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

The tactical timeout ended quickly, and after some deliberation, Mouz opted for a half-armor pistol buy.

"5:1. This round, Mouz went straight for two VIP smokes and a cross smoke at mid, applying immense pressure."

"They left ropz solo at A1 while the rest gathered at B2 Balcony, preparing for a fast B hit!"

Wan Ji Qi took a deep breath and began his analysis. "ropz is making noise at A, trying to bait Steel Helmets' B players into rotating. If they fall for it, Mouz might have a chance."

"But Steel Helmets always start with a double-B setup. A-site’s three players have more than enough firepower—there's no need to rotate!"

The B-site setup was solid. MO was hopping around White Car with utility in hand, scouting the area, while Su Di held B Short from the window.

"ropz is primed at A-site and starts the execute—a fake A into B. Did they pull B’s defense away? No!"

"They're still holding the double-B setup," Wan Ji Qi suddenly raised his voice, "but Han Wang, what are you doing?! He just deleted MO with a Desert Eagle!"

"B-site instantly accelerates. Su Di holds with an M4, but after taking down one, he gets shut down by White Horse Temple's Deagle!"

"Cousin is already in position for the retake. His AWP takes one down, shifts position, and lands another shot. Only one player left in B-site!"

"The bomb carrier hesitates, frozen in place. Cousin hears footsteps coming from VIP, but ropz is smart—he silently jumps up to B Short. His movement is so fluid!"

Jiang Yang pushed forward, quickly locating the last T in site and taking him down with his AWP.

After securing that kill, he immediately turned to check Supermarket, but out of the corner of his eye, he noticed someone creeping up B Short.

He tried to snap around, but his shot went wide.

On the Mouz side, Han Wang wiped the sweat from his forehead. Winning this round didn’t bring him much joy—only more pressure.

That guy, Young, was making them sweat bullets with his insane plays.

Han Wang had landed a clean Deagle shot on the jumping CT at B, his teammate managed to trade one-for-one, and ropz had found two frags at A. But even with all that, Young almost pulled off the clutch.

Han Wang wanted to ask: Is there anything this guy can't do?

Finally, dexter started to piece things together. He slowly tightened his team’s freedom to take duels, shifting towards a more coordinated playstyle.

His initial approach was to let Mouz’s players spread out, using their individual skill to trade kills. That way, they'd have the upper hand in late-round situations.

But now, it was clear—Young was simply too hot. Pure skill-for-skill fights weren’t working.

Since they couldn’t out-duel him, they had to play as a unit.

They shortened their default phase and leaned more into explosive, structured executes.

Kun Kun’s idea made sense. In the next round, they went for a straight-up B-site brawl and won another round amidst the chaos.

With this loss, Steel Helmets’ economy was shattered.

They could force up with pistols, but it wasn’t worth it. After some consideration, MO called for an eco—everyone bought unarmored Desert Eagles.

Mouz didn’t give them much of an opening. The only bright spot was Jiang Yang, who found a perfect timing to take one down with his Deagle.

Before they knew it, the score was 5:4. Back to rifle rounds.

Steel Helmets had an issue—they weren’t managing their economy well. They lost too many guns, even in rounds they won.

Even if they strung together a few wins, dropping just a couple of rounds could completely ruin their economy.

But it couldn’t be helped. These old veterans were already putting up a hell of a fight against active pros.

Jiang Yang picked up an AWP, but his position wasn’t ideal. As the round started, he set up at CT base, holding A1.

Early on, Mouz immediately pressured A-site with Jump Spot and Connector smokes.

This put A-site’s three defenders on high alert.

Jiang Yang and DD quickly discussed their plan.

But something felt off—Mouz wasn’t following up on their initial aggression.

Then, Jiang Yang saw them throw a deploy smoke at A1, and a player crept out, pre-firing the lower balcony spot like crazy.

"Is A-site being executed on?" MO asked over comms.

Jiang Yang responded, "One out A1, but something feels off. Watch B-site."

They held their ground. Playing against a tactical team was tricky—execs were always a mix of real and fake. Even Jiang Yang didn’t want to make a reckless move.

"Mouz is rotating to B!"

"Cousin tried a shot earlier and gave away his position."

"His spot is important, but avoiding him is even more crucial for Mouz, so they’re shifting towards B instead."

Mouz threw a VIP smoke and regrouped at B2 Balcony.

Since they hadn’t probed B earlier, they decided to go for a silent contact play, speeding up right before hitting the site.

But they didn’t expect MO to still be at White Car, jump-spotting.

The moment he spotted them, he instantly dropped a smoke, blocking off B2 Balcony completely.

"They’re all at B2 Balcony! Rotate now!"

But as soon as he called it, he noticed Mouz hesitating at the smoke—they didn’t push through immediately.

MO instantly realized, They’re faking! Don’t rotate! Hold Lower Tunnels!

30 seconds left. Mouz couldn’t hit B anymore. Their only option was to rotate through Lower Tunnels.

"But is this really a good choice?" Wan Ji Qi was thrilled. "Su Di heard everything. The three A-site players are already in position, waiting for them!"

"Cousin’s AWP is holding from Phone Booth—first pick secured! Xiao Sa’s M4 sprays down another! Two trades come in, but Cousin is still peeking—he takes down ropz from the ropz spot!"

"A complete disaster for Mouz! They didn’t even make it to site!"

【Mouz’s play is so damn abstract】

【MO played that smoke perfectly! The timing was impeccable!】

【Tactical teams sometimes overthink themselves into oblivion】

This round played out like a chaotic C+ matchmaking game.

But that’s exactly what happens in pro-level mind games.

Mouz wanted a fancy play to crack B, expecting weaker firepower there. But under heavy pressure, their scripted play didn’t unfold as planned.

MO’s smoke completely ruined their timing—it landed at just the right moment, stopping them in their tracks.

With another economy round coming up, this time Kun Kun didn’t bother with B. Instead, they rushed A2 Balcony.

It caught Steel Helmets completely off-guard.

DD traded two before getting overwhelmed. Xiao Sa had been watching Arch and couldn’t help in time.

But fortunately, Mouz had no armor, and Steel Helmets managed to secure the round.

The score moved to 7:4.

The first half was already more than halfway through, and Steel Helmets still had a decent lead.

But whether they could extend that lead depended on the next round.

MO had started recognizing Mouz’s attack patterns. He spoke up, "This round, Cousin should try peeking mid early."

"If they smoke it off, rotate towards B and help hold B2 Balcony. I’m going to push B Short with Su Di."

"Xiao Sa, be ready to swing out Arch and try to catch them off guard in mid."

Their previous rifle rounds were too passive—they lacked information, which made it hard for MO to call plays mid-round.

Now, he wanted to be proactive instead of always reacting.

As the round started, Jiang Yang followed MO’s plan and went VIP to hold Mid Doors with his AWP.

But Mouz’s VIP smoke came fast, denying him a shot.

Jiang Yang quickly pulled out a Molotov, tossing it toward Sandbags to slow down T-side’s mid control.

After that, he rotated towards Supermarket and held B2 Balcony with his AWP.

With Jiang Yang in position, MO led Su Di on a B Short push, ready to flash off DD’s mid control…

A meticulously planned counter-aggression was in motion.

Dexter, who had jumped down, heard footsteps near the archway. He immediately swung out to follow up with a shot, but bullets rained down from behind, and he was instantly eliminated.

At the same time, Jiang Yang fired as well, but Su Di was even faster at shooting enemies from behind.

He wasn’t in a rush. Mouz had thrown a smoke grenade at B Short’s archway, but it was a bit off, accidentally becoming a cover smoke for him instead.

“Cousin and Su Di each secured a frag! Cousin is holding the backline, and the AWP is slowly creeping up to punish anyone crossing from B2 Balcony. Boom! The AWP takes down Han King, and even wallbangs acoR, leaving him low HP!”

“acoR manages to trade, ropz is arriving late, but it’s a 2v4. The bomb is down in the open, and they have no room to work with—they have to save!”

As the countdown above hit zero, the round ended, and Steel Helmets secured their eighth point.

“Nice! Let’s keep this momentum going, take it one round at a time.” MO encouraged over voice chat. “The more rounds we secure on CT-side, the easier our T-side will be.”

Jiang Yang fist-bumped his teammate and laughed as he shared his highlight play. “You guys didn’t even see my shot—he jumped mid-air, and I took him down in one bullet.”

Su Di praised, “That was clutch. You got the first pick, so they all focused on you, and I sneaked in a free backstab. We completely stalled them out this round.”

The fast-paced playstyle was all about timing, making the first duel crucial.

Previously, B-site was often lost when MO died early, leaving Jiang Yang unable to hold. But this time, Jiang Yang was there to support—his opening AWP kill set the tone, followed by another frag that disrupted the enemy’s formation.

Seeing this, MO called for a tactical pause. “Let’s take a breather. I need to reset my thoughts. They keep hammering B, and the pressure is getting intense.”

“Plus, let’s make them guess why we paused.”

Mouz saved two rifles, but they made little impact in the following rounds. Their repeated failed attacks left them without even proper duels, cooling off their momentum entirely.

In the remaining first-half rounds, only one round was won—ropz found a brilliant timing at A-site and capitalized on the opening.

Other than that, even in situations where Mouz had an advantage, Steel Helmets consistently clutched out rounds in the late game.

The kill feed in the top right kept flashing “young”, Jiang Yang’s ID, over and over, frustrating the Mouz players.

For once, they experienced what it was like to get completely outclassed by sheer individual skill in a pro match.

At halftime, the scoreboard read 10:5.

“Guys! Our defense was amazing! We’re up by five rounds!!” MO hyped up the team in voice chat.

Ming Riqing, slightly surprised, commented, “We’re playing really smoothly today. Mouz feels… weaker than expected?”

She was blunt, just saying what she thought.

DD chuckled, “Nah, it’s not that Mouz is weak—it’s just that Cousin is playing too damn well! It doesn’t even feel like a tactical battle, just Cousin carrying everything.”

Jiang Yang smiled. “I wouldn’t say I’m carrying, they just happened to push into my site, and I happened to stop them.”

His words were lighthearted, but confidence was written all over his face.

This first half had been a dream performance for Jiang Yang—15 rounds in, he had already racked up 23 kills.

For an AWPer, that was an outstanding score.

More than just stats, many of his frags were crucial impact kills that swayed rounds in their favor.

After a short halftime break, the sides switched—Steel Helmets were now on T-side.

Pistol Round

Jiang Yang was handed a P250 as the team’s designated heavy hitter.

MO kept the strategy simple: a classic B-site rush.

6657’s livestream.

The caster, Wan Ji Qi, heard the in-game audio and quickly switched back to the live feed.

“Alright, we’re not missing this pistol round—this one is absolutely critical!”

“10:5 on the scoreboard, so if Steel Helmets win this, they’ll widen the gap, and Mouz’s comeback chances will shrink drastically.”

“They’re all moving mid and towards B—this looks like a B-site rush!”

“CT-side naturally leans A-heavy and keeps B light on defense,” Wan Ji Qi analyzed. “Looks like Steel Helmets have found the weak spot—B’s duo defense is huddled around B Short.”

“But wait—Frozen is holding B Short, and he’s an absolute beast there. How’s this going to play out?”

“B-Site is under full attack!”

Jiang Yang threw a B Short smoke and a flashbang, moving in with the team.

He was quick, but by the time he arrived, he saw his two teammates fall in front of him.

【Frozen - USP headshot on DD】

【Frozen - USP headshot on Karsa】

“Frozen is going crazy at B Short!” Su Di called out.

Hearing that, Jiang Yang didn’t panic. He checked his angles methodically instead of rushing in blindly.

He was expecting a second defender at B-site, but no one appeared.

Realizing this, he shifted his aim and hunted down Frozen instead.

“Bang!”

【young+Karsa - P250 kill on Frozen】

“Frozen got greedy—he should’ve stopped after two kills, but he overextended, and Cousin punished him for it!”

“Cousin is holding B2 Balcony while his teammates push into the site.”

“But B Short’s defender just flashed out for a retake!”

Jiang Yang got blinded and had to retreat into cover.

Meanwhile, Xiaosa was caught off-guard at Sandbags and instantly deleted.

When Jiang Yang regained vision, he swung to trade.

Ropz had pre-aimed B2 Balcony, but Jiang Yang’s peek was pixel-perfect.

Ropz missed his first shot. Jiang Yang didn’t. Boom—ropz was down.

Yet, as Jiang Yang secured the frag, MO was taken out at the bombsite.

“Steel Helmets’ firepower is insane! Cousin clutches two, but now it’s a 1v3 situation. He’s alone at B2 Balcony, and his position is locked in!”

Even the caster Wan Ji Qi couldn’t believe it—he thought Jiang Yang still had a slim chance to win, but his teammates had fallen too fast.

Jiang Yang also knew this was a tough spot.

He took cover at B2 Balcony, avoiding direct sightlines.

“Bomb is planted default, just for you.” MO called out.

Jiang Yang processed the info quickly.

Then, he heard the bomb defuse sound.

He didn’t peek immediately. He waited two seconds, then glanced back.

They weren’t defusing—just baiting him out.

But the second defuse attempt sounded real.

From the way they hesitated earlier, Jiang Yang deduced that they didn’t have a defuse kit—otherwise, they wouldn’t risk delaying.

Trusting his instinct, he swung out aggressively.

A CT jumped onto White Car to pressure him—but Jiang Yang was ready.

“Boom!”

P250 headshot.

“Kun Kun got airborne and instantly shot down!”

“1v3 now down to 1v2! But the bomb is halfway defused—Cousin has to act now!”

Jiang Yang peeked out again—just in time to take out the defuser.

The final CT tried to stick the defuse, but—

BOOM!

The bomb exploded.

Steel Helmets won the round.

The chat exploded.

“AGAIN?! HOW DOES HE KEEP DOING THIS?!”

"TIME RAN OUT!!! COUSIN SAVES STEEL HELMETS ONCE AGAIN!!" Wan Ji Qi burst out laughing. "HOW IS THIS EVEN POSSIBLE?!"

"He actually pulled off a 1v3?! Even though he didn’t kill all of Mouz, he still won the round by himself!"

【Again, it’s Cousin!! Why is he fragging this hard?! This is Mouz we’re talking about!】

【He’s nearly at 30 kills already. He’s just playing unfair at this point.】

【That was seriously an insane clutch.】

【How many clutches has Cousin won now? Third? Fourth?】

【Mouz players are literally laughing in disbelief now.】

Han King, the opposing AWPer, could only watch as the C4 detonated, then chuckled in resignation.

White Horse Temple, the last Mouz player who had failed to defuse in time, had never felt this helpless in a clutch situation before.

How were they supposed to play against this?

Every time young was alive, winning just felt impossible.

Losing this pistol round crushed Mouz’s morale.

They force-bought in frustration, but in the next two rounds, Steel Helmets capitalized on their economy lead, securing the bonus rounds with relative ease. The score pushed to 13:5.

The Rifle Rounds Begin

As the match moved into full-buy rounds, Steel Helmets started making some mistakes.

However, Mouz was in even worse shape—their aim was ice-cold. Even though they spotted several openings, they failed to capitalize, letting Steel Helmets escape tight situations.

Even though Mouz started taking rounds, their previous deficit was too large.

As the final rounds played out, the match remained relatively calm, with both sides trading points.

Finally, the scoreboard locked in at 16:9—Steel Helmets secured the victory.