CS: I’m Only 16, and You Want Me to Stage an Old Veteran Comeback?

Pre-Asia RMR Match

Inside the VG Training Room

Ah Zhong, known for his "gear-shifting veteran" nickname, watched their team captain being interviewed with great interest.

Due to Steel Helmets' recent dominant victory over Tyloo in the Asia RMR, the tournament had gained unprecedented attention in the past two days. Seizing the opportunity, the 5E platform decided to spice things up by setting up a trash talk segment.

Today, they were here to interview VG's captain, Advent—though within the scene, most people still called him by his old ID: 259.

After a brief greeting, the 5E reporter got straight to the point:

"Ninth Master, how are you feeling about facing Steel Helmets in today’s finals?"

259 didn’t answer directly. Instead, he looked genuinely confused and asked,

"Wait a minute, weren’t we supposed to play against Tyloo? How did it become Steel Helmets?"

—【Tyloo is down bad. They’ve been roasted non-stop for two days, and today they’re still getting dragged through the mud.】

—【@Sima Yi: Don’t drag Cao Shuang into this. @Wan Ji Qi: Don’t bring NIKO into this. @259: Don’t bring Tyloo into this!】

—【259 is a real instigator, haha.】

After throwing shade at Tyloo, 259 continued,

"Facing Steel Helmets? Yeah, the pressure is definitely on."

The 5E reporter was a bit surprised,

"Why’s that?"

259 sighed dramatically,

"Once we found out Tyloo lost to Steel Helmets, we pulled an all-nighter to prepare for them. But you guys don’t get it—Steel Helmets are like some hidden sect in a fantasy novel. I can’t even find their DEMOs!"

It took everything for 259 to hold back his laughter. Not far away, Ah Zhong couldn’t hold it in anymore and burst out laughing.

"No match footage? Man, he’s really making it sound mystical."

259 kept going,

"Honestly, today’s match is mostly about checking out Ma Xixi’s cousin’s skills. That kid’s talent is insane."

"Winning doesn’t matter as much. As long as we don’t get disbanded, it’s fine."

"Because Steel Helmets have a ‘disband’ feature. When you play against them, not only do they beat you, but they might also get you kicked from your team. So yeah, the pressure is real."

The livestream chat erupted with laughter.

People had always thought of 259 as a serious in-game leader, but today, he was cracking jokes left and right.

With Tyloo eliminated, 259 didn’t hold back, roasting them like never before.

And with recent rumors that Tyloo might be restructuring, the audience truly "Hard to Hold Back."

Post-Interview Banter

After finishing the interview, Ah Zhong was still laughing,

"Damn, I never knew you could talk so much."

259 rolled his eyes,

"Spend every day with you and see if you still have anything to say."

Ah Zhong wasn’t bothered. He threw an arm around 259’s shoulder,

"Man, it’s just your personality."

259 had always been known for his calm demeanor. Today’s interview was just him having some fun.

Seeing 259’s puzzled look, Ah Zhong explained,

"Remember back when we ran into Ma Xixi’s cousin on Perfect World?"

"I told you to reach out to him back then."

Ah Zhong smirked,

"If you’d been just a little nicer to him, maybe he’d be playing for VG’s junior squad now, and we wouldn’t have so much pressure today."

259 shot back,

"He was just a one-trick player back then. Who could’ve guessed he’d improve this fast?"

Unlike during the interview, the pressure today was very real.

After all, Steel Helmets absolutely wrecked Tyloo.

And with "Cousin" fragging like a smurf, how could they not feel the heat?

If they had recruited him back then, things might’ve played out differently.

259 thought for a moment,

"Even if we had signed him, we’d still be feeling the pressure."

"If Steel Helmets hadn’t destroyed Tyloo, we wouldn’t have had such an easy win yesterday."

VG and Tyloo were the two top-tier teams in China, frequently clashing throughout the year.

But all year long, VG had been slightly overshadowed by Tyloo.

Yet yesterday, Tyloo was completely out of it—playing as if they wanted to prove themselves, but achieving nothing in the end.

If not for Steel Helmets, VG might’ve been facing a fully prepared Tyloo in the finals, and that would have been just as stressful.

Ah Zhong suddenly suggested,

"After this Major, wanna reach out to Ma Xixi? Get that kid on board?"

"I can make room, and so can Kaze."

They were Old Veterans at this point, already considering moving behind the scenes.

But China just wasn’t producing enough fresh talent.

259 shook his head,

"Let’s focus on today’s match first."

He sighed,

"Even if we want him now, it depends on whether he even wants to join us."

Asia RMR Grand Finals Begin

The finals would be played in a BO5 format (best of five, first to three wins).

However, since VG came from the Winners' Bracket, they automatically got a one-map advantage.

This meant that after the map veto (BP phase), Steel Helmets would start with a 1-0 lead.

They only needed to win two out of the next four maps to take the series.

This was a massive disadvantage for VG.

"Starting the finals already a map down? This is rough."

The map veto began.

— Steel Helmets banned Vertigo (their weakest map).

— VG banned Dust2 (a map they never played).

Next, both teams picked their maps.

Final Map Pool:

• Map 1: Theme Park (auto-win for Steel Helmets)
• Map 2: Inferno
• Map 3: Mirage
• Map 4: Nuke
• Map 5: Ancient

Match Begins

With the BP phase complete, VG jumped straight into Map 2.

Since Steel Helmets automatically won Map 1, VG was already trailing 0-1.

The pressure was on.

During the match, 259 quickly realized that his fears were justified.

Steel Helmets almost ran them over on Inferno.

VG barely scraped by with a 16-13 win.

At least they had evened the score at 1-1, giving them a fighting chance.

But as they moved to Map 3: Mirage, everything fell apart.

VG got completely dismantled.

Young Shines on Mirage, but Goes Nuclear on Nuke

Young had already delivered an impressive performance on Inferno, but on Mirage, he was on another level.

As the defending side in the first half, VG only managed to secure three rounds.

Then, after botching the pistol round on T-side, they got completely steamrolled by Steel Helmets, who pushed straight to match point. VG struggled for a few more rounds, but ultimately, the score settled at 16-6.

Just like that, the pressure skyrocketed for VG.

With Steel Helmets leading 2-1 in the series, they only needed one more map to secure a 3-1 victory and take the championship.

259 wiped the imaginary sweat off his forehead—he was already drenched.

Inside Steel Helmets' Voice Comms

Everyone was hyped, shouting in unison.

"Great job, boys!" MO rallied the team. "We only need to win one more map. The pressure’s all on VG now."

"And you saw how they played on Mirage," he continued. "They weren’t as strong as we thought. We’ve got this!"

DD, ever the "Nice!" hype man, echoed,

"Exactly! Don’t stress—just keep playing through Cousin. We can win this!"

Of course, he didn’t dare mention sticker sales or anything cocky—no need to tempt fate at such a crucial moment.

With that, the break was over.

VG vs. Steel Helmets – Map 4: Nuke

VG (T-side): ZhongKing, aumaN, advent, Kaze, jamyoung

Steel Helmets (CT-side): Young, DD, MO, xiaosage, karsa

As the teams loaded in, MO chuckled,

"The good news is, I don’t have to micro-manage this map."

Nuke required strong individual decision-making, especially on CT-side.

If the communication wasn’t on point, site control could slip away easily.

For now, MO could ease off on shot-calling and focus on plugging gaps in the defense.

Pistol Round

MO turned to Jiang Yang:

"You want to run dualies?"

Nuke was actually a decent map for dual Berettas.

Jiang Yang thought for a second,

"Yeah, let’s do it."

MO tossed him the dualies and bought a defuse kit for himself.

"Let’s focus on Iron Plate this round. Take a gamble."

Jiang Yang nodded.

"I’ll hold below the double rafters then."

Su Di chimed in,

"I’ll play hook near Red Box."

Meanwhile, DD and Brother Xiaosa took positions on A-site.

Their setup meant they were giving up outside control completely.

As the countdown ended, Jiang Yang quick-switched his knife and rushed to his position under Iron Plate, dualies in hand.

"They’re coming Iron Plate! They’re throwing molly!"

Jiang Yang’s call was quick. A second later, a Molotov flew out of B-Tunnels, landing right on Su Di’s position.

Burning alive, Su Di opted to die standing like a Viking, accepting his fate.

"Su Di gets forced out by the molly! VG starts the round strong with a quick entry!"

"But wait—MO from catwalk instantly gets deleted by Ah Zhong! The ‘gear-shifting veteran’ is on fire today!"

"This means Iron Plate's heavy defense is now just down to Cousin!" Ma Xixi exclaimed.

"There’s nothing he can do—MO and Su Di both got taken out instantly!"

Jiang Yang instantly recognized the danger. With two teammates dead, he had to hold the site alone.

But he wasn’t panicking.

The dualies in his hands gave him confidence.

He waited, motionless, until VG exposed themselves.

With two kills in the bag, VG got overconfident and rushed Iron Plate.

Jiang Yang initially let the first player slip by.

But then, the second guy suddenly turned and spotted him.

He had no choice but to open fire!

To avoid getting crossfired, he danced around cover, counter-strafing like a madman.

"Brrrrrrrrrrr!!"

【Young killed advent with Dual Berettas】

【Young headshot zhongKing with Dual Berettas】

【Young headshot Kaze with Dual Berettas】

"VG thought they had control of Iron Plate, but in reality, Cousin had them surrounded!"

"His dualies are popping off—one! Two! Three!!!"

"He’s still going! But wait—now it’s two Youngs both whiffing shots at each other! They’re literally drawing outlines on each other’s bodies!"

"Cousin says ‘screw this’ and pulls out the knife!"

"Jamyoung backs up—AND HITS A WALL!"

"HE GETS KNIFED!!! That’s a $1500 bonus! He can afford an AWP next round!!"

The broadcast cut to Jiang Yang’s player cam.

A big, beaming smile spread across his face.

A quad-kill plus a knife bonus? That was too much fun.

Meanwhile, Brother Xiaosa finished off aumaN outside, securing the pistol round.

Score: 1-0, Steel Helmets.

They celebrated in comms.

Meanwhile, 259 let out a barely concealed sigh.

"The hell are we supposed to do when they pull out SMGs on pistol rounds?"