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

October 25, 2021 – Stockholm

The weather was clear.

Auspicious for: Sacrifices, sealing holes, and… matches.

Due to certain circumstances, the CS:GO world had been stuck in an era of online tournaments for quite some time.

This shift had drained the motivation of many pro players while also leaving fans eager for the return of LAN events.

And now, the Stockholm Major was finally here—a symbol of offline competition making its comeback.

With Steel Helmet qualifying for the Major and the youngest Major player in history making headlines, both domestic and international forums were buzzing with anticipation.

【The Old Veterans of Steel Helmet—cheering for you from abroad! Hoping for a good run at the Major!】

【Winning just one match is already a victory, okay?】

【If they actually go 3-0, I'll be thrilled. If they get eliminated, well, at least there’s some emotional relief.】

【I actually think they have a shot. That cousin of his is ridiculous. He's been wrecking everyone in FPL lately.】

【I saw XANTARES complaining on stream the other day: “Some kid joined FPL and has been sniping people across the map.”】

【But at the end of the day, this is still a team game.】

【It’s just a shame that the Major stickers this time only come from the Legends Stage. That’s way too hard.】

【What the hell is Valve doing? Changing the rules every time. Otherwise, the Steel Helmet veterans could have had another set of stickers. I'm numb.】

Opinions on Steel Helmet were mixed, but most domestic players still hoped for their success.

At the same time, they also knew that the team’s performance largely depended on Jiang Yang, and the pressure on him was enormous.

Meanwhile, far away in Stockholm, Jiang Yang was still grinding in FPL.

He actually preferred to scrim, but with the Major so close, no one was scheduling practice matches.

So, he had no choice but to shift his focus entirely to FPL.

FPL—short for FACEIT Pro League—was a special server on Faceit, accessible only to professional players.

It was somewhat like the Chinese League’s Super Server, but far more competitive and intense.

The entry barrier for FPL was strict—only those at a pro level could get in.

Since arriving in Stockholm, the tournament organizers had directly verified accounts for the players, allowing them access to FPL.

To put it simply:

Among Steel Helmet’s members, only DD could somewhat handle the pressure in FPL.

The rest were merely background characters in this pro-level bloodbath.

Ironically, Jiang Yang was the one who adapted the fastest—he had already reached a level where he could trade frags with the top "drill sergeants" of FPL.

Even the elite FPL players had taken notice and were speaking highly of him.

Over the past few days, Jiang Yang had finally started to feel real pressure again, steadily improving his skills.

Today’s matches weren’t too tough. His opponents were just FlameZ and Jackz—he took them down with ease.

Not far away, MO, acting like a team mom, shouted:

“Cousin, keep an eye on the time! We’re heading to the venue in an hour, so don’t queue up again!”

“Got it, just finished,” Jiang Yang replied as he accepted FlameZ and Jackz’s friend requests before closing his PC.

Then, he leaned back in his gaming chair and closed his eyes. The Steel Helmet members were already used to this.

According to Jiang Yang, this was his "meditative training method."

They had no idea what that meant.

As long as Jiang Yang could carry, it was all good.

In reality, he was just checking his system’s status updates.

After battling top players in FPL non-stop, he had been improving at a rapid pace.

Two of his signature techniques had even ranked up.

1. "NiKo's Pre-Aiming" Upgraded to Advanced

[The True Essence of Pre-Aiming (Advanced)]

Effect: When peeking after pre-aiming, significantly increases first-shot accuracy and massively boosts close-range fights against snipers.

Now that it had reached advanced, the entire concept had changed.

Originally, it was just a pre-aiming technique that improved first-shot accuracy.

Now, it also granted a huge buff in fights against snipers.

As an AWP player himself, Jiang Yang knew exactly how hard it was to counter a sniper at close range.

The fact that this ability gave a major boost in those situations was just downright broken.

2. "Twistzz’s Burst-Fire Technique" Upgraded to Intermediate

[Twistzz’s Burst-Fire Technique (Intermediate)]

Effect: Slightly increases headshot rate for short bursts.

This one wasn’t as flashy, but in critical moments, it was extremely useful.

The triple-burst tap was a high-risk, high-reward playstyle.

If your headshot rate wasn’t high enough, you could end up just softening up enemies instead of finishing them off.

In CS:GO, failing to secure an instant kill could cost you the round.

A team with five 20 HP enemies was still a deadly threat, whereas a single full-health opponent was much easier to handle.

After reviewing his progress, Jiang Yang pulled out a pack of "Sleepy Black Tea" and brewed it in his thermos—just in case.

In just two hours, his first-ever Major match would begin.

Naturally, he was feeling a little nervous.

He went over his preparations in his head.

Everything should be set…

“Oh, wait.”

His eyes landed on a Little Pony plushie he had bought last night.

“I still need to print a photo.”

Before the Major, their biggest concern had been visa issues.

Since Jiang Yang was still young, getting approved was a challenge.

But unexpectedly, everything went smoothly.

All five players from Steel Helmet, along with their assistant Ming Riqing, secured their visas.

Ming Riqing was mainly there to serve as the team’s translator.

However, the person who wanted to come the **most—Ma Xixi—**was rejected due to visa issues.

So, he was stuck back in Shanghai, streaming the event for fans.

Frustrated, Ma Xixi constantly joked about how Steel Helmet had "palace'd" him, spending his streams ranting about his misfortune.

Even though his cousin wasn’t there, Jiang Yang still wanted Ma Xixi to be part of the Major—even if it was just his name appearing on stream.

He quickly informed MO before asking Ming Riqing to take him to a nearby print shop.

He had no choice—since he had dropped out of college, his English was nonexistent.

Aside from a few classic curse words, he was basically illiterate in the language.

But recently, whenever he had free time, he tried watching American TV shows and translating them—Ma Xixi’s method for teaching him English.

Meanwhile, on Huya—CSBOY’s Livestream

A lonely old man—Ma Xixi—was chatting with his viewers, looking utterly miserable.

With MO, Ming Riqing, and Jiang Yang all gone, the CSBOY livestream had lost its soul!

"Steel Helmet’s first match? They’re up against Heroic."

Ma Xixi sighed. "It’s a tough one."

Then, the live feed suddenly cut to Jiang Yang—and Ma Xixi nearly choked.

"Wait—why the hell did he shave his head?!"

And when the camera panned to the coach’s chair, revealing a Little Pony plushie with Ma Xixi’s meme face taped on it—he completely lost it.

His cousin hadn’t forgotten him after all.

And with that, the Major Challenger Stage officially began.