Chapter 52

"Congratulations to VP for taking the first map of this BO3 with a score of 16:5, drawing first blood!!"

As the members of VP took off their headsets, the sound of Ma Xixi's commentary and the cheers of the audience flooded into their ears like the tide.

Returning to reality from the intense match in an instant, they even felt a sense of unreality.

"Well played, young man!" VP's team leader and coach, Kuben, patted Xu Beifang on the shoulder and said happily.

The others also looked at Xu Beifang with satisfaction.

Although they weren't as full of doubt about Xu Beifang as outsiders were, having the cautionary tale of Morelz in mind, it was inevitable that there would be some anxiety in their hearts.

After all, when they recruited Morelz, he didn't start off performing poorly either. When Morelz first joined, he also played quite a few eye-catching matches, but no one expected that it would just be a flash in the pan.

So today, facing HR, they were worried that Nice's performance was just a burst of form from yesterday.

But the Mirage match that just ended let them know that this was Nice's normal state, not a fluke.

"As expected, Nice, once you're able to perform, the firepower of the entire A Site changes." Pasha stood up and looked at Neo, expressing his emotion.

Ever since Snax left, VP's firepower had been very awkward.

Within the team, only Pasha, Byali, and Michu were in good form.

Neo had been defeated by time, his form was in serious decline, and Morelz, as a newcomer, was performing far too poorly.

As VP's primary sniper, Pasha had to be responsible for the Mid area on the defensive side.

The remaining two usable firepower points could only be distributed evenly, which led to both sides being very strained; when playing against weaker teams, they could just barely manage.

But when bumping into some well-known teams, the defense was full of holes everywhere.

And Xu Beifang's addition caused a huge change in VP's defensive formation.

His addition gave VP four firepower points, with only Neo slightly lagging behind, which was completely acceptable!

Furthermore, Xu Beifang's sufficiently flexible playstyle could even liberate Byali's defense in most situations, allowing him to support Mid.

In today's match, although Xu Beifang's stats weren't the highest, Pasha, as the commander, deeply felt the powerful effect that Nice's stable performance on A Site brought them.

Neo was also very happy.

Although he wasn't particularly accustomed to the defensive rhythm of B Site after switching to defend there.

By comparison, not having to face the opponent's gun line directly meant he could play a role in this team without becoming the team's breakthrough point; that was just great.

As a legendary 1.6 player, he had been competing on the professional stage for many years.

The decline in his level was inevitable, but Neo still didn't want to lose the match because of himself.

Already 30 years old, he had gradually shifted from his original position as a gunner to a support role.

But he still loved this game and hoped to walk the final stretch of his professional career in this team.

Fortunately, the addition of fresh blood seemed to bring new vitality to their aging Polish Giant Bear, and he was suddenly looking forward to this last dance for himself and Pasha.

Neo looked at the brightly smiling Xu Beifang, his eyes full of his younger self.

VP coach Kuben was very happy; as a behind-the-scenes coach, he was mostly responsible for training matters and didn't have very sharp ideas during matches.

This also led to Pasha and the others having a lot of say, which made him feel somewhat marginalized.

But Kuben didn't care about that; after all, if you really let him do the kind of work Zonic did, he couldn't do it either.

Initially, when he learned that Pasha was going to introduce a Chinese newcomer, Kuben had strong opinions, but helpless due to the serious decline in results, they could only take a desperate gamble.

He didn't expect the newcomer's addition to bring good chemistry to VP.

Now, VP's overall strength was at least one level higher than before.

Nice's good performance, more or less, liberated Pasha and Byali, allowing them to exert their best efforts in other positions.

Not to mention the powerful tension Nice brought on the offensive side; as long as someone could follow up with trade kills, he could, in most cases, force a way out for them.

And his mindset was so good; whether in training or matches, he hadn't seen Nice lose his temper even once.

At a few moments, Kuben really doubted whether Nice was actually a newcomer; this guy was too calm.

In matches at the current level, he played just like a robot.

Kuben patted Xu Beifang on the shoulder and said in the battle room:

"First, I want to praise everyone; we played very well on Map 1, basically without making any major mistakes. HR didn't even manage to rush into our bomb site for many rounds; everyone did a great job on this!"

"Secondly, I want to praise Nice; that defense under A2 today was like a War God." The coach paused after saying this and looked at Neo, "It seems you really did take over the War God's position!"

"Keep up this performance; everyone is in great form today. Maintain this momentum and strive to take down HR 2-0 later."

"Map 2 is our own map pick; don't let HR look down on the former Train King!"

Hearing this, the VP members immediately revealed confident smiles.

Although compared to those top-tier teams, their titles of Train King and Forklift King were a bit embarrassing to mention.

But against a team like HR, they still had confidence.

Losing to HR on Train yesterday was also because they were dragged down by Morelz.

"Nice, you have some issues here," the VP coach continued.

Xu Beifang immediately restrained his smile and answered seriously:

"Please speak."

"I noticed you played very well under A2, and the opponent didn't gain much benefit from targeting you several times, but this is not sustainable."

"Teams like HR don't have many tricks, and you being able to survive frequently under A2 this round had more or less some luck involved. If you encountered a team like Astralis, they would just throw two HE grenades or a flashbang to clear you out, and you wouldn't even have room to fight back."

"I suggest you can be more flexible in your standard positioning; don't be confined to one specific place. For example, this round you are under A2, next round you stand at Short Box, and the round after that you run to CT Spawn."

Kuben looked at the young man in front of him and expressed his thoughts, "And your individual ability is very strong, so you can also push up from time to time to find trouble for the opponent and disrupt their rhythm. In general, your playstyle can be more flexible..."

【Ding!】

【Suggestion received: be more flexible in your defensive playstyle. Difficulty: 4 stars. Upon completion, you can obtain a C-level Treasure Chest...】

Xu Beifang's eyes lit up; he didn't expect the coach to give him a suggestion at this time.

And after thinking about it carefully, he found that it was indeed the case.

People always hate change, and his state at this moment was a bit like G2's mindset.

Since this tactic can win, we will just keep using this tactic until the end.

Standing under A2, Xu Beifang thought that since he could win standing under A2, he would continue to stand here, rather than choosing to stand in other areas.

His thinking had already actively stagnated in the previous match.

"Thank you, Coach!" Xu Beifang nodded at Kuben, indicating that he would make changes in the future.

This sudden suggestion mission was only a 4-star mission; the difficulty was neither big nor small.

But it made Xu Beifang realize a flaw in his mindset, and that was the most important thing!

He sincerely thanked the coach for waking him up.

Kuben smiled upon hearing Xu Beifang's response: "Then prepare well for the upcoming Map 2, let's get a 2-0 and advance directly!!"

Xu Beifang nodded and sat back in his seat.

Ma Xixi was analyzing the Map 1 match in the arena, and Xu Beifang's several highlight moments drew endless cheers from the audience.

Sitting in the battle room, Xu Beifang looked at the cheering crowd and clearly understood—

This is the path he wants to take!

Insomnia yesterday, a bit out of form today, tough...

(End of chapter)