CS: A young talent from Peking University, you want me to play professionally?

Losing this long-range rifle round isn't entirely unacceptable for NA, at least from an economic perspective. Having won several rounds previously, their economy is quite strong, so losing a long-range rifle round won't have a significant impact on them.

In this round, Na quickly adjusted their offensive strategy. Based on the previous round, the opponent was already very familiar with and understood their ability to control the map in the mid-lane and accelerate the pace of the game.

In this situation, the opponent will definitely implement targeted defensive tactics. Therefore, for Na to choose to confront them head-on would be unnecessary and unwise.

So, in the next round, Na opted for Li Mo to pick up a sniper rifle. Given the back-and-forth movement between the two sides, the sniper rifle would obviously provide more opportunities at the front. This would also put greater pressure on the defending side, because if they wanted to obtain information from the previous year, they would undoubtedly have to use utility items, rather than simply attempting to engage in a direct, aggressive push as in previous rounds.

For them to choose to engage in a direct firefight with Li Mo's sniper rifle would undoubtedly be a provocation, even an overestimation of their own abilities. After all, under the suppression of Li Mo's sniper rifle, they would have virtually no chance of surviving by actively engaging in a direct firefight.

"We saw that Kob immediately picked up an AWP in this round. Actually, we guessed that they would pick up an AWP after their unsuccessful attack in the previous round to stabilize the rhythm of the game. After all, for NA, picking up this AWP now will put a lot of pressure on the defending side in the middle. The opponent will no longer be able to apply pressure in the middle as easily as in the previous rounds, and the cost of obtaining information is also relatively small."

"Given the overall situation, they can only limit Li Mo's sniper rifle performance by covering the area with equipment. However, we must understand that Li Mo's strategic moves often appear in unexpected positions or seize unexpected opportunities to secure kills. Therefore, Team A is under considerable pressure on the defensive side in this round."

"It depends more on whether they can predict the big picture in this round. If they can figure that out, they won't be too aggressive on defense, which means they won't give the big team a chance to kill them in the first place. If they can then use their high discipline and items to get information about the big team, they obviously won't be under much pressure on the defensive end."

For both sides, this next round is undoubtedly crucial. Na has played a key role in the overall game, so if they lose this round, their economy will suffer, unlike before when they were under relatively little pressure.

If Team A, who has just won a round, loses the next round, they will not be able to press their advantage and continue to narrow the score gap. In that case, both sides will be determined to win this round.

"They might have a sniper rifle, and they'll probably make an attempt in the mid lane first."

"Then we'll start by using smoke grenades in the middle lane, and then continuously apply pressure with utility items in the middle lane, so that their AWP won't have much room to maneuver."

As expected, Team A anticipated that Team A would play a pivotal role in this round, altering their offensive strategy and pace. After all, we all know that once a team gains a significant advantage, they are unlikely to attempt a faster, more aggressive pace again.

After all, the most important role of the sniper rifle on this map is to put pressure on the enemy's front line, especially to help teammates take control of key positions.

Team A quickly analyzed this point, partly because they knew their opponents very well and knew that if their offensive rhythm was disrupted, they might make long-term changes.

After obtaining this information and making a prediction, they did not give any space in the middle lane or make any more reckless attempts. Instead, they chose to use items to safely block and delay the enemy.

From a tactical perspective, their choice is perfectly reasonable. It limits NA's ability to obtain information to the greatest extent possible and prevents Li Mo from getting the sniper rifle and creating kills.

"We can still take the front point on A2. They probably won't pay much attention to the second floor with their AWP. So if possible, we should seize the opportunity to provide utility to both the middle and the front point on the second floor at the same time. Even if they have bodyguards protecting the AWP in the middle, we might still be able to seize the opportunity to launch a very unexpected tactical attack."

It has to be said that after playing so many scrimmages, Team A has a better understanding of this powerful opponent than any other team in the world. On the other hand, they don't show any signs of worry like other teams. Instead, after gaining an advantage, they think about how to expand their advantage and actively try some unconventional tactical pressures that even the commentators from a god-like perspective wouldn't dare to believe.

Logically, other top teams, especially facing Li Mo, who is arguably the world's best player, would obviously choose to avoid direct confrontation in this situation. If the sniper's position is relatively easy to pinpoint, they would choose to avoid direct confrontation from that position, at most using utility items to continuously restrict his movement. However, Team A, in this situation, actually chose to proactively devise a tactic to test the waters.

"We see that Team A's idea is quite bold. Three of them are simultaneously using utility in the mid and second-floor positions. It seems they want to launch an unconventional attack in the mid and second-floor areas simultaneously. We can see that NA hasn't realized this yet, since Cobra's AWP is still positioned on both sides of the mid lane, planning to coordinate with his teammates to try and time their attack after using smoke grenades." In fact, Li Mo didn't expect that in this round, the opponent would actually try to challenge his AWP, and their tactics were quite outrageous. They decided to deploy four people simultaneously from Banana to the mid A2 building to try and take down his AWP, and if possible, create more kills in each lane.

Furthermore, because they hadn't anticipated such a bold tactical move from the opponent, NA's preparations were clearly insufficient. Two of them were still probing the banana lane, while in the mid lane there was only Bodyguard and Li Mo with their AWP. This meant that from the moment the opponent decided to execute this tactic, there was a very high probability they would create an advantage.

As expected, after giving tactical instructions, Team A instantly accelerated, deploying all three positions simultaneously. Under these circumstances, Li Mo's reaction speed was beyond human comprehension. With an incredibly quick reflex, he deflected the flashbang, then instantly pulled back and eliminated the first player on A2.

However, in this situation, what a sniper rifle can do is still limited. Even if he manages to take down one person who flashes out from the smoke grenade in the middle lane, the remaining people in the middle lane and A2 building will immediately finish them off.

Furthermore, the person who pulled out of the banana path in this wave successfully demonstrated his shooting skills and individual ability. After flashing, a burst of fire and a shift in position accurately killed two NA players who wanted to reach the banana path. In an instant, NA was left with only one person who wanted to go up to the A2 building, while the enemy still had three survivors.

Faced with this 1v3 situation, even though somebody has all the information on the field, making any moves is obviously very difficult. After all, although no information about his position has been missed, once the opponent eliminates him, they can basically pinpoint his location and then carry out a highly disciplined elimination. It's only a matter of time before he's taken down.

Therefore, under these circumstances, although Na adjusted their offensive rhythm in time and brought out sniper rifles to counter, tactically speaking, they played perfectly well. However, Team A's unconventional and unexpected forward push and proactive attack completely changed the balance of power in this round.

"Okay, we should first congratulate Team A. Even from our vantage point of view, it would have been extremely difficult for them to win this round. But thanks to their understanding of their opponents—since both sides have faced each other many times before—their tactical judgment and response allowed Team A to launch a near-perfect offensive in this round. As a result, Team A has put Na's economy in a rather awkward position."

Because they had a sniper role in the previous round and were still at full strength in terms of utility, NA's economy after losing the round is now only enough to support a force buy. If they manage to get a heavy gun in this round, neither their armor nor their utility will be at full strength.

So now NA has an option: they can choose to go for an E-round, given their current score advantage. In the next rifle round, if both sides are on equal footing, they can also choose to try a strong push.

After all, based on previous rounds, their performance in these long rounds has given them a good chance to gain the advantage they want and find a way to turn the tide.

"Let's force buy. I'll get another AWP this round and see if we can find an opportunity in the middle. You guys keep holding the default positions and try to get as much information as possible from the map. If we get information, we'll immediately launch a simultaneous push at points A and B. The main purpose is to draw the defenders' attention, move their personnel around, and look for opportunities in the process."

For Li Mo, he had already anticipated this before the competition. Their biggest opponent in this World Championship was Team A. First of all, the individual abilities and qualities of their players were definitely among the top three in the competition. More importantly, the two sides had actually faced each other countless times, so they knew each other very well.

Therefore, the opponent must have prepared unconventional tactics before the game to deal with their performance. In this case, the opponent has made great adjustments in tactics and coordination and has a thorough understanding of their own team, which will obviously put pressure on both offense and defense.

"We saw that Cobra's AWP didn't limit Astralis's performance too much in the last round, so in this force buy round, they still opted for an AWP and let their teammates play AK. This tactical choice shows that NA still wants to play very decisively in this round."

"It's mainly because of this map. The positions that both sides can choose during the map control phase, and the space for both sides to strategize, are limited. Cobra still wants to do something with this AWP in this round. In my opinion, Team A probably didn't expect Cobra to still have an AWP in this round. So, under such circumstances, I think his AWP might bring us some unexpected excitement in this round."

After entering the opening stage, Team A believed that NA would not easily choose to eco in this round. Based on their understanding, they knew that NA, even when at a great disadvantage, would always try to find opportunities to pursue. Therefore, if NA could force buy in this round, they believed that NA, as the attacking side, would try their best to maneuver against them.

In the initial back-and-forth, Team A didn't show the same discipline as in the previous two rounds. They believed that since NA didn't have the economy for the AWP in this round, they could actively look for opportunities in the mid lane. So, they chose to come out from a large position to Peek in the first round.

(End of this chapter)