Chapter 520: 74 The Battle for the World's No. 1 Town

"Zywoo is truly ruthless." Danking took a sip of water. "There were so many rounds where I couldn't understand why he was holding that angle."

Back in the lounge after Map 1 concluded, Tie Dan couldn't help but start complaining.

Elige comforted Danking: "Playing against Zywoo is just like that. That guy is like a wallhack; he knows exactly what you're doing."

"Sometimes you feel like you've caught a brilliant timing, but when you peek out, he's already holding you. That feeling is so annoying."

Playing against some top-tier star players can sometimes feel that helpless.

"But fortunately, we took it. Vitality lost their own map pick, so Dou Dou is probably 'red-heating' now."

Xu Beifang sat on the sofa, breaking off a banana from the bunch to munch on. "It's also good that everyone held firm in the final stage and took it in one go. Otherwise, if the others woke up, it would have been really hard to play."

COL is currently one of the teams with the strongest firepower.

But Vitality's firepower isn't bad either.

As a member of the 'beast' style, this team also relies on firepower to sustain their combat.

It's just that because their commander apEX likes to take risks, their performance isn't very stable.

Don't look at the fact that they just won with a 13:9 score; if Vitality had seized the opportunity to take back one or two rounds, the result of the confrontation might have been different, and the match could very well have gone into overtime.

By then, if FlameZ and Spinx had found their rhythm, the subsequent games would have been even harder to play.

The reason their offensive in the second half went so smoothly was mainly because FlameZ and Spinx's rhythm was so poor, and Xu Beifang specifically targeted them.

By the end, A Site was extremely easy for them to break through. Zywoo really wanted to perform, but he was restricted by utility and found it hard to operate.

Having to play retakes every round is difficult, even for a player of Zywoo's caliber.

Now that FlameZ and Spinx haven't found their rhythm on this map, they will need to find it again later.

But the next map is Inferno, which is Xu Beifang's home turf.

When the time comes, it won't be so easy for those two guys to find their rhythm.

……

Inside the Vitality lounge.

"We can't be anxious." XTQZZZ held the tactical sheet and said urgently, "You can't be impatient against Beifang. The more impatient you are, the more Beifang will catch your mistakes."

As Xu Beifang's former coach, he understood Xu Beifang's mid-round decision-making reactions all too well.

apEX wanted to use all sorts of whimsical ideas to outplay Beifang, but Xu Beifang was a 'Master of Ideas' himself.

Moreover, several people on the opposing team had been 'Lao Wang' in their younger days, so they were vigilant against this kind of playstyle.

They weren't like young kids who would get overwhelmed by a single unconventional play.

"But I have to play what we are good at." apEX retorted, "I can't just switch to playing that CIS-style heavy default just because of Beifang."

"Zywoo, we need you to step up. Their sniper is clearly not as good as you, to the point where Beifang even has to take up the sniper rifle. So, you need to use the sniper to restrict Beifang." He quickly thought of a strategy. "Beifang's sniping is powerful, but he isn't a full-time sniper after all. When he plays the sniper, his movement isn't that formidable."

Having played together as teammates for so long, they ultimately understood each other's playstyle characteristics.

Beifang's sniper rifle actually leans towards holding angles and providing support; it's mostly used to make an impact in clutch situations.

But his rifle is different; the suppression is just too strong.

If Xu Beifang really gets his rifle going, Banana Road becomes unplayable.

Zywoo pursed his lips and nodded to show he understood.

"The next map is our strong map; we must execute what we've prepared." apEX clenched his fist and shouted, "As long as we play to our level, we don't need to worry about winning or losing. Because when it gets to that point, it won't be because we're too bad, but because our opponents are just too damn strong!"

"So don't have any reservations, just go all out and perform!"

"Let's go, let's go!!"

A synchronized shout rang out inside the Vitality lounge.

……

"COL took Vitality's map pick, so now, will Vitality also take COL's map pick?" Looking at the questions in the bullet comments, Wanjiqi replied: "It's possible, after all, Map 2 is Inferno."

"On Inferno, COL is very proficient; they have the 'World No. 1' brothers here. On Vitality's side, they actually have the 'Flying Second Floor' combo. Both sides have their own say on this map."

"However, both sides also have a deep understanding of each other, so COL will definitely be wary of A2, and Vitality will also find ways to restrict Beifang on Banana Road. It just depends on how both sides handle it."

As he spoke, the cheers of the audience in the background erupted, and the match footage appeared.

"OK, Map 2 is Inferno. This is COL's map pick, Vitality's side selection."

"Beifang starts by jumping onto Banana Road as usual, a standard default opening. Zywoo is also doing the classic VIP peek for information on the side path. Neither side made any special moves in the early stage."

"Wait, though, Vitality pulled some cheeky moves, gambling on a 4A setup in the second timing, letting Zywoo go out to lurk on the side path."

"But in that second timing, JKS arrived at the left side of Mid to watch VIP, so this position is quite subtle, because Zywoo, who was pushing up the side path, and JKS completely missed each other!"

"B Site bombing begins. Both JKS and Zywoo feel they've caught a brilliant timing and are both creeping forward."

"Both think they've caught a brilliant timing, but Zywoo got the information first and had his teammates rotate back!"

"B Site defense is fully reinforced. These 3 people are standing on the bomb site, and there's another one on the way back. Can COL really get in this time?"

Wanjiqi asked.

On Banana Road, the COL squad was ready. Xu Beifang felt the time was right and signaled his teammates to start the grenade barrage.

CT Spawn smoke and Coffin smoke were thrown, followed by an Incendiary on the 1-2 Box, combined with a basic flashbang to speed up the push. The group moved out.

But just as they made their move, a HE Grenade flew out from the Coffin direction, slowing them down immediately.

"One at Coffin!" Xu Beifang called out quickly, then pushed forward with NIKO.

NIKO was the first to rush in from B Tunnel to get information. His eyes went straight to the Dead Point, and there happened to be someone there. He immediately called it out and started dueling.

NIKO and the CT at Dead Point were having a heated duel, and Xu Beifang rushed over to trade the kill.

"Crack!"

【Nice used Glock to headshot kill mezii】

"What is mezii doing!" Wanjiqi couldn't bear to watch.

He wasn't exactly a Vitality fan, but he was still speechless.

Vitality originally had a 3B formation; even if Coffin and CT Spawn were smoked off, there were still two people on the bomb site.

With such good crossfire positions at Three Boxes and Dead Point, once Dead Point got the information, he should have just hidden.

Whether it was playing for the crossfire or waiting for apEX's flashbang, those were both good ways to handle it.

But mezii insisted on peeking to duel. Now that he was dead, FlameZ at Three Boxes was instantly in a tough spot.

FlameZ behind Three Boxes carefully collected the sound of footsteps. Hearing that the opponent had reached the vicinity of Coffin, he carefully peeked out with his dualies.

On his first peek, he saw a Terrorist running in his direction.

FlameZ quickly pulled back, then peeked wider, thinking he could get a pick.

But after his wide peek, he discovered someone was already crouching under Coffin holding him.

"Crack!"

【Nice used Glock to headshot kill FlameZ】

"FlameZ peeked and was spotted. He wanted to make a play, but after peeking out, he was held and killed by Beifang instantly!"

"But apEX seized the opportunity to sneak out from the CT Spawn smoke. No one was holding that position, and Danking, who was carrying the bomb, was picked off. Beifang turned around and fired a shot!"

After Xu Beifang took down apEX, he immediately reminded: "Help me hold the smoke, I'm going to plant."

However, he didn't expect that just as he finished speaking, gunfire erupted from the Banana Road direction.

【ZywOo used USP to headshot kill Nice】

But Ji Ge's reaction was fast. Although he didn't expect someone to come from Banana Road at this time, he immediately peeked out and traded Zywoo.

The speed of the exchange between the two sides was so fast that even the experienced director couldn't keep up with the cuts.

"So this B Site defense by Vitality was crushed by COL's gunplay!" Wanjiqi shouted. "Although Zywoo and apEX successfully got kills, mezii's 'brain-dead' play caused their entire setup to collapse."

"They could only hope for spinX to make a play, but Vitality definitely wouldn't have expected that JKS had also snuck into CT Spawn and taken spinX out with one shot."

Wanjiqi summarized: "No doubt about it, both sides had people flanking, and Zywoo had gotten the information in advance, but they really lost it on mezii's play. If he had hidden at the first moment, it would have been hard for the attackers."

"Can only say mezii was a bit tilted, and COL handled it well."

【This mezii is too amateur】

【Can only say this is the consequence of Vitality's boss wanting to save money】

【3B heavy defense, and spinX was even rotating back early, I really didn't expect them to lose this】

【High-level players don't win the first round, let's see them fight back later】

【Beifang's reaction is too fast, apEX just snuck out to kill one, and he was instantly traded back】

The viewers in the live stream were also very speechless about mezii's performance.

In matches of this level, every player's performance is magnified; it's normal to be criticized if you don't play well.

After successfully taking the pistol round, COL didn't relax, but cautiously considered how to play the second round.

Because according to Vitality's personality, it was highly likely they would force buy.

After thinking it over, Xu Beifang proposed a bold idea—flying to the second floor directly.

On this map, even in a force-buy round, the possibility of gambling on A is extremely small.

So Xu Beifang planned to do something unconventional to avoid being caught by Vitality's potential Five-Seven during the mid-round contact.

"Opening utility exchange on Banana Road, forcing Vitality back to the deep positions. Next, the CTs only have smoke to stall for time on B. They didn't do a double boost at CT Spawn, but instead planned to leave FlameZ on B, while apEX returned to A."

"But apEX definitely wouldn't expect that at this moment, the main COL force had already gathered at A2. Danking threw an Incendiary at the left recess in Mid, forcing spinX back, then two flashbangs were thrown at A2, and they flew up!"

"mezii on A2 forced a kill on one, but was quickly traded. Zywoo at A1 reacted and turned to fire a shot, but didn't hit the head, and the SSG 08 was taken out!"

"A Site collapsed instantly, Vitality had no way to play!"

Wanjiqi summarized: "That was very comfortable. They took A Site at the cost of only one person. Now they just need to hold the bomb."

They only traded one person in the front, and the remaining three had no chance to make a move. apEX saw this situation and was very helpless: "Save the guns."

He originally thought Xu Beifang would start from Banana Road, or at least push slowly through Mid. He didn't expect them to fly from A2 so early.

"And he said I'm the one who likes flying to the second floor... now I see you like it quite a bit yourself." apEX complained to himself.

In the past, every time he played the 'flying second floor' tactic, he would always see Beifang show a speechless expression. Now it seems Beifang is purely a tsundere.

On the COL side, they took this round methodically, and everyone bumped fists to encourage each other.

Entering the third round, this time they weren't as wild. Instead, under NIKO's setup, they wanted to play a slow default strategy.

However, at the start of the round near A2, the girl, coordinating with apEX's flashbang, forcibly pushed and took down JKS, who was controlling the side path.

Then on Banana Road, Zywoo relied on a Desert Eagle without armor and a flashbang to counter-peek, killing Xu Beifang and Elige with two shots.

In an instant, only NIKO and Danking were left facing a 2V5 clutch.

The two of them chose a synchronized coordination between A1 and A2 in the second timing. Danking performed well this time, taking a 'MAC-10' and blowing away three people.

NIKO was very unlucky and was one-tapped by Zywoo, who had rotated back.

Danking picked up the bomb at A2 and forcibly planted it on A Site.

But with only one HP left, he couldn't win the clutch.

Vitality still managed to complete the comeback before the full-buy round, not letting them fully capitalize on the early lead.

"There was no way to win this round. Danking played quite well; it was mainly because Zywoo's shots were too insane. The first shot was even a blind-shot kill on Beifang, then Ji Ge was held and killed while trading. The A2 situation was also hilarious; Zywoo and Danking had a duel, Danking didn't have much HP left and didn't dare to peek, while NIKO peeked out from A2 and was instead one-tapped."

"Can only say, as expected of Zywoo."

As the CTs defused the bomb, the score reached 2:1.

Zywoo once again used his performance to tell them who the true star player of Vitality really was.

"A pity, a pity." Xu Beifang comforted Danking, "You played well enough."

Danking got three kills this round, which was already very good.

But the current COL doesn't need Danking to perform. If Tie Dan has to perform to save the team, then today's match probably won't go very far.

"Zywoo's rhythm is still ruthless."

Zywoo isn't like NIKO, who is famous for specializing in the Desert Eagle.

This guy is proficient with all types of weapons, and he can pull off amazing highlights with any of them.

¤C〇

"But we still have the economy, let's play the full-buy round well."

Xu Beifang said as he began to arrange the setup for the full-buy round.

……