behind him didn't pay attention and directly pulled horizontally to follow and trade.

Xu Beifang had been waiting and ready. In this wave, he first arrived at the A Long corner, faced the wall to back-flash, and then heard the sound of a flashbang, directly pulling horizontally while crouching with a pre-fire.

Good pre-aiming made his bullets land inside the A door after he peeked.

From the God's eye view, Xu Beifang, who was covering his eyes, used the Negev to spray a burst at the A door.

The Negev's exaggerated rate of fire had already turned the bullets into laser rays.

"Beifang back-flashed and pulled out a burst to the end. His vision was completely white, but the white didn't affect his output!!"

"With one burst, both of Big's big brothers were melted!!" Ma Xixi's smile couldn't be suppressed anymore. "Holy crap, this wave is awesome! He really killed two!"

【Ah! This can work??】

【You're right, but this is the Negev, 1700 price, 150 bullets, mindless recoil control, laser-like bullets!】

【Long live our Negev!】

【Haters, speak!】

【Add to Negev position!!】

【We Negev players are like this.】

【AK is not as good as a root of Negev.】

【This wave of Silver is ten versions ahead of professional.】

【Pull out my Negev, how should you deal with it, Your Excellency?】

【Nice+tabseN flashbang used Negev to kill smooya】

【Nice+tabseN flashbang used Negev headshot to kill Xantares】

Looking at the laser rays inside the A door, smooya covered his head, full of confusion: "No, buddy, how can there be someone playing Negev in professional matches!"

The moment he switched guns and peeked, he actually already heard that it was the sound of a Negev, but he couldn't go back at that time.

And he was really stunned; he couldn't believe that there was still someone playing Negev at the professional level.

For a master, being killed by something like a Negev is really unpleasant.

Even if he was killed by a Desert Eagle headshot in this wave, they wouldn't have any particularly special feelings, but with a Negev, it really affects the mentality.

TabseN said helplessly: "See if we can deal with the gun, let's go to the middle to find an opportunity."

Being killed by a Negev at the start, this round was quite uncomfortable.

tiziaN nodded, waiting for an opportunity inside the A door. He had a Galil in his hand. He wanted to wait for Nice's bullets to run out, grab an opportunity to rush out and kill Nice, and bring the headcount back.

After Xu Beifang sprayed two people to death with a Negev, he immediately shouted in the voice chat: "Brothers, hurry up and pick up the guns at A Long!!"

Vitality's members only then noticed the kills in the top right corner one by one.

"WTF!!"

"Ah?"

"Negev can really control A Long??"

"This can work?"

"Coming, coming!"

JackZ arrived at A Long the fastest. After simple communication, he didn't rush, but silently pushed to the near point of the A door.

Xu Beifang released the trigger at this time. The next second, a Terrorist peeked out, and he immediately pressed the trigger again.

"Da da da!"

【Nice+JackZ used Negev headshot to kill tiziaN】

"Two at A Long!" tiziaN reported the position helplessly. He was convinced by this wave too.

Hearing the Negev stop firing, he pre-aimed and peeked out, but before he could fire, he found someone at the near point of the A door, his attention was distracted, and then he was instantly focused and killed.

Now three people have died at A Long, how can this still be played?

After cooperating with JackZ to kill the enemy who tried to attempt, JackZ directly rushed into the A door and cleared it.

At the same time, the sound of a Scout sniper came from the middle.

"Bang—"

【ZywOo used ssg08 headshot to kill tabseN】

"Only one nex is left, he is carrying the bomb and directly coming over to B site to speed up, but shox at the white car heard the footsteps, he directly lowered his head to hide and called Zywoo back!"

"Zywoo is making footsteps in the dog hole, they don't dare to plant the bomb here, shox stood up and MP9 two-shot pointed, directly turned the round!" Ma Xixi laughed. "This wave Vitality relied on the Negev's outstanding performance and directly played an ACE!"

MO evaluated on the side: "Using a Negev to grab A Long, this is really a C+ buddy's routine, this Beifang is too trolling!"

The director gave the camera to Vitality's battle room, which made the live stream room even more speechless.

Because at this moment, the faces of everyone in Vitality were all wearing sunny smiles.

apEX actively admitted: "It's my problem, I shouldn't have doubted you!"

"But this Big is really trolling, are they stubborn at A Long? One died and they still don't run, still wanting to trade the Negev."

Everyone in Vitality laughed.

And in the next round, Xu Beifang was even more arrogant, holding a Negev in the middle to act as a bodyguard for Zywoo, setting up in a quite strange position.

Big's economy exploded directly in the third round and chose to force-buy, also wanting to bully Zywoo who only had a Scout, and then two more people fell under Xu Beifang's gun line. In the end, this Negev was still peeked and killed by Xantares.

The early rhythm was great, and the score quickly reached 3:1.

The first long-gun round of the first half arrived, and the real contest between the two sides unfolded.

Big's level on this map is actually very high. The gunplay of the players in their team is not bad, plus their proficiency on this map is very high.

In the first long-gun round, with smooya in the first position at B site, TabseN actively commanded smooya to go to B tunnel for reconnaissance.

smooya set up a big sniper directly at the B tunnel crossing point, confirmed that the opponent didn't go to the right side of B tunnel, and Big directly launched a speed-up toward B site.

Vitality's defensive focus in this round was at A site. shox played one and a half alone, but couldn't hold it.

3-on-4 retake, they tried to operate, but in the end, they were beaten by Xantares in a 1V2.

In the following rounds, Big tried A and B points respectively, and both successfully got the score.

Their wave of rhythm directly caught up and overtook the score.

XTQZZZ hurriedly called a tactical timeout.

"Let's adjust, we have to get a point next. B site can't keep not being held like this. Big has too many probes for B site, you can't do utility management so strictly, you can be casual with utility in the early stage, and then Zywoo, you add more defense to B site from the middle."

Xu Beifang gave feedback: "A Long is not easy to grab. If you want to grab the big pit, someone has to hang out at the blue car. This Big knows they can't grab it from me at the first timing, so they directly counter-cleared at the second timing and split me."

Big's wave of grabbing A was counter-cleared at the second timing, and they respectfully gave a smoke at the A Long corner, then threw three fires and two grenades into the big pit, directly locking Xu Beifang.

So the difficulty of controlling A Long is too high, unless someone is helping at any time.

But the problem is Big's playstyle is quite flexible, and they also have thoughts of probing B site. Two people hanging at A Long, if you bet right it's fine, if you bet wrong, there's no hope for retaking.

"Then let's play around the middle," apEX said. "Control the map around A Short and the middle. If A Long can't be taken, at least keep control of one side."

Encountering such a specialist team is always quite uncomfortable.

But this is also the reason why the bald coach released Dust 2. They need to use Big's intensity to let them quickly find their form. If possible, they even want Big to find some problems for them.

The countdown ended, apEX gave a smoke for the middle crossing.

shox walked directly from the sand pit toward B site, and at the second timing, Zywoo leaned against the side of the one-way smoke, intending to play a one-way.

But the sound of a big sniper rang out, the bullet passed through the wooden board of the middle door, and Zywoo fell backward instantly.

"smooya's form is really hot in these rounds. This wave should be a reading-the-seconds lottery. Zywoo didn't even leave the cover, he was still rubbing outside when he was directly headshot and killed."

"Starting 4-on-5 again, looking at Zywoo's expression, he wants to die."

Big's movement in this wave was originally toward A Short, TabseN knew the kill information in the top right corner, knew Zywoo was killed, and immediately launched a wave of pinching B.

Several people turned around and rushed into the middle from A Short, directly pushed a smoke at the CT spawn, then gave fire behind the smoke, preparing to directly pinch B from the middle.

But the moment Zywoo was killed, Xu Beifang, who was still jumping toward A Short, stopped his footsteps and started walking toward the sand pit.

He keenly noticed that the smoke at the CT spawn had a gap, grabbed the opportunity, and directly mixed to the far left of the smoke grenade.

The Terrorist main force saw the smoke at the CT spawn explode, TabseN even threw a fire behind the smoke, subconsciously thinking the CT spawn was safe.

Then, Xu Beifang saw two big backs in front of him.

"Beifang touched the smoke and topped one, two at the near point! Then the teammates' counter-flash even directly brushed out! The middle control was directly grabbed back by him! The headcount was also brought back!"

Suddenly stolen from behind, TabseN quickly understood that Xu Beifang should have stepped into the smoke at the moment before he threw the fire.

He complained about Xu Beifang's disgusting timing in his heart, but still started commanding.

"Forget about Mid! The backup has just arrived, there's only one person on B Site now. If you rush shox, this round is half-won!"

As long as the defense on Dust II's B Site doesn't make any blunders, even star players like Nice don't have many options.

After all, there are too few entry points to B, and too many spots to hold angles—it's almost entirely crossfire.

The trio in B Tunnel heard the commander's order and moved immediately.

shox was defending B Site alone. Hearing the footsteps from B Tunnel, he immediately threw a smoke grenade inside, trying to block their advance.

But the footsteps didn't stop at all, and shox realized the opponents' decision.

He actively pushed through the smoke, but suddenly he couldn't move forward. Zywoo watched and shouted, "You've bumped into someone!"

shox immediately pulled the trigger and fired a full spray.

【shox used M4A1 to wallbang headshot kill smooya】

"shox pushed the smoke and took one out, he tried to run back immediately, but he didn't know someone had already passed behind him. The Headshot Brother turned around and finished him off with a spray."

"The remaining two from Big are planting the bomb, but Xu Beifang has already reached the entrance of B Tunnel. He mixed into the B-Door smoke thrown by the Headshot Brother. He didn't even wait for them to plant the bomb; he planned to push in and retake immediately!"

Xu Beifang's goal was quite clear: if Big wanted to plant the bomb and find good angles to play out this clutch, he would disrupt their rhythm with an immediate retake.

Once apEX's flashbang was ready, he turned his back to the flash and rushed in.

He strafed in and saw a Terrorist covering his eyes. Xu Beifang made a split-second decision and sprayed.

Although he didn't see the other person's position at first glance, trading one-for-one was worth it at this moment.

【Nice used M4A4 headshot kill XANTARES】

The moment he took down XANTARES, he heard footsteps from Big Box and instantly flicked his forearm to the right.

A Terrorist peeked out from Big Box carrying a sniper rifle. Xu Beifang crouched and pulled the trigger.

"Bang!"

【Nice used M4A4 headshot kill nex】

"Vitality threw an anti-rush flash in, Beifang immediately took down the fully-blinded Headshot Brother, but the Leader from Big Box is coming to trade. Wait!" Ma Xixi exclaimed, "What was that shot??"

From their perspective, after Xu Beifang sprayed down the Headshot Brother, his crosshair instantly flicked far to the right, instantly killing nex who was outside his field of vision.

The crosshair looked like it was magnetically pulled over.

【Looks like a violent aimbot】

【Holy crap, that shot】

【Can this game even be played like that?】

【I didn't even see how he turned around】

【Turned around and insta-killed the opponent, insane】

The match entered a pause again, but this time it was Big's pause.

Vitality adjusted their overall tactical rhythm, so naturally, they had to make corresponding adjustments.

The only headache for them was that smooya's wallbang kill on Zywoo seemed to have angered him. In the following round, Zywoo used his sniper rifle to get a four-kill in Mid, silencing them completely.

Only then did they truly feel how painful it is when Vitality's twin stars find their rhythm.

Their tactics were clearly much better than Vitality's; their rotations and tactical transitions were obviously more flexible.

But they couldn't out-aim Nice in head-to-head duels on A Site, and Zywoo was helping to cover the Mid and B Site areas. That sniper rifle started to go crazy.

They did manage to take B Site in a few rounds, but they couldn't win the clutches.

smooya tried hard to control his temper, trying to get kills for the team, but in the subsequent rounds, he seemed to have transformed into jame, constantly on the path of saving his weapon.

This was ultimately an aim-heavy map. Once Vitality found their rhythm, their A Long defense was truly rock solid.

smooya felt the gap between himself and this rookie of the same generation for the first time. When Xu Beifang was fighting for A Long, he had already shredded two sniper rifles in head-to-head duels, leaving him completely frustrated.

The scales of victory were constantly tipping toward Vitality.

Finally, after the first half ended, the score was locked at 10:5.

On their signature map, Big only managed to take 5 rounds on the offense.

You have to realize that on this map, the offensive side still has the advantage!