Chapter 454: NIKO Turning into a Comedian (9 Turns)

After winning the ECO Round, the score successfully reached 3:0.

After winning the Pistol Round, the early-game confrontations went quite smoothly.

Successfully taking the first few rounds allowed Xu Beifang to breathe a sigh of relief; with the reduced round count in the current version, every single point in the confrontation has become quite important.

Inferno is a relatively balanced map, which means that as long as they secure three more points in the first half, their defense will be considered passing.

Of course, if there is an opportunity, they certainly want to secure even more points.

Therefore, entering the first Full Buy Round, Xu Beifang did not hoard his economy; he directly dropped a sniper rifle for Danking, and the others also replaced their weapons one by one to avoid any issues in aim duels caused by inferior equipment.

In terms of positioning, he still called the most basic 3A2B opening, focusing on a probing playstyle.

At the start, Xu Beifang and NIKO went over to take control of Banana.

However, Faze's counter-strategy was also quite intense; although it is currently difficult for Terrorists to fight for control of Banana, as long as a certain amount of resources are invested, there are still some opportunities.

"Faze keeps refreshing the fire on the Barrel to prevent the B-site CTs from pushing down and taking full control of Banana; Han Wang also directly threw a fire-extinguishing smoke in the middle section, and Beifang and NIKO simultaneously used HE Grenades to blast the middle section."

"But Han Wang is already about to flash out! Karrigan's Flashbang is blinding! Can the two guys on Banana get away?"

"Beifang successfully slipped away, but NIKO was still caught; however, Beifang immediately followed up with a Flashbang that completely blinded Han Wang, barely forcing him to retreat, so this wave is a bit painful for COL."

Being caught by the opponent's setup on Banana made Xu Beifang somewhat annoyed.

"Faze is much more aggressive on this Banana than I imagined." Xu Beifang still had a Smoke Grenade and a Flashbang in hand, but after considering it, he did not counter-smoke, but instead walked silently to rotate to A.

"I'm rotating to A; you guys can be more proactive with your plays at A."

It was originally a 2B setup, and after NIKO was picked off, only Xu Beifang remained.

If the opponents directly executed a bomb site hit, even with a teammate rotating back to help, it would be difficult to defend.

In that case, it would be better to be proactive at A and push out to clear and gather information; even if he pushed out to trade kills, he would still be able to reinforce the A-site headcount at any time.

Hearing the commander's order, JKS understood and proactively began to creep forward from A2.

Danking also began to push forward from A1 with his sniper rifle.

On his way to rotate, Xu Beifang quickly heard Danking shout: "The opponents threw fire at A1; they might be speeding up to hit A, Ji Ge, be careful."

But JKS immediately said: "No, the opponents might just be probing A; I don't see anyone here at A2."

Within the entire Faze team, there are actually tactics that unfold entirely from Mid.

But combined with the fact that they lost a man at B this round, he felt Karrigan wouldn't pull such a trick.

So Xu Beifang immediately shouted: "Ji Ge, just stay in Mid to cut them off, everyone else rotate back with me!"

Danking and JKS also completely followed Xu Beifang's idea and immediately turned back to rotate.

Just as they discussed in their 'Round Table Conference', everyone on COL can have a certain degree of freedom, but when Xu Beifang truly issues a judgment, they must execute it.

"Beifang's train of thought is still quite good; in a situation where someone is suddenly picked off, gambling on A is acceptable, but looking at Karrigan's intent, he plans to harass A and then directly hit B," Wanjiqi continued to analyze. "If they hit B this wave, then Faze can get a free point, sigh!!"

He noticed the change on the mini-map: "Beifang is leading people back to B at the second timing! They rotated early to heavily defend the B-site!"

Wanjiqi was shocked; he didn't know what substantial information Xu Beifang had obtained to directly lead a group of people to rotate, and this wave might actually be a gamble he won!

"Beifang arrived at the rotation point first; he directly threw a B-tunnel smoke. This Smoke Grenade is truly disgusting for Faze. Now they can only decide to regroup, but Rain is probing at Mid, only to be headshot by Elige—Ji Ge is always so stable!"

"Faze is still hesitating, and Beifang is hiding inside the smoke; Danking directly threw a flash to let him out for a counter-spray!"

A Flashbang exploded, and Xu Beifang pulled out from the B-tunnel smoke, instantly seeing three enemies in front of him covering their eyes.

Too late to praise the quality of Danking's Flashbang, he immediately began to output frantically.

He prioritized taking down the Terrorist next to the Stone Slab, then pulled his crosshair back to the close range, and then controlled it to the left.

"A standard B-site counter-clear, but Faze never expected COL to be this bold at this timing! One flash allowed him to take down one, two, three!"

"Han Wang, who was hiding in the Connector Recess, recovered his vision and directly took down Beifang, but Beifang's mission was already accomplished!"

"Han Wang still wanted to make a play, but Danking shot him through the smoke with his sniper rifle!"

Wanjiqi said with some disbelief: "What is this? Beifang has a god's-eye view. His commands this round are truly a bit exaggerated. It's hard to imagine this guy was once a top-tier Gunner, because this commanding is a bit monstrous!"

【BEI!!】

【Holy crap, is he really this proactive?】

【Faze was read by Beifang like a book.】

【After knowing Beifang was the commander, I thought he was going to follow in NIKO's footsteps, but did he really turn into Zhuge Beifang?】

【Beifang is so good at commanding!】

【Omniscient and omnipotent, holy crap!】

The fans watching this match were all shocked.

Regarding the idea of Xu Beifang transitioning to a commander, many of them felt it wouldn't work.

But, people are always compromising.

If Xu Beifang continued to stay hidden, they would find it unacceptable, but since Xu Beifang chose to return and transition into a commander, they felt it was okay.

However, there are many Gunners in the GO scene who have transitioned to commanders, such as NIKO, electronic, and YEKINDAR, but the final results were all very abstract; not a single one could really perform.

So everyone was not optimistic about Xu Beifang serving as the COL commander this time; the fans felt it would completely hinder Xu Beifang's Gunplay.

But looking at it now, they unexpectedly discovered that these commands were actually quite good.

One by one, they were both surprised and delighted.

While the fans were in shock, NIKO, as a teammate, was not feeling much better.

He turned his head in surprise to look at Xu Beifang: "No, brother, your commands are too exaggerated; Karrigan was completely toyed with by you this round."

Xu Beifang also grinned; as a Rifleman turning the tide and as a commander relying on commands to win this match, the feeling brought is quite different.

This wave was a win-win!

He won twice all by himself!

However, as a commander, he could not take all the credit for himself; in reality, this point was also a team victory.

"I mainly had full information for this round; JKS's push to the Second Floor was very clever, and thanks to Ji Ge holding firm in Mid, you guys played very well."

JKS had actually already crept into A Second Floor while he was moving toward A Site; this proactive move successfully gathered a lot of information, helping him issue this command.

Furthermore, in the mid-round, Elige also took out the probing rain; if he had been killed, Faze might have had a chance to rotate.

"What about me!" Danking expressed great dissatisfaction, "Wasn't my flashbang top-tier?"

Hearing this, Xu Beifang smiled and said: "But you are definitely strong, alright; your level has already surpassed the opposing Sniper."

"Yeah, utility level."

Originally, upon hearing Xu Beifang's reply, the group thought Xu Beifang was going to be a 'master of balancing,' but upon hearing the final 'utility level,' they all couldn't hold back their laughter.

Danking immediately started cursing and swearing.

Who is the opposing Sniper—Broky.

Broky's utility, those who know, know; it's just like a Perfect C+.

Xu Beifang was purely roasting him this time.

However, he didn't mind; he was just using this to play around and liven up the atmosphere.

In the following fifth round, with Faze's economy in a bad state, they still chose to Force Buy and go for a hard fight.

Although they won the previous round, Xu Beifang had also noticed Karrigan's desire for control over Banana, so for this round, he directly called for a 3B start, using utility as a foundation in the early game to successfully take control of Banana, and NIKO, aided by Danking's Flashbang, secured the round's Entry Kill.

The A Site setup for this round was a position leaning toward A1.

Elige was on the Shed, and JKS was at the A1 Device Position watching A2, preventing the opponents from flying into the floor.

However, this time Faze chose to dry-peek simultaneously from Mid and the Boiler Room.

Then, Ji Ge was instantly one-tapped by Broky's Desert Eagle.

JKS at A1 traded one, but was then bumped off by the follow-up Trade Kill from a Tec-9.

After Danking arrived for the Retake, the opponent's utility had already been spread out, and he had no chance to fire his weapon at all.

The World's Number One Sniper's utility on B Site was already used up, and there was no chance to execute a Retake, so after considering it, he could only choose to Save Weapon.

After Faze secured the first round, their momentum finally picked up a bit.

Xu Beifang could clearly feel from the match that Faze's firepower had changed.

However, he wasn't surprised; Faze is just that kind of team, completely composed of five star players, and as long as Karrigan's ideas are sound, the team's overall resilience becomes very strong.

Both sides fell into a back-and-forth battle, but COL, as the CT, still faced greater pressure regarding their economy.

The score arrived at 6:4 before they knew it.

COL had already reached a passing score for the first half, but it was only just passing.

Now, the half consisted of 12 rounds, and if there was an opportunity, they still wanted to enter the second half with as much of an advantage as possible.

Otherwise, if they didn't play the Pistol Round well in the second half, they might fall into a headwind.

"Should we start 3B?" Elige asked, "I feel like the opponents are hitting B quite frequently."

Xu Beifang shook his head: "A normal 3A2B is fine, and I've already adapted to Faze's offense on Banana; from here on, two on B is enough."

Danking thought for a moment: "Then I'll just smoke Mid in a bit, and Ji Ge can set me up for a second-timing peek; I'll see if I can steal a kill on a Terrorist in Mid."

Although Xu Beifang didn't need him to dictate the pace, since he was consuming the team's resources, he always wanted to do something.

The countdown ended, and Xu Beifang and NIKO arrived at Banana as usual.

The two of them still used that same Default utility start, and while throwing a smoke at the Banana Entrance, they first defended against a speed-push at the near point.

Then, Xu Beifang burned a mid-section fire.

"I'm going to the front to look for an opportunity; NIKO, you operate based on the situation."

NIKO nodded, controlling his position to stay one body-length away from Xu Beifang.

At this distance, whether running away or performing a Trade Kill, there was room to maneuver.

After Xu Beifang finished throwing the fire, he immediately heard the sound of the fire being extinguished from the mid-section.

As the member currently responsible for Banana on Faze, Han Wang played Banana quite well, but the problem was, perhaps because he hadn't encountered a too-powerful opponent in a long time, his Banana play had become rather formulaic.

For example, the process of extinguishing the mid-section fire was something he had already done many times.

Xu Beifang also knew that after extinguishing the fire, he was likely hiding at the edge of the Smoke Grenade.

So, after hearing Han Wang's fire-extinguishing sound, he directly pushed forward with silent steps, and when he arrived near the mid-section, he moved forward in a silent crouch.

He brushed against the edge of the smoke, and soon saw a Terrorist character model inside the Recess.

Xu Beifang immediately adjusted his aim.

"Da-da-da!"

【Nice used M4A1 to get a Headshot kill on frozen】

From Han Wang's perspective, he was still quietly holding the smoke, waiting for the opponent to push, when suddenly bullets hit his head, and he died instantly.

"The opponent cleared the Banana near point." Han Wang reported helplessly; he also felt quite pained. Previously, he had used Nice's unfamiliarity with their Banana playstyle to get a few rounds, but after Nice reacted, it became very uncomfortable for him to take duels.

Nice always managed to stand in those strange positions and appear in strange ways.

As long as you couldn't react instantly and one-tap him, you would definitely give up an Entry Kill.

This was the difficult problem they encountered in the CSGO era.

He had a strange feeling that this problem would continue into the CS2 era.

However, just as he finished reporting, he saw three kills scroll across the top right corner.

【Danking used AWP to get a Headshot kill on Broky】

【rain used AK47 to get a Pre-fire kill on Elige】

【rain used AK47 to get a Pre-fire Headshot kill on Danking】

"Beifang took the initiative on Banana and got the Entry Kill, and over in Mid, Danking also seized the opportunity to steal a kill, but rain's reaction was too fast; he directly mixed through the smoke and killed both Ji Ge and Tie Dan, so this wave actually evened out the numbers."

"Now the kill count has been evened out, and the situation has room for maneuvering again."

After Xu Beifang killed Han Wang, NIKO tacitly began to retake A.

He had originally intended to return to the Stone Slab to hold an angle after taking down Han Wang, but he hadn't expected his attempt at Mid to be thwarted by rain.

This was quite painful.

JKS said, "I'm holding inside A2."

However, a few seconds later, he relayed information: "The opponents are rushing without using utility."

This gave NIKO a chance to retake; after considering it, NIKO chose to abandon Connector and directly trade at the Bomb Site.

But after rotating to the Bomb Site, he still didn't feel any pressure from the opponents, so NIKO suggested that JKS flash for him so he could proactively clear out.

"Faze is still playing the silent contact game in the second half; they don't dare to rush too quickly because they know Nice very well. Once a frontal engagement breaks out, the flank will always arrive faster than you imagine."

"So right now, ropz is still holding Banana, waiting for the opponents to make a mistake frontally."

"But NIKO has popped a flashbang to counter-clear; the flashbang effect is quite good, and NIKO has directly taken down Karrigan!"

Seeing the explosive utility usage at the front, Xu Beifang threw a smoke at the Banana Entrance at his feet and then walked toward Mid without stopping.

ropz had been holding the Banana Entrance from under VIP, wary that Xu Beifang might push up.

But the sudden engagement at the front, combined with the smoke at the Banana Entrance, gave him a false impression—that Nice was scouting from the Stone Slab and, upon noticing the firefight at A, had thrown a smoke at T Spawn to prepare to rotate back to A.

He immediately moved toward Mid, but quickly realized something was wrong; ropz turned 180 degrees to hold Banana.

He immediately saw the figure of a CT in Banana, and ropz decisively pulled the trigger.

But the suffocating scene arrived: that damn fly-head, in this situation, didn't just strafe out, but instead jiggled!

His entire burst of pre-fired shots missed completely!

ropz hurriedly pulled his crosshair one body-width to the left, waiting for Xu Beifang's potential wide peek.

But the next second.

"Bang!"

【Nice used AK47 to headshot ropz】

"How is it a half-body peek!" ropz had nothing but a bitter smile on his face; in this game of wits involving exposed information, he had lost quite thoroughly.

rain's feel in the Boiler Room was quite good; after his vision recovered, he successfully traded NIKO by pulling him out of position.

But the problem now was that ropz had been killed and the bomb was intercepted at Mid; he had to deal with Nice.

With only 22 seconds left, the time no longer allowed him to perform any particularly fancy maneuvers.

rain could only counter-hold A1 for two seconds before coming to the front to duel Xu Beifang.

Only by taking down Xu Beifang could he pick up the bomb and have room for subsequent plays.

Xu Beifang had just come out of Banana and had now intercepted the bomb, which meant he would definitely come to guard it.

In this kind of gunfight position, T Spawn and the Sewer were both good choices.

rain ultimately chose to pre-aim the Sewer and then peeked out to the right.

Nice was indeed holding the Boiler Room from the Sewer; rain's pre-aim was quite good, and he immediately fired to position.

But just as one bullet was fired, he heard the teeth-grinding sound of a headshot.

"Bang!"

【Nice used AK47 to headshot rain】

"Oh!! This Nice, rain knew he was in this position, he understands the game, but the problem is that Nice is just an aim-lock!"

"But they just can't beat him!"

"ropz knew he would push up from Banana, but he couldn't hold him at all; rain also knew this guy was holding from the Sewer, but he couldn't win the duel when he peeked out!"

Wanjiqi sighed with emotion: "Too accurate, brother. The Nice of the past has truly returned. His Positioning Ability is still as picturesque as ever; it's too fast, brothers."

"And unlike donk, who positions in a very short time, Nice's pre-aim positions are all very good, and he only needs to make very minor micro-adjustments. The World's Number One Sniper from the CSGO era is still formidable in CS2!"

Entering the final round of the first half, this time Karrigan chose to execute a fast attack on A.

Then, they were taken down by the coordination of Danking and Elige from Connector, losing four players.

Although ropz successfully traded, he couldn't pull off a play in this 1v3 Clutch.

Eventually, the bomb was planted, and the round was ended by a clean sweep from COL.

The first half ended with the score locked at 8:4.

Inside the Faze team room, looking at the score overhead, Han Wang couldn't help but complain: "Has Nice really been resting for over two years?"

His relationship with Xu Beifang was rather complex; to him, Xu Beifang was more like a senior figure, and he had learned quite a lot of techniques from Xu Beifang during the CSGO era.

Today, facing off against COL, he had initially thought about whether he could carry and show his current strength to his former senior.

But after this first half, his stats were 9/9, while that guy Nice had racked up 16 kills.

And this was the result even though their main offensive direction had been focused on A.

It seemed like they had been controlling Banana the whole time, but Han Wang thought about it carefully and realized he had actually been killed quite a few times.

rain also shook his head: "This guy is truly a monster. He hasn't played in tournaments for years, yet his Gunplay is still so exaggerated; he doesn't even give people any room to maneuver in duels."

The more top-tier the players in a firefight, the smaller the margin for error in duels; both sides were doing their utmost to kill the opponent in the shortest possible time.

And in their duels, if they couldn't quickly kill Xu Beifang when they met, Xu Beifang would start killing them.

Karrigan shook his head: "We underestimated the current COL. This group of people is very well prepared, and the current game rhythm of COL—at the very least, their defense is extremely outstanding. Nice is indeed an annoying guy."

In professional competition, rhythm has always been a very important matter.

In confrontations between true powerhouses, the rhythm of both sides is very tense; as long as you slack off for a moment, the result of the round might change.

For example, he had always looked down on the IGL of Green Dragon.

Although Green Dragon was one of the strongest teams today, the way Green Dragon played was truly a pile of shit.

Green Dragon was able to achieve its current results purely by relying on the efforts of donk, sh1ro, and zont1x.

In actual competition, there was absolutely no rhythm to speak of.

Chopper, as an IGL, has a clear train of thought; he follows that logic, and when he doesn't, it's just "donk, you need to get a kill."

But this current COL is different, and Karrigan truly feels a sense of pressure for no apparent reason.

Although this is a lineup just assembled during the off-season, these old dogs really know a lot of tricks.

When Faze is attacking, as long as they gain a slight advantage on the front, the opponents have already rotated to cover or pushed out to trade back some ground.

This mid-round dynamic is completely non-stop.

He took another look at the score above his head.

It's a bit tricky; if they lose the Pistol Round, there won't be many opportunities left... Karrigan feels it's getting hard to handle.

Karrigan feels a bit of a headache, while the atmosphere on the COL side is quite relaxed.

Their initial goal for the first half was to get 6 rounds, but they ended up taking 8 rounds off Faze.

With this, the pressure on their offensive half is much lower, and if they can win the Pistol Round, they might even close it out in one go.

The halftime break ended quickly, and both sides swapped sides to enter the second half of the confrontation.

"OK, let's look at the second-half Pistol Round. The CTs immediately threw a Faze Yan, which means they are definitely going to do something unconventional," Wanjiqi analyzed. "But COL has equipped three sets of utility this round. Are they planning to directly replicate Faze's offensive from the first half and go for a B-site Explosive Bomb Attack?"

"They are pushing Banana with speed, but Han Wang and Karrigan were already prepared with Flashbangs for a counter-push. A Flashbang goes off, Elige is fully flashed and taken out, but Danking traded the kill, making it a one-for-one. However, Karrigan immediately threw a Smoke Grenade, and ropz and Rain, who were pushing Mid, hurried to Retake and tightened their formation."

"But it seems COL is still planning an Explosive Bomb Attack on the second timing. They burned Three Boxes and Er Xiang, then threw a CT Spawn smoke and a Coffin smoke. Are they preparing for an explosive execute? But they haven't even brought the bomb yet."

"Wait, they aren't planning an explosive execute; this is a fake. Because JKS, coordinating with the noise on the front, has snuck into the Pit from A Second Floor! All of Faze has already rotated to Retake, the A-site is completely empty, and COL has rotated!"

Seeing the explosive execute on the front being so loud and intense, with everyone rotating to cover B, Faze never expected that such a resource-heavy execute would be a fake.

And by the time they reacted, the bomb had already been planted at the A-site.

Karrigan was stunned. To afford armor this round, they only let one person buy utility, which meant they had no Defuse Kit for the Retake, and the Terrorists had already taken their positions.

They tried to Retake, but no miracle occurred.

"The Crossfire from these old dogs is a sight to behold. NIKO just got a triple kill. Now that they've won this Pistol Round, the score gap will widen further!"

"You really have to say, this Beifang's calling is truly impressive. Today, this COL isn't far from victory!" Wanjiqi said with some surprise.

He is not Ma Xixi, so he isn't worried about being backlashed by 'professional judgment.'

Wanjiqi was still a bit cautious and quickly added, "However, the first thing COL needs to do is not get reset."

In the second round of the second half, Faze chose to Force Buy, wanting to use HE Grenades and Half Armor with FN57s to make something happen.

However, Xu Beifang simply and crudely directed the team to speed up A1, and ultimately, at the cost of two members, they took the round.

After losing the Force Buy, Faze was forced into an eco round.

In this round, other than Danking, who played as a special operative and got three kills before being taken down, everyone else had no issues.

The score also unknowingly reached 11:4.

Entering the first Full Buy Round, Xu Beifang played a cheeky move; he took the initiative to call for a Tactical Timeout.

The Coach behind him was a bit confused: "What's the meaning of this?"

Their momentum was smooth right now, and by his logic, there was no need to call a timeout.

"Playing it safe, this is a key Match Point round," Xu Beifang laughed, then he began to arrange the tactics. "For this Full Buy Round, I estimate Faze will still throw a Faze Yan, and knowing I like to maintain Map Control on Banana, there might be maximum pressure on Banana this round."

"So I'm thinking, can you guys go for a fast push through the Second Floor later?"

Hearing this, NIKO felt it was a bit hard to handle.

He truly lived up to being the guy who came out of Vitality.

But he still offered his own opinion: "If we push the Second Floor this round, won't the pressure be a bit too high?"

This is the first Full Buy Round; both sides have their utility fully stocked.

If the opponents throw some utility into A Second Floor, it will be very difficult for them to get out.

"It's fine. Later, you guys send more people through the Side Path, just go through the white door. Tie Dan, you save a full set of utility for me. I'll create tension on the Banana side to make them think we're still slowly controlling the map, and then you guys seize the opportunity to push."

JKS thought for a moment: "Then I'll throw a Connector smoke early to force them back a bit."

Xu Beifang nodded: "That's feasible."

NIKO was a bit confused: "But for just a Second Floor push, there's no need to call a timeout."

A mischievous smile immediately appeared on Xu Beifang's face: "If you can't even think of it, the opponents definitely won't think I called a timeout just for a Second Floor push."

NIKO immediately gave Xu Beifang a thumbs up: "As expected, you're the material for an IGL! Your heart is too dirty!"

The group soon started chuckling.

The Tactical Timeout ended, and the group quickly moved out according to Xu Beifang's arrangements.

As he expected, at the start, Faze still threw a Faze Yan into Mid, stripping him of his vision.

After he threw a fire on the Barrel, he immediately threw an HE Grenade to the left of the Faze Yan to confirm the opponent wasn't pushing, while also putting pressure on the CTs at A-site.

Because if they frequently exploded the smoke, it would be very difficult for the CTs in Mid to push forward.

"Banana is covered in utility. The CTs want to push on the second timing, but Beifang picked up another set of utility, directly refreshing the fire on the Barrel, then spraying through the smoke to prevent the CTs from stepping through the fire to push."

"Han Wang had the intention on the second timing, but seeing this fire, he could only wait. Pressure is also being applied in Mid; a Connector smoke was thrown, and a Mid smoke was countered. However, the main force of COL has already gathered at the Spiral Stairs. The goal of these 4 people is very clear: they want to execute a Second Floor push."

"Faze clearly didn't anticipate this and is still maintaining their Default map control structure."

Xu Beifang calculated the duration of the fire on the Barrel. As the flames were about to die out, he didn't throw a Flashbang; he very boldly walked silently from the Banana Entrance smoke inside.

The CT in Banana indeed didn't dare to push, and he successfully snuck into the close angle.

His teammates at A Second Floor had already gathered, but he didn't rush to give the order because he still needed to perform one last feint on his side to stretch Faze's formation.

He used a crouch-peek with half his body, silently clearing the close angle of the Barrel. What confused him was that Faze hadn't held the forward position of Banana.

This also gave him an opportunity.

He quietly performed a Pre-aim in Banana, checking CT Spawn first; no one was there.

Then he peeked Coffin; no one was there, then he pulled to the right to look at One Box.

A fly-head appeared in his vision, and Xu Beifang quickly adjusted his Positioning.

"Rat-tat-tat!"

【Nice used an AK47 to get a Headshot kill on frozen】

After taking down the CT at One Box, Xu Beifang immediately adjusted his aim to the right for a Spray Transfer.

His pre-fire was fast enough, but Karrigan's aim was just as precise; as soon as he peeked, he landed two headshots on him.

"Karrigan is very low," Xu Beifang exhaled. He had seized the opportunity, but it was a pity Karrigan's Gunplay had been on point, preventing him from breaking through Banana directly.

But as the team's in-game leader, he already understood that his task was complete.

"You guys can push forward from the front, start moving now."

Hearing Xu Beifang's command, the four-man group in the Side Path began to shift-walk forward into A2.

"Beifang took down 1.9 people on Banana; he almost got Karrigan too. This guy is truly terrifying."

"However, his duel here isn't particularly important, because the real killing blow this round is at A2. Broky at Connector has already started a Retake, and A Site has shifted to a position holding A1, but they are flying out of A2!"

"Rain at the Bomb Site was completely Flash-ed. Danking rushed out and easily took him down with a burst. ropz at A1 immediately turned to spray, but NIKO's Trade Kill came very quickly!" Wanjiqi said excitedly, "Whether it's Gunplay or strategy, COL completely dominated this round!"

"Although it was a 2v3 Clutch, Karrigan only has one HP left. A 2v3 Clutch isn't easy to Retake, so they can only choose to Save Weapon."

"However, COL doesn't want to let them save. Nice has already issued the order to hunt them down. He knows his side has money for the next round; as long as they hunt them down and eliminate the opponents, Faze's economy will be in terrible shape when they reach Match Point!"

"They are approaching from three angles. Karrigan is holding an AWP at Three Boxes, but NIKO won't miss this shot; he peeked from the Long Corridor and pre-aimed Three Boxes!"

"He pushed forward quickly, checking the right side of the Church. He checked it but didn't win the duel, but fortunately, Ji Ge didn't disappoint and followed up with the shot. The score reached 12:4, and COL successfully reached Match Point!"

Having successfully taken the round, Xu Beifang extended his fist, looking to bump fists with NIKO.

Instead, he heard NIKO shout excitedly: "Time to clock out!"

Then, he skillfully took off his noise-canceling headset.

Xu Beifang was left stunned. He immediately shouted: "It's not over yet, brother! It's just Match Point, we haven't clocked out yet!"

NIKO looked at Elige still moving on the screen and finally realized it was only Match Point; there was still one round left before the match ended.

NIKO felt foolish. He hurriedly put his noise-canceling headset back on, tilted his head back, and laughed loudly: "I thought we had already won, haha."

Danking couldn't hold it in: "Kid, you're invincible."

Xu Beifang held his forehead with one hand, looking like he couldn't bear to watch.

"Have you transformed from a top-tier Gunner into a comedic entertainer now?" Xu Beifang couldn't help but tease.

NIKO scratched his head: "Life is about being happy, that's what matters. I just thought we won once we took that round, haha."

JKS and Elige still wanted to maintain their stoic Gunner personas, but when they glanced at the Coach, they couldn't help but crack.

Because the Coach was pointing his finger at NIKO, already grinning.

However, the price for NIKO popping the champagne early arrived. Even though Faze had no economy in the next round, their momentum was broken and their execution was sloppy. Ultimately, they were caught by Faze, who successfully clawed back a round.

This Reset boosted Faze's morale significantly, and they held their ground in the following rounds of defense.

Fortunately, the advantage COL had built was large enough. Finally, in a 2v3 Clutch on B Site, Xu Beifang and NIKO succeeded, finally helping the team secure the Match Point.

The score settled at 13:9.

In the first round of the Group Stage, COL defeated Faze and successfully secured their opening victory!