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

At the Steel Helmets' player area, Jiang Yang had already packed up his peripherals, patiently waiting for the Firefly players to come over for the post-match handshake.

The last two rounds, when he was the one walking up to shake hands, had felt great. But now, it was his turn.

Noticing his expression, MO patted him on the shoulder. "It's alright. Losing is part of the game. You played well enough."

Jiang Yang shook his head. "I'm fine."

More than frustration from the loss, what he felt was a sense of emptiness—a kind of powerlessness.

He wasn’t a kid anymore; he knew that in esports, nobody wins forever. Even in the early days of CS, NIP had pulled off an insane 87-game win streak, only to be stopped at the 88th match.

Jiang Yang never thought Steel Helmets was a particularly strong team. He understood their struggles—they were just a streamer squad made up of retired pros.

By all accounts, they shouldn’t have made it this far. A lot of it had come down to Jiang Yang’s individual performance and a bit of luck with map selections.

Losing to a team like Firefly, with their meticulous tactical play, was something that had been bound to happen sooner or later.

hooxi pulled him into a brief hug and praised him, "You’re really talented. Keep it up—hope we meet again in this Major."

After today’s match, hooxi had truly felt the pressure this young guy had put on them. If he hadn’t figured out a solution in the latter half of Map 2, they’d probably still be fighting through Map 3 right now.

At this Stockholm Major, Danish fans were more focused on A-Team and X-Team, leaving Firefly—the underdogs—with little attention.

hooxi was determined to change that. He wanted to make a name for his team, to force people to recognize them.

That’s why he had a soft spot for a lesser-known team like Steel Helmets, and even more so for a rookie like Jiang Yang, who had such insane individual talent.

Jiang Yang barely understood what hooxi was saying, but he wasn’t in the mood to talk. He simply muttered a low "Thanks."

As hooxi walked away, he couldn’t help but glance back at Jiang Yang one last time.

A broken region, a struggling team, an IGL who didn’t know how to use him properly, and a player who was falling apart.

As an IGL himself, hooxi couldn’t help but imagine—what if he had this kid on his team? How much could he amplify his impact?

No captain could resist the temptation of an unpolished gem like this. hooxi’s gaze was like a cat staring at a fresh cat treat.

But that thought quickly passed. After all, he was still just leading Firefly, a small team.

His own future depended on this Major.

Hopefully, once the Major was over, this kid would find a proper team, too.

At the tournament hotel, inside Steel Helmets’ training room.

After nearly three hours of heated discussion, they finally wrapped up their review session.

From the god’s-eye view of the VOD, Jiang Yang saw exactly how Firefly had dismantled them.

On stage, they had felt the oppressive utility usage, but it was only in the review session that they truly realized how suffocating Firefly’s tactics were.

Their movement, clearing patterns, trading sequences, and utility layering—it was all so precise.

Steel Helmets, on the other hand, often just threw out utility in a chaotic rush. Firefly, however, used every nade with maximum efficiency.

Jiang Yang had always been skeptical of "tactical teams," believing that sheer skill could brute-force through strategy.

This was something he had even argued about with Ma Xixi before.

Ma Xixi had suggested he go to Europe and refine his fundamentals first. But Jiang Yang had insisted that he would get scouted by a top-tier team and make the leap in one go.

Looking back now, his cousin had seen things much more clearly than he had.

Jiang Yang could make that leap, but he was still young—there was no rush.

"Hey, Cousin, I’m heading downstairs for food. Wanna come?" MO invited.

Jiang Yang thought for a moment. After three hours of reviewing and arguing, he was exhausted—and hungry.

Ming Riqing tagged along, while DD and the others were still recovering in the training room.

At the hotel’s buffet restaurant, Jiang Yang, starving, immediately grabbed a steak and a plate of grilled shrimp before finding a seat.

He took a bite of shrimp, but his frown deepened.

"This shrimp is terrible."

"Really?" Ming Riqing stabbed one with his fork and tasted it. "Tastes about the same as the lobster we had in Boston."

MO ignored the two foodies and, after some hesitation, finally said, "Cousin, don’t blame them. Changing their playstyle overnight is impossible."

Even though they were ex-pros, they’d been retired for years.

When faced with high-pressure situations, their instinct was to look for openings and try to make plays.

"I don’t blame them," Jiang Yang said seriously, putting aside his banter with Ming Riqing. "Everyone played well. As long as we give it our best, we won’t have any regrets."

You couldn’t expect a 60-rated player to suddenly pull off a 100-rated play.

And honestly, no one had expected Steel Helmets to make it to the Stockholm Major in the first place.

No one could predict the future, but just getting here was already a historic miracle in CS:GO.

MO nodded. Hearing Jiang Yang say that made him feel a little better.

Even though he understood all this logically, the old veterans couldn’t shake the feeling that they had held Jiang Yang back.

Tapping his fingers rhythmically on the table, MO spoke up again, "Cousin, I noticed something during the review."

"Firefly and Mouz both play textbook CS, but we destroyed Mouz and got crushed by Firefly. Why do you think that is?"

Ming Riqing tilted his head. "Xiao Yang didn’t pop off?"

Jiang Yang, still chewing his steak, mumbled, "BO3? Map pool issues?"

"Map pool played a part, but we also lost our Mirage win streak," MO countered.

He didn’t drag it out and quickly explained, "Against Mouz, you kept getting early-to-mid-round kills. But against Firefly, you were still fragging, but mostly in the late round—when it was already too late to make an impact."

Jiang Yang sipped his Coke, starting to piece things together. "Yeah… even when I got kills against Firefly, it felt kind of meaningless."

MO nodded. "That’s why, in our next games, I want you to be more aggressive in finding early picks. Don’t hesitate."

"If you can secure an early kill, the whole team will feel less pressure, and our round win rate will go up."

Jiang Yang took a deep breath. "But taking early fights is risky…"

As the team’s AWPer, his playstyle relied on holding angles and flicking rather than actively taking fights.

Switching to a more aggressive approach wasn’t impossible, but it came with a higher risk of throwing rounds.

MO spoke seriously, "It’s not that your current playstyle is bad—it’s just that Steel Helmets needs you to play differently right now."

Right now, the team was like a barrel with long planks and short planks. Their strengths were solid, but their weaknesses were glaring.

So, they had to tilt the barrel sideways and maximize what they had—even if it meant risking a collapse.

Jiang Yang pursed his lips. "I’ll do my best."

Losing to Firefly had exposed a lot of issues within Steel Helmets.

And now, he finally understood what Ma Xixi meant when he said, "If you want to be great at CS, you have to go to Europe."

The highest level of competition in Asia wasn’t even as tough as playing against a European Tier 2 team. Staying there would only make him worse over time.

As he ate, Jiang Yang started thinking about how he could use his AWP to find more early-round impact.

S1mple’s ultra-aggressive style, picking fights based on spawn positions, flashed through his mind.

But oddly enough, another image surfaced—his first encounter in the Choose Your Opponent simulation.

That rookie-level match, and the player named donk.

That insane, non-stop, full-send aggression.

He didn’t need to go full donk mode, pushing aggressively and relying purely on aim to win duels.

But there was definitely something to take from that playstyle.

With this new perspective, Jiang Yang felt like he had found a solution.

Ming Riqing and MO noticed that he had drifted into deep thought and chose not to disturb him.

After finishing his meal, Jiang Yang headed back to the training room and immediately pulled up the VOD of their match against Firefly, mentally simulating an ultra-aggressive AWPing approach in-game.

It seemed viable, but most of the time, it only caught opponents off-guard. Whether it could consistently secure rounds remained uncertain.

Then again, Jiang Yang realized that if this aggressive style could force opponents into a state of constant pressure, it would have already served its purpose.

He could always revert to a more passive, angle-holding playstyle later.

From his perspective, this was a workable solution, and just like that, everything clicked into place.

Stretching lazily in his chair, Jiang Yang decided to hit the hotel gym for a bit.

It wasn’t just about earning Comeback Points—ever since he developed a habit of working out, skipping a day made him feel like something was missing.

But before heading out, he took a quick look at the Daily Shop in the system.

His eyes skimmed over the items:

[Sleepy Black Tea]

[A Tube of Lipstick]

[Limited Edition Danking Sticker]

[Random Hextech Card]

[Signature Skill Summary Card]

Jiang Yang raised an eyebrow. Normally, during a tournament, he would check the shop after matches.

He hadn’t expected anything special, but today, there was actually something interesting.

That Random Hextech Card—he bought it without hesitation.

These Hextech Simulation Spaces had saved him an incredible amount of time in his journey to improve at CS.

After completing the purchase, he checked his inventory.

[Hextech: All-or-Nothing]

Description: A consumable card. Can be used at the start of a "Palace Struggle" event. If the Old Veteran wins the "Palace Struggle," a massive reward awaits.

Jiang Yang: O_o?

What the hell?

Was the system really setting him up to inherit the "World’s Top Prince Snatcher" title?

Even though the card promised a big reward, Jiang Yang sincerely hoped it would just collect dust in his inventory.

Because if he had to use it, it meant his team was on the verge of serious internal chaos—and that was the last thing he wanted.

His ideal professional career involved grinding hard with a group of like-minded teammates, sticking together, and slowly climbing to the top.

He really didn’t want his esports journey to be filled with endless politics and backstabbing. Just thinking about it gave him a headache.

Shaking his head, he returned to the system shop and looked at the final item.

[Signature Skill Summary Card]

Description: Use to analyze the Old Veteran’s abilities and extract a Signature Skill.

Price: 5000 Comeback Points

Jiang Yang had originally planned to save up his Comeback Points and spend them in a big simulation session later.

But damn, this was tempting.

Both [Eco Clutch] and [The True Essence of Pre-Aiming] had helped him tremendously in matches.

But not every technique suited him perfectly.

His playstyle was already diverging from many established pros, carving out its own unique path.

If he could define his personal skill set—identify what truly made him strong—that would be invaluable.

Gritting his teeth, Jiang Yang made the purchase.

His Comeback Points immediately dropped into triple digits.

Man, these points disappear faster than Pasha’s daughter’s piano fund.

If only his Comeback Points could stack like a permanent buff, that’d be nice.

But this wasn’t the time for wishful thinking!

[Would you like to use "Signature Skill Summary Card"?]

"Yes!"

Jiang Yang activated the card. The screen in front of him flickered, and new text appeared.

[Congratulations! The Old Veteran has unlocked the Signature Skill: "Weak Target Marking."]

Skill: Weak Target Marking (Level 1)

Progress: 0/500

Description: When you identify that an opponent is not a strong player, you gain increased confidence, slightly improving your multi-kill potential.

Jiang Yang: ang?

He couldn’t help but laugh.

One thing was for sure—this system’s abilities were getting more and more abstract.

What the hell is this "Weak Target Marking"… isn’t this just "Noob Detector"?!

So basically, if he felt the opponent was weak, his confidence would rise, leading to more kills. More kills meant they looked even weaker. The weaker they seemed, the more rounds he’d win!

It was a vicious cycle—for the enemy.

Jiang Yang started thinking.

Despite both being tactical teams, playing against Mouz had felt completely different from playing against Firefly.

Was Mouz actually weak? No way. They had a bunch of big-name players—they weren’t pushovers.

But in the early rounds, Jiang Yang had dominated them, so in his mind, they had become weaker. That confidence boost made him play even better, which snowballed the entire game in Steel Helmets’ favor.

Against Firefly, however, their poor map veto in Game 1 had set a bad tone. Losing the first map made Jiang Yang recognize their strength, so his playstyle naturally became more cautious.

So sometimes… maybe he should treat his opponents like noobs.

Otherwise, the unnecessary pressure would only cause him to miss opportunities.

If he were just a role player on the team, his mindset would be, "Better to do nothing than to make a mistake."

But Jiang Yang wasn’t a role player—he was the star.

"Aggressive AWPing, huh…"

"Guess I’ll give it a shot!"