Chapter 504: 58 A Refreshing Green Match

"10:2, this first-half score is truly a bit exaggerated." Wanjiqi said in the live stream, quite surprised. "NIKO is really a bit crazy on Map 1 today; he's basically been chasing people down for kills all through the first half!"

"It makes one sigh, this is what firepower is! The combat effectiveness of both sides in head-on fights isn't even in the same league, not even the same weight class!"

With Team Astralis not being the opponent, Wanjiqi is the world's most loyal NIKO fan, so seeing NIKO's incredibly wild performance in the first half, he was nothing short of ecstatic.

"To be honest, VP actually thought of many ways to break through COL's defense, but COL's form today is just too outstanding. This steel-like B Site has left the opponents with absolutely no room to probe!"

"Many times their designs had zero issues, but COL is just able to use individual ability to shore up tactical deficiencies. The potential of this 'Old Kayak' lineup is being revealed to us bit by bit!"

【VP was directly clamped to death by the shrimp pincers!】

【The Ancient map today isn't just Xu Beifang carrying; NIKO is also putting in work!】

【COL's aiming ability today is just too overpowered.】

【Lol, Xu Beifang is lying down quite happily today.】

【Is the 'Old Kayak' lineup really this strong on Ancient? How come it feels like they can put up a fight against anyone on Ancient!】

The viewers in the live stream were in quite a good mood. They had originally thought the match would be dragged into a very slow tempo by VP, but thanks to the explosive form of the COL members, the overall viewing experience was actually quite comfortable.

Many of their fans had previously worried that if COL faced VP again, would they be captured by VP.

With the first half of Map 1 over, they realized they had simply been overthinking it. With COL in this state, they were practically on the verge of knocking VP unconscious.

Wanjiqi noticed the last comment and spoke up to explain his thoughts to the audience: "Why is COL so strong on Ancient? It's because this map is relatively simple for these veteran professional players."

"This map is extremely similar to Mirage in structure. With a foundation in Mirage, COL can learn it very quickly."

"Moreover, there are many mid-to-close-range duels on Ancient, which really tests a player's real-time reaction, fitting COL's current style perfectly."

"However, don't start popping the champagne just yet, everyone. After all, it's 10:2, not 12:2; the match isn't over yet."

The members of COL felt the same way. 10:2 is not a guaranteed winning score; they themselves had created a record of a massive comeback not long ago.

Ancient is a map that leans towards balance, but it is extremely reliant on rhythm and strategy.

If the pistol round isn't played well, it's inevitable that things could get complicated.

"Any interest in playing some fancy tricks?" NIKO asked in the voice chat.

Danking replied naturally: "You're the early-game commander, just give the orders."

NIKO laughed as well, explaining his idea: "Let's run a 'map-running' tactic."

"What's a 'map-running' tactic?" Elige asked, not understanding.

NIKO explained: "We buy five sets of small armor, and when the round starts, we head straight toward the Black Room, running with footsteps to scare their B Site players."

"If there's no reaction from B Site, we'll push out of the Black Room in one go. Otherwise, we'll rotate through the Jump Platform to Mid, then go through the Donut to A."

Xu Beifang took a breath: "This tactic is a bit straightforward."

The excellent form in the first half made NIKO incredibly confident right now. "With our current state, we don't need to consider tactics or anything; pure gunplay suppression is enough!"

There was nothing wrong with that statement. In this match, their gunplay was performing better than VP's, so they should definitely use their strengths to target the opponent's weaknesses.

"Then let's play it." Danking said, rubbing his hands together in anticipation.

"Stop watching the secondary stage, brothers." Wanjiqi noticed the change in time and said hurriedly, "Otherwise, if we miss it here, it might be over."

"Let's not miss the brilliant chess game of the pistol round again, okay? Let 6657 have the pistol round once more."

Wanjiqi switched the camera over and saw the sides swapping offense and defense. COL entered the offensive side, and the pistol round officially began.

"The Terrorists have directly equipped five sets of small armor and didn't even buy a single piece of utility. Is this a plan for a mysterious Asian dry-peek?"

"At the start, JKS is hanging back at T Spawn, while the others head straight from B Men to the Black Room. Now there's only one n0rb3r7 on B Site; what will he do?"

n0rb3r7 was responsible for solo-defending B this round, but he didn't stay at the back the whole time; instead, he stood at the entrance of the Black Room at the start to listen for movement.

After hearing tons of footsteps in the Black Room, he immediately threw a smoke grenade to seal off the Black Room and then retreated silently.

"Smart!" Wanjiqi couldn't help but praise n0rb3r7's move. "If COL intended to speed up B Site, n0rb3r7's action would directly cut off the Terrorists' synchronization."

"However, COL doesn't seem to have any intention of pushing B. They rotated to Mid in the second timing, just as FL1T in VIP heard the call for help and moved toward B."

"But VP is still steady; their entire formation hasn't moved much. COL is pushing Mid in a group like a train; in that case, it's a head-on 5v3 duel!"

Xu Beifang's playstyle is very versatile; he is very good at filling the gaps in the formation.

Now he is in the first position. With no utility support this round, it's naturally up to him to pull the crosshair line.

Arriving outside the Donut, he immediately performed a spin-jump to pull his aim.

Sure enough, someone was holding a direct angle inside the Donut, but the opponent didn't expect Xu Beifang to come out like this.

Danking shouted in the voice chat: "Tap the head! Tap the head!"

Xu Beifang immediately pursued forward, but the opponent's direct holding action made him feel something was off; it looked very much like a hook.

So, as Xu Beifang entered the Donut, he specifically took a look at the Dark side.

He peeked over, and sure enough, he saw a 'fly head' in his field of vision holding dual pistols, holding an angle on them.

Xu Beifang adjusted his muzzle and opened fire without hesitation.

"Da-da!"

"Pa!"

【Nice used Glock to headshot kill Fame】

"The hidden one is dead, now it's the head-on one, push straight up!" Xu Beifang issued the second wave of orders in the voice chat.

NIKO's eyes lit up when he saw Xu Beifang's action. This is why this guy's performance can be so outstanding; he has too many details!

This kind of detail is too critical. Once Xu Beifang, who is in the first position, doesn't clear that spot, the people behind will subconsciously ignore it.

By then, if Fame had an explosive performance, this pistol round would basically be gone.

And this mid-round order from Xu Beifang was truly too critical!

This mid-round order is very important because, in many cases, the team's early-game default is actually quite good, but once the firefight breaks out, mistakes occur due to the chaotic situation.

Xu Beifang now gives a train of thought, and everyone just needs to follow it to execute.

It looks simple, but it is exceptionally critical.

The moment Xu Beifang took down Fame, he quickly picked up the dual pistols at his feet and continued to lead the charge forward.

As he turned his head, he saw the hook member from the Donut turn right, hiding in a very awkward spot in a panic.

Xu Beifang pushed forward all the way, his crosshair held to the left, while his attention remained wary of any potential trade-kills.

He pushed to the connection between the Donut and A Site, just about to turn to deal with the low-health hook on the right, when he was suddenly hit by bullets from the Long Box in the distance.

Xu Beifang turned around directly, holding the dual pistols and tapping rhythmically at the Terrorist at the Long Box.

"VP's Donut defense has collapsed; now it's COL's charge mode!"

"Beifang comes up and takes one down first. The close-range one couldn't kill Electronic, and Jame provided support from the Long Box in the second timing, but the Long Box was also headshot. Two mid-range headshots from the dual pistols directly clicked Jame to death!"

"FL1T pulled out from CT Spawn wanting to trade, but was tapped by NIKO, and Beifang pulled over for another shot!"

"Electronic, hiding in the corner, finally couldn't escape death and was also taken down by Beifang!"

"n0rb3r7 actively rotated back from CT Spawn, but Beifang had already found him with the dual pistols. Without armor, he had no chance to operate. Beifang pushed all the way through in the pistol round, using his exaggerated headshot rate to get a five-kill ACE!"

"VP had absolutely no possibility of operating!"

【Beifang heavy truck incoming!】

【Smashed everything to pieces, holy crap】

【The others are accurate too, these shots are all heads】

【This pistol round, VP really vanished in an instant】

【The 4A heavy defense was pushed flat, I really didn't expect that】

The live stream was a sea of joy, and the COL voice chat was also filled with laughter.

"You got a five-kill like this?" NIKO was incredulous. "You picked up all the kills."

"I feel like I dealt a million damage, but didn't get a single kill." Danking's description was truly a bit exaggerated.

Xu Beifang spread his hands easily: "What do you mean stealing kills? I'm called trade-killing, understand?"

"Without me trade-killing for you guys, once Electronic Tyrant gets going, you'd all be killed."

JKS couldn't help but complain: "I'd rather believe he got lucky than believe he could kill us all from that position."

The Electronic just now was cornered by a group of them, and he only had one shot's worth of health left; he couldn't imagine any possibility for Electronic to operate.

The COL group was laughing, and the atmosphere was quite relaxed.

Compared to an intense playoff match, it felt more like a happy ladder match after training.

After taking the pistol round, the score reached 11:2.

There wasn't much time left for VP.

In this situation, VP chose to save and concede the match point.

After a default, COL caught the CTs pouring out of the Black Room and easily took this round.

After entering the match point, COL chose a very conventional B Site explosive bomb tactic, and then in the exchange of numbers, they methodically took the final point.

The score was fixed at 13:2.

The confrontation on Map 1 had ended!

"It was a close call to shut them out." Danking was having a great time today.

The feeling this match gave them was like opening a perfect ladder match.

And there were no pressure-monsters...

No weird stuff...

No frequent pauses...

Just a very pure green ladder match.

They ended the match easily and enjoyed the most essential joy of CS.

So all of COL seemed to be infected by the 'laughing virus', and they were all overjoyed.

Then the camera turned to VP's side.

This was another extreme.

The silent God, the red-faced Electronic, the anxious Fame, the uneasy FL1T, and the innocent n0rb3r7.

The God's mood actually wasn't very good either, but his mood was well concealed by his appearance.

He grew his hair and beard just for this; as a team captain, he didn't want his teammates to feel too much emotional fluctuation from him.

Electronic, on the other hand, was a bit beaten down.

Although his historical record was very good, in this VP team, he was a newcomer, and he was someone who longed to achieve results.

But in this team now, Jame had adjusted him to the trade-kill position, intending to raise him like a big brother.

But on the map Ancient, COL's gunplay was simply too solid.

Many times, his trade kills were dismantled by the COL players' marksmanship.

This left him feeling quite helpless.

Now that the Ancient map he had chosen himself had been played like this, he felt somewhat pessimistic about the upcoming Vertigo.

"VP was basically stunned on Map 1, Ancient. By the later rounds, it was essentially a case of having no aim when they needed to aim, and no orders when they needed orders," Wanjiqi couldn't help but comment. "It feels like after Electronic joined, VP's adjustments have become a bit strange; they don't look like the VP from before."

"Now that they've been blown out by COL on Map 1, they can only hope they can adjust during the halftime break. Otherwise, if they enter Map 2 with this level of performance, they'll die just as miserably."

Jame, of course, knew this. After Map 1 ended, he waited two minutes to let his teammates release their emotions. Once they had all quieted down, he took the initiative to speak:

"We put in a very poor performance on Map 1, but that was just the answer we handed in for Ancient."

"If we continue to wallow in these feelings of loss, victory is absolutely impossible."

Fame pursed his lips, and looking at Jame's calm face, he slowly calmed down as well.

If Jame, the team's leader, wasn't panicking, then what the hell did they have to panic about?

"Map 2 starts fresh. We have ten minutes to adjust our emotions."

"On the map Vertigo, COL actually has quite a few problems with their defense. They lack defensive experience; NIKO and Danking made a lot of mistakes last time, and you all know about that Yellow Wall of NIKO's..."

Electronic couldn't help but chuckle. He thought back to the scene of NIKO falling to his death on the 50th floor; he had been there on the live stream.

NIKO's performance on the map Vertigo was indeed abstract.

Last time at IEM Chengdu, VP also lost Map 1 to COL, only to fight back on the following two maps.

After slowly clearing their thoughts, the members of VP felt much better.

Then, the match quickly entered Map 2.

It was COL's map pick; they were on the Terrorist side, while VP was playing defense.

For the pistol round, COL chose the simplest A Long push, but this wave happened to run straight into VP, who were heavily defending A.

Both sides engaged in a fierce battle at the A Slope position. Electronic managed to get three kills in a row thanks to a rapid positioning flick, but he was quickly traded by JKS.

However, a 1-for-3 trade in that area was already quite good.

Even though JKS forced his way through the line of fire to trade another one later, he subconsciously felt it was no big deal.

After all, NIKO, who had been in excellent form, was already dead—and he was the first one he had taken out.

Just then, as if struck by a sudden inspiration, Electronic propped himself up from his chair and glanced at the COL player bench.

With that one look, he saw the nervous, clenched fists of the COL members, and—

Nice, with a yellow radiance blooming on his face.

At this moment, Electronic had only one thought in his mind.

We're screwed!

(End of chapter)