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

During the halftime break, MR's team voice chat was eerily quiet.

The first half had left them dizzy and overwhelmed, with cold hands, a huge score deficit, and a powerful opponent making them question:

"Is 4 points really enough?"

Dust2 is a map where the difference between attack and defense isn't that significant, so 4 points can’t even be considered passing.

Although this map was picked by Steel Helmets, the way they were beaten in the first half was hard for them to accept.

Only their commander, alex, was still trying to rally the team: "young is definitely strong, he’s already gotten close to 30 kills in the first half, this young man’s firepower is indeed explosive."

The first lesson in joining a top-tier team: admit your opponent’s strength.

That handsome guy on the other side had definitely made them respect him in the first half.

Young’s positioning on Dust2 was superb; whenever they engaged in a firefight, they always felt like they were at a disadvantage without realizing it.

MR had the chance to win more rounds, but several post-plant situations were lost, leading to just a paltry 4 points at halftime.

By the end of the first half, young had already racked up an absurd 29 kills.

The only consolation was that Steel Helmets wasn’t exactly a balanced team.

The personal abilities of the members were rather extreme.

"After the side swap, as long as we do what Little Firefly does, using utility to block young, not giving him any one-on-one opportunities, we still have a chance to make a comeback!" alex tried to encourage his teammates through voice chat.

And it seemed his words motivated them, because during the second half pistol round, David, who had been quiet up until then, made a powerful play.

He got a 4-kill in the pistol round, helping the team win this crucial round and giving them a chance to continue.

Then —

They were reversed!

It wasn’t a force buy or young stepping up to carry.

It was simply because they overloaded, each one thinking about being a special forces hero to pad their stats.

After they planted the bomb, nobody stayed back to guard it!

SunPayus unleashed a barrage of bullets and killed karsa, who had sneaked in to defuse. He didn’t expect such a small twist.

Seeing the scoreline at 12:5, SunPayus felt like crying.

He wondered if this experience of getting defused would help him get into G2.

The only good news was that their opponents weren’t crushing their economy; Steel Helmets still had the economic advantage.

…

Meanwhile, Su Di had already become a legend in CSBOY's livestream chat.

Is Su Di really that skilled?

Quite the opposite, his skill level was at the bottom of the entire Major.

But it was precisely because of his terrible skill that no one had any expectations of him.

However, just when everyone thought they were about to lose, the underdog stood up and saved the day.

Everyone knew that feeling, so Su Di’s approval rating jumped from 25.9% to 66.57%!

The other members of Steel Helmets stared at him in disbelief.

They couldn’t believe Su Di, the king of durability, had just pulled off a 10-second bomb defuse.

Jiang Yang fought the urge to praise Su Di, because he had a good desk mate, Li Hua, and he knew the best response in these moments was to act as if nothing had happened.

However, DD, always the mood setter, couldn’t hold back after Su Di’s clutch:

"Awesome, Su Di! That play was so crucial, man!"

"Yeah, today you’re my god!!"

DD and Brother Xiaosa echoed each other, making Su Di feel a bit embarrassed.

Su Di’s smile was bigger than an AK’s recoil. As the main B-site defender, it wasn’t easy to have a highlight moment.

He was just about to be modest, when his smile faded: "I bought the wrong gun, cousin, wanna play with the scout?"

The members of Steel Helmets were stunned.

As expected! Praise him, and the mistake happens… Jiang Yang chuckled helplessly, "Give it to me, we’re low on money anyway."

But Jiang Yang’s position wasn’t great; he was a bit far from VIP, unable to quickly search for an opportunity on mid.

As the countdown ended, Jiang Yang took the scout and made his way to the A-site long benches. He peeked with the scout, but saw no one at A1.

He proceeded to check the arch, and just as a terrorist’s molotov flew in, Jiang Yang stood on the fire, trying to catch a timing to fire a shot.

But the opponents were cautious and didn’t appear in his view. Jiang Yang had to step back from the molotov.

However, a second later, he pre-aimed the lower tunnels.

That's how snipers work: you have to boldly look for opportunities early on and fully utilize the weapon’s advantage.

As Jiang Yang peeked and got intel on the lower tunnels, he saw a terrorist appear.

"—Bang!"

Jiang Yang fired a shot with the scout, taking him down.

"Wow, today little cousin is playing aggressively, even after the molotov at the arch, he took a shot to weaken the guy in the lower tunnels."

"This scout isn’t bought for nothing; no matter what, you have to deal some damage. After all, Steel Helmets’ economy isn’t great this round. If he can hit more shots, the pressure on his teammates will be much less."

Seconds later, Jiang Yang was at VIP, pre-aiming the headshot angle in the lower tunnels, but MR threw a flashbang to force him out.

At the same time, MO made a bold mid-game decision.

He instructed DD to push forward to the A2 balcony, successfully gaining information about the area.

Once it was confirmed that A2 was clear and no one was making a move at A1, and mid was still being controlled, MO concluded they would be taking B unless MR pulled off a miraculous 5-arch play.

So, MO pulled Jiang Yang and Xiaosa over to B.

"MO made an elite play! A second-time 4-B heavy defense! The smoke at B2 is blocking their movements, they can’t synchronize."

"But the terrorist at B-small is making a move! What will happen next?"

Jiang Yang saw the smoke coming from B2 and walked out of the supermarket.

There were teammates holding angles at B2, so it was safe for him to focus on B-small.

Jiang Yang had the right idea, and when he peeked, he immediately saw a terrorist in his scope.

He flicked the scout to the upper left.

"—Bang!"

[young used SSG 08 to headshot Dav1g]

Seeing his teammate die, SunPayus pulled out his AK and tried to reposition, but just as he crouched, he saw Jiang Yang with the scout walking out and his head was immediately shot off.

"Oh!! What’s going on? Little cousin just took out two with the scout! Both terrorists at B-small were eliminated in a flash!"

"Alex at B-small wanted to play, but he got blinded by MO’s flashbang, and Su Di made him eat it!"

Ma Xixi laughed: "Well, B-small collapsed first, and B2 wasn’t synchronized. MR’s offense was halted before it even started!"

[Someone opened, I won’t say who]

[Little cousin’s scout always delivers]

[These two shots, is he really not using the big sniper? All headshots!]

[Why does watching little cousin play look so easy? Are the opponents all bots?]

Jiang Yang got two kills, successfully holding B-small, and even found the bomb’s location.

The situation became clear.

Even DD, at A2, started heading toward them, as they had lost control of the bombsite. They just needed to secure it.

Xiaosa stayed at the supermarket, preventing any flanking from behind.

This allowed Jiang Yang to watch the B2 window without pressure.

MR didn’t want to get caught in "Jame time" again. They had lost the previous round, and even if they survived this one, the next would be financially awkward.

The terrorist in the archway heard DD’s footsteps and tried to catch him off-guard.

But before he could celebrate, a kill notification popped up.

[young used SSG 08 to wallbang mopoz]

The flanking DeathZz felt completely helpless. With just one enemy left, how could they win this clutch?

His mind was filled with frustration, but he instinctively searched for an opportunity.

As he entered the supermarket, he saw the scout trained on his position.

"—Bang!"

[young used SSG 08 to kill DeathZz]

Good news: young didn’t headshot this time.

Bad news: he was already low health!

The members of MR laughed helplessly. What could they do?

They didn’t even get a chance to duel.

According to Little Firefly’s strategy, they just needed to kill his teammates before young exploded.

But today, young was finding everyone to kill!

This elite boss fight couldn’t be avoided!

MR’s economy hit rock bottom, and they had no choice but to go for a Glock buy, trying to deny Steel Helmets more points.

The economy round went as expected, and Steel Helmets easily took it.

The score reached 14:5.

This time, MR had figured it out. They executed a high-risk strategy with a second-time A2 rush.

This bold play caught Steel Helmets off guard.

DD and Xiaosa, who were blinded by the flashbang, couldn't secure any kills, and the A-site was quickly overrun.

MO directed the team to stabilize, opting for a weapon save and avoiding trying anything in this 3v5 situation.

MR finally started picking up rounds again.

This win only reinforced their belief in Steel Helmets' strange rules:

1. Never appear in young's sight.
2. Kill his teammates before he can get a kill himself!

   Securing a point gave them some much-needed confidence.

   …

   Losing a rifle round didn’t faze Steel Helmets.

   After all, such high-risk tactics could easily backfire, but once prepared for, it would be much easier to secure subsequent rounds.

   However, Jiang Yang had no intention of simply following the enemy's rhythm.

   During the prep time, he spoke up in voice chat, saying, "I'm going to play more aggressively now."

   MO responded with a simple "Mhm," giving Jiang Yang the green light.

   Jiang Yang nodded, positioning himself in a favorable spot. As the countdown ended, he stepped toward the middle.

   Without stopping, he dropped down to VIP and continued charging forward.

   The director quickly realized something was off in mid and switched the camera to Jiang Yang.

   Holding his sniper rifle, he threw a flashbang into the sky on the right and called for backup in voice chat, telling Xiaosa and DD to keep flashing.

   Immediately, he scoped in and began pushing the terrorist spawn.

   Soon, a mysterious object flew into his sight, and Jiang Yang quickly unscope and turned to avoid the flash.

   The explosion of the flashbang was almost instant, and then…

   “—Bang!”

   SunPayus' sniper rifle fired, taking down his teammate. This, in a way, was another form of NTR.

   But MR wasn’t concerned about who was at fault—they were wondering why Jiang Yang had positioned himself in the mid-forward spot.

   “How could he do this?!”

   They couldn’t fathom why Jiang Yang, holding a sniper rifle, would be so aggressive at this moment.

   After scoring a kill, Jiang Yang didn’t hesitate. He quickly re-scoped and moved forward just a little.

   In CS:GO, when a sniper slowly pushes towards rifles, it’s always an advantageous position.

   Plus, Jiang Yang's position in mid made this an even more favorable angle.

   Soon, he seized the opportunity and took another kill.

   “Cousin's sniper rifle doesn’t even treat the enemy like humans, pushing forward in mid with it!”

   “He scored two kills, but then was blinded by a flashbang and had to retreat. MOopz came from the tunnels and finally cleaned up the cousin!”

   “But Xiaosa also arrived and eliminated the terrorist in the tunnels. This mid-forward sniper push resulted in a 1v3 trade.”

   Ma Xixi was stunned. He couldn’t believe the game was being played like this.

   Such plays wouldn’t even work in a regular ladder game.

   But after the initial shock, he began to see the brilliance in it.

   Jiang Yang’s incredible reflexes and sensitivity allowed him to dodge flashbangs easily while pushing forward in mid.

   With continuous flashes from his teammates, they kept the enemy trapped in spawn.

   This gave Jiang Yang the space to perform such aggressive plays with the sniper.

   It was a feasible tactic, but one with high risk. Most teams wouldn’t play this way.

   And normally, players would use rifles for this.

   But Jiang Yang’s approach with the sniper was something few would even think of.

   He couldn’t help but admire the strategy:

   “Top-tier CS:GO always comes down to pure gunplay, just like the million UPs always revert to the ‘free meal’ challenge.”

   “Steel Helmets really know how to play a weird match, huh?”

Thanks to this outstanding mid-forward push, Steel Helmets gained a massive advantage in terms of numbers.

This allowed the rest of Steel Helmets' members to focus purely on holding their positions without worrying about rushing for opportunities and risking missing timings.

When it came to purely holding angles, their gunplay wasn’t bad at all, after all, in domestic ladder games, gunplay was the only thing that mattered.

MR, with only two players left, had no chance. In a 1 minute 20 seconds, 2v4 situation, it was safe to say they’d never seen such a beautiful opening.

They set up a default hold, but failed to spot any CT aggression.

In the end, they tried to make a play through A1, but it resulted in only a 2v1 trade.

As the A1 engagement ended, the score was already 15:6.

“9-round advantage, everyone, don’t panic. Even if we gamble a bit, we’ve already got this Mirage game!” MO cheered the team on through voice chat, boosting their confidence.

Jiang Yang once again picked the best position for a mid-forward play.

In the last round, his teammates hadn’t given him the sniper rifle, but he had enough money to buy one himself this time.

“I’ll rush B Small this round and take a quick shot on the way through.” Jiang Yang explained his plan to his teammates so they could coordinate better.

The enemy had been losing continuously and their economy was fully depleted, meaning they were barely able to buy in this round, but they still had VIP smokes.

So Jiang Yang decided not to play conventionally, instead aiming to take a few kills with some proactive moves.

Entering VIP, he stepped on the VIP window and expertly performed a spin jump…

Before landing in the tunnels.

Jiang Yang believed that this move was a perfect imitation of Sun Tzu’s ‘Break through everything’ strategy, able to confuse the enemy.

After landing, he didn’t feel awkward at all.

Jiang Yang immediately started thinking about his next move while facing the wall.

Soon, a flashbang went off in the tunnels, and Jiang Yang quickly turned around and fired.

With the sniper’s shot ringing out, the terrorist attempting to control the tunnels was taken down.

Jiang Yang once again thought to himself that MR's tactics were quite ladder-focused.

He’d had encounters with top players in FPL and others.

If it were NIKO, Xantares, or any top player trying to control the tunnels, they would have been extremely cautious.

But this mopoz just threw a flashbang and peeked out without thinking much. It seemed like the enemy had paid a minimal price for their mistakes.

“Mopoz is usually careful when controlling the tunnels, but this round, he didn’t expect a sniper waiting for him! He’s completely stunned, how could a sniper come out and clear the tunnels this early?”

“But now, Cousin has the first kill, but his position is already compromised. What will he do next?”

“Cousin doesn’t want to retreat. He immediately throws a smoke at the tunnel entrance, denying the enemy any chance to counter him. Then, he asks for a flash from his teammate and prepares to peek mid!”

“The flashbang works perfectly, Cousin pulls out a shot, and that shot nails two enemies as they try to clear him. They got roasted in a line!”

Watching the two kill notifications pop up in the top-right corner, Jiang Yang was both surprised and thrilled, shouting into voice chat: “Lock Brother, toss a smoke at the archway, quick, help me!!”

Xiaosa immediately threw the smoke, just as the last remaining enemy in mid realized the situation and rushed to the tunnel with a spray, trying to land some shots.

But his focus on the tunnels allowed MO, who was positioned at B Small, to seize the moment, unloading an M4A1 spray and wiping him out!

Jiang Yang took some hits but managed to retreat back to the archway with very little health left, this play was truly a display of ‘taking damage like a champ.’

“MO also took advantage and secured a kill, so now only the last terrorist in the tunnels remains!”

“Steel Helmets didn’t rush it!!” Ma Xixi shouted excitedly, “They’re all holding their angles, patiently waiting for the enemy to make a mistake.”

“But deathZz didn’t choose to pick up the bomb. Instead, he tried to make a play on the B2 site and started pre-aiming. Will Su Di check this spot?”

“He’s checking! But Su Di hits him with a headshot, leaving him with only one shot’s worth of health!”

“MO’s coming to back him up, don’t rush it, don’t rush it!” Ma Xixi urgently called, almost as if Steel Helmets’ players could hear him.

And as luck would have it, MO stopped himself from rushing and instead gathered his team to hold mid.

DeathZz continued to search for the bomb, but he couldn’t spot the second player at B. He tried to rotate from B Small to grab the bomb.

But just as he emerged from B Small, DD, positioned near VIP, landed a shot on him.

With DD’s bullet hitting, the match on Mirage was frozen, and the score stood at 16:6.

This meant that Steel Helmets had taken the first game in this crucial BO3, putting them one step closer to advancing!