Chapter 437: Monitor Quality Inspector Returns

"16:11!" Wanjiqi shouted loudly from the commentary desk, "Vitality has successfully taken their own map pick, securing the first map of this final on Mirage!"

The cheers at the venue were incessant, the sound of cheering sticks colliding like waves crashing, and everyone offered their own applause for the conclusion of Map 1.

Only many Team A supporters wore a Pain Mask, finding it somewhat hard to accept this result.

The key turning point of the second half came in the twenty-sixth round; that round, Team A was facing an ANTI-ECO. If they had successfully taken it, the score gap between the two sides would not have been large, and as long as Team A held their nerve, they would have had a chance to reset and win.

At the very least, the hope of pushing the match into Overtime was quite significant.

Who would have thought that in this ANTI-ECO, they would be reset by Xu Beifang with a USP.

With this round reset, Team A's momentum was gone; they couldn't even put up a struggle at Match Point before being steamrolled by Vitality.

Ma Xixi couldn't help but sigh, "It was mainly Beifang's performance; otherwise, the result of Map 1 would have been uncertain. Team A's performance on this Mirage was actually quite good; even when facing several brilliant plays from Vitality, they held their ground under pressure."

In today's Mirage, both sides were in quite good form, and the competitiveness was maxed out.

Team A had never played Mirage before, so to suddenly pull it out and practice it to this level was already quite impressive.

"It's just a pity that under such high pressure, they still couldn't hold on," Ma Xixi added.

Wanjiqi shook his head on the side: "I wouldn't call it a pity. In this final key point, although Team A made many mistakes, it was more about Beifang's performance; every highlight moment was built on the premise of the opponent's mistakes."

"I believe more that this is a manifestation of Beifang's individual ability; Team A gave him the opportunity, and he used that opportunity to expand the advantage and successfully complete the reset."

MO also said: "That is indeed the case. Although A Du giving away the kill wasn't ideal, he subsequently tapped four heads of the Terrorists in front of him with the USP; this aiming ability is also quite absurd."

Xu Beifang, the center of their topic, was currently taking off his headset with ease, then turned his head to look at Jackz on the side.

"What do you say, Jackz? My USP was alright today, right!" Xu Beifang smiled brightly. He hadn't expected his feel for the USP to be this good today; he was crazily one-tapping people in the Pistol Round, and he could even produce results with the USP in that eco round. After it was over, he himself felt a bit dazed.

Jackz shook his head: "Alright? You know how uncomfortable those few plays of yours made me feel, do you?"

The rest of Vitality all looked over, not quite understanding Jackz's train of thought.

When a teammate is in good form, shouldn't you be happy? Why would you feel uncomfortable?

Jackz quickly explained: "I actually found a nice USP Sticker design last night, and I was thinking that after finishing today's match, I'd go buy a Stainless, then get some stickers to craft one."

"As a result, after those two highlights of yours, I don't even need to think—the 'Stainless' Skin has definitely gone up in price! How can my heart not ache?"

Hearing this, the match room instantly burst into laughter.

shox joked: "That's very CS!"

There is a USP Pistol skin called Stainless, with a minimalist look.

Jackz loved using it, and Xu Beifang had seen Jackz use it well before, so he had bought one to play with a few days ago, and he had been using this skin the entire time today.

Professional Players in CSGO have a huge influence on the skin market, and many scalpers watch matches every day preparing to flip skins.

Whichever top Professional Player uses a certain skin to pull off a particularly awesome play, they will immediately stir up hype in the community.

There are even some unscrupulous scalpers who spread fake news about Professional Players; Xu Beifang remembered that during the previous transfer period, he had seen news about xyp9x being in a car accident.

It was truly absurd.

However, this group of Professional Players doesn't have that many pursuits regarding skins.

If they really want to play with more expensive skins, the team manager will help them find some wealthy fans to borrow them from.

But Xu Beifang didn't care; his attitude toward skins had always been indifferent, and among his main weapon skins, there were even a few he had crafted himself, which only cost a few bucks to make at the time.

However, ever since he pulled them out in a match, the cost of manufacturing started to rise, which also left him speechless.

As the few of them joked around, they returned from the stage to the backstage lounge.

As soon as they entered the room, the Analyst swani praised them: "Brothers, this Map 1 was played well; you didn't give Team A any chance to fight back at all!"

"You're still as bad at complimenting people as ever," Xu Beifang rolled his eyes, "This Team A was one step away from pushing us into Overtime."

apEX nodded: "Exactly, thanks to Beifang resetting that round, otherwise it would have been a bit dicey."

After saying that, he couldn't help but complain: "This Team A is really playing like freaks; they never played Mirage before, but suddenly they pull it out and have this level of skill—how did they practice it!"

They had been trying to practice Train for over a month recently, but the final result was quite painful; they could barely manage against tier-one teams, but when they actually encountered high-quality matches, they didn't dare to pull it out.

swani added: "It's different; we had purely never played Train before, while Team A had experience with Mirage in the past."

Hearing this, Xu Beifang also remembered that Tyloo had once beaten Team A on Mirage.

Team A used to play Mirage often, but later, for the sake of trade-offs, they gave up Mirage.

While talking, they saw the post-match stats for Map 1.

Xu Beifang had the best stats on this map.

He racked up a full 28 kills, with an Average Damage per Round of 102.2.

This was a quite outstanding performance.

And Zywoo also got 24 kills, also a stat line for a main carry, while the other three players' kill counts generally hovered around 16.

As for Team A, it was quite balanced; except for xyp9x, who was at the bottom with only 11 kills, the others averaged around 20 kills.

From the stats, one could see that the quality of this confrontation was maxed out.

Because at a glance, there were no particularly lackluster members.

Moreover, the gap in kill stats between the two sides was not large, which indicated that the trade efficiency was quite high.

It's just that this xyp9x also has a bit of a feeling of a hero in his twilight years.

In the past, you didn't even need to watch his Clutches; once he finished, it was a victory.

Now, inside Team A, you can't even see his Clutches anymore.

shox and xyp9x, these two people, were once the two World No. 1 Lurkers, but now neither has their former dominance, which is still somewhat sigh-inducing.

Xu Beifang was curious about which current player would be the next World No. 1 Lurker.

……

xyp9x also saw his post-match stats.

When others had an average kill count around 20, he only had 11 kills.

He was already feeling uncomfortable, because these stats indicated that the map of Mirage was his problem.

However, he had just considered whether he could have performed better if he had another chance.

The result was negative.

The performance of the Vitality duo was quite outstanding; he had received fewer clutch situations today, but he watched his teammates take on many, and the thought processes of gla1ve and Device in those clutches were fine—he would have done the same even at the time.

Yet the result was that the opponent won.

gla1ve sensed his abnormality and took the initiative to speak: "To be able to fight Vitality to this extent on this map is already quite good. Next, Inferno is our home turf; only by taking this map do we have a chance to win this final."

zonic sighed on the side; he didn't think so.

They played so beautifully on Map 1; logically, if they could have pushed through in one wave, it was highly likely they would have 3-0'd Vitality.

But now, the close score on Map 1 was due to his own mistakes leading to a reset, which was a huge blow to the team's morale.

However, things had reached this point, and they could only hope that Inferno would break the opponent's winning streak, so they would have a chance to take the victory in one go.

The halftime break passed quickly, and the players from both sides returned to their seats amidst cheers and encouragement.

Map: Inferno

A-team's map pick, with Vitality starting as the CT.

After thinking it over, apEX gave the strategy for the Pistol Round: "Like this, shox and Jack, you two each contribute a pair of dualies, and then Beifang and Zywoo, you each take one."

"For positioning, Beifang, follow us to B, 3B2A start. Play conservatively on A; don't rush to take duels when you see people. shox, use your extra economy to buy some utility to stall for time."

After setting up A, apEX came to arrange B: "For our B site, we will also mainly stand in the back to defend in the early stage."

Jack was a bit surprised: "Buying dualies and not playing aggressive?"

apEX shook his head: "No aggressive play. We'll just play crossfire from the back. A-team loves to do reconnaissance in the early stage; I don't want to let the opponent get too much information, so we'll just gamble."

A-team's offense was quite formulaic; except for some special rounds, they would default control, fight for map control, and then choose a site to execute a grenade set.

apEX planned to see how A-team's luck was. If they chose to hit A, then relying on shox's utility and the dualies in Zywoo's hands, they would have some combat power. If they hit B, then with their 3B heavy defense plus the crossfire set up at the start, he felt A-team would be in for a rough time.

Xu Beifang started by coming to One Box, while Jack held a Smoke Grenade and peeked at CT Spawn, posing as if they were two B players using utility to stall.

apEX stood behind the Zhu Zi at B, peeking to scout B-long.

The positions behind the Zhu Zi at B and on One Box were one of the best crossfires on the B site. As long as the opponent pushed toward B-long, they would definitely expose themselves to either Xu Beifang or apEX, and one of them could output damage without risk.

"A-team is boosting each other silently to the Second Floor, and on the B side, they are throwing a Decoy Grenade against the wall. This Decoy Grenade is very sophisticated; if someone is standing behind the Stone Slab, the Decoy Grenade can deal one HP of damage to the CT, and the Terrorist can confirm the CT's position through this sound."

"However, in this round, Vitality is defending from the back on both sides, and A-team is not in a hurry; both sides are controlling the map, pushing slowly."

Ma Xixi stated his analysis: "Honestly, it's comprehensive; both sides are playing it safe, but it's not a gambling-style defense. On the A site, shox is mainly peeking at the Connector to catch utility, now just waiting for A-team to make a move."

"Magisk jumped and peeked in Mid, getting information that there was someone in the Connector. shox quickly retreated; he bought utility this round and was unarmored, so he had no combat capability, so avoiding the edge of their blade for now is no problem."

shox did not counter-utility because he did not hear subsequent footsteps.

He felt that the opponent was likely baiting, but since he had utility, he didn't dare to gamble; otherwise, if the opponent rushed him, he would die miserably.

"A-team cleared the Second Floor again to ensure you weren't pushing, and then came back to execute a grenade set."

"A Pit Smoke, sealing off the gun position in the Pit, then coming through the Connector to attack!"

"However, xyp9x, who was playing solo on B, had great timing; he pulled out with a pre-fire and headshot Jack, who was peeking. A-team's offensive immediately changed; they are directly splitting the B site!"

Wanjiqi raised his eyebrows; this choice was quite reasonable, as this A-site grenade set was aimed at the Connector.

Plus, with xyp9x getting a headshot, B site was exactly the weakest point in A-team's information.

But was that really the case?

After Jack was headshot, apEX moved immediately, changing his position to CT Spawn.

Jack didn't move; he was still standing at CT Spawn after being headshot, but he heard a large number of footsteps in the Long Corridor.

"They are splitting B through Mid! apEX, watch out for the Long Corridor!" Jack shouted, then saw Xu Beifang engaging with the Terrorists in B-long, actively pulling out to help trade.

But xyp9x heard the gunfire, turned, and fired a shot, instantly killing him.

Fortunately, Xu Beifang's trade was also fast, not letting xyp9x get anything else.

After Xu Beifang successfully traded, he moved immediately. After peeking to confirm there was no one left in B-long, he quickly ran to Jack's corpse to pick up the Defuse Kit, then headed toward CT Spawn to help apEX replenish firepower.

"Beifang and Jack worked together to trade Jiuye, and apEX also seized the time difference, pulling out and headshotting gla1ve in the Long Corridor. Beifang then threw a Smoke Grenade, directly blocking A-team's offensive!"

Wanjiqi shouted excitedly: "A-team wanted to play a Mid-split to B, but the B-long push was too fast, and the front was completely without a fulcrum. Plus apEX's performance, this wave actually resulted in A-team being stuck in CT Spawn!"

MO watched the Smoke Grenade explode at the entrance of the Long Corridor: "Alright, they've stalled them. A-team can only turn back to hit A now."

"But they also threw a Motorcycle Smoke at the front, and Zywoo pushed to the corner of the Connector. Vitality's positioning has completely trapped A-team inside the Connector."

"However, only shox is defending the Bomb Site. shox chose to play the 'old six' role, hiding directly in the Dead Point. As long as he fires, Zywoo will push up from the Connector to open fire; it just depends on how he plays this front."

dupreeh walked silently from the Graveyard.

He confirmed that he didn't see anyone in the Small Pit, the Pit, or the Bomb Site, so he signaled Device to plant.

Device was also very detailed; he jumped on the outermost box at the Bomb Site to peek at the Dead Point, didn't see anyone, and directly planted behind the Er Xiang.

But he didn't know that shox was still waiting for him in the Dead Point!

shox heard the planting sound, immediately peeked out from the Dead Point, and headshot the Terrorist who was exposing his back.

Suddenly being one-tapped, Device was so startled his whole body shuddered.

Then he reacted and realized where shox was positioned.

"There's still one hiding at the Bomb Site, how is there still an 'old six' in the finals!"

Device angrily hammered his monitor; he just wanted to make his due contribution to the IEM quality inspection.

He never expected that shox would use a hiding strategy at this time; he was purely 'sixed' this round.

The bomb was suddenly dropped, and A-team's formation was instantly torn apart.

Magisk, inside the Library, cut off the retaking apEX.

But when he rushed to the front to push the Bomb Site, he found a pair of dualies already aimed at the Library door, and Zywoo opened fire at full capacity to take him down.

Only A Du was left in the Pit, with little time remaining, A Du could only push toward the Bomb Site.

But just as he walked to the Grass Car at A1, he saw someone peek out from A1.

The dual handguns fired madly at him, outputting damage.

He was instantly covered by firepower and insta-killed.

The score reached 1:0; the first half Pistol Round on the small town was taken by Vitality.

……