CS: The Last Dance, a Dance That Leads to Professional Success

Chapter 71 The Shadow of the Demon King Descends Upon This World! (Seeking First Subscription!)
It's no wonder that Niko subconsciously felt that Meng Lang was delirious due to pressure.

FAZE Clan, the "predators" of the Legends Group, are unlike any team they have faced in the Challengers Group before.

The challenger teams are strong, often because they excel in a specific area.

Even a strong team like Little Bees, with a "deputy vice-Goat" like ZywOo, often experiences the shocking situation of four maggots: the carry is imprisoned for life while the other four are collectively sleepwalking.

But FAZE is different.

The return of the commanding older brother Karrigan and the addition of the genius young Ropz seem to have completed the last two perfect pieces of the puzzle for this galactic battleship.

This team has no obvious tactical weaknesses!
The lineup is nothing short of dreamlike:

The team's soul, Rain, possesses fierce fearlessness; Twistzz is stable and precise; Broky is extremely efficient and reliable in defensive sniping; Ropz has unpredictable endgame abilities; and Big Brother, at the peak of his command, is the "strongest tactical brain" who strategizes and plans everything.

Every player is world-class!

In contrast, while the Little Bees also have the two stars from Team A, Magic Man and Durant, and former TOP, FaZe currently boasts three top-ranked players.

Ropz, broky, and Twistzz are all at the peak of their individual performance. They not only rank highly in HLTV's Top 20 rankings (Ropz eighth, Borky sixth), but they are also able to step up and carry their teams in crucial matches.

It can be said that FAZE has a standard multi-core lineup, with strong players in every position!

Their strength lies not only in individual abilities, but also in the near-perfect team chemistry!
In fact, FaZe Clan, who won the Cato and EPL championships before the Antwerp Major, won almost all the major tournaments they participated in, and started a veritable "championship harvesting" mode!
Facing a team with terrifying roster depth, red-hot form, and who just swept them in the finals, who in G2 wouldn't feel pressured?
This pressure intensified after the G2 team arrived at the match studio.

—Just as they were preparing for the match, the results of the first four matches of the Legends Group came in one after another, with the Challenger Group teams losing all four of their matches!
Liquid is no match for Team X!
BNE suffered a crushing defeat against the fire team led by Wu Zhuge!
Outsiders.VP lost to the resurrected C9!

Among them, the Little Bees suffered the worst defeat. It's unclear whether it was because they were beaten by G2 in the promotion match or something else, but they were swept 16-4 by NIP!

In other words, all the teams that fought their way up from the Challenger Group were completely wiped out when they encountered the "predators" from the Legend Group in the first round, with none of them escaping unscathed!

The news weighed heavily on everyone in the G2 lounge, like a boulder. The previously relaxed atmosphere instantly froze.

Niko subconsciously rubbed his fingers together, Leonardo DiCaprio frowned, and even the usually lively huNter- silently checked the equipment.

The fifth team to appear will face off against the in-form and terrifyingly strong FAZE... Just thinking about this prospect is enough to make one's breath catch in their throat.

Douyu live stream room 6657.

When the Little Bees lost to NIP by a huge margin, the live chat exploded:

"Adu: Tom, you're not in Antwerp at all, where have you been?"

"Damn it! That demon is a monster! He must be so bored with that flash, right?"

"Waaaaah! My homework has been mailed!"

"Damn it! How can apEX win with a rating of 0.25? It's a complete 10/10!"

"It feels like apEX's brain has been overloaded ever since the fierce battle with G2 in the promotion series, and he still hasn't come back to his senses!"

"."

Looking at the screen full of complaints, Wanji couldn't help but laugh and say, "Brothers, stop complaining. This is the hierarchical system of CS! It's not surprising that the little bees can't beat NIP. Let's see if they can adjust their strategy later."

He abruptly changed the subject, raising his voice eight octaves: "Alright! We've finished with the Little Bees' match, so let's stop talking about that now. Next up is everyone's most anticipated game—G2 vs. FAZE! Let's see if they can pull off an upset today!"

Upon hearing about playing with the machines, the live stream chat immediately erupted in a barrage of comments:
"I look forward to your adoration!"

"Damn it! Something's not right! The first four who disobeyed their superiors all lost!"

"I'm a woman, and I think G2 has already won in terms of looks!"

"The internet celebrity team is in deep trouble! They're just waiting to be kicked to death by the Galactic Battleship!"

"Waaaaah! Please, let's play a game of underdogs! The hierarchical system in CS is so boring!"

"."

Despite the various jokes and comments in the live stream, the popularity and number of VIPs in the live stream increased rapidly. In the blink of an eye, the number of VIPs soared from 5 when the commentator was Little Bee to 10, and the popularity also increased from 350 million to 650 million.

It's clear that while the audience may say they don't think it's a good match, they are secretly looking forward to this highly anticipated game.

After all, Meng Lang is one of the few CNCS players to have made it into the Major Legends stage over the years. Just the fact that a CN player has appeared on this top stage after so many years since TyLoo is enough to ignite the enthusiasm of countless domestic viewers.

"Whoa! Both contestants are ready to take the stage!"

Suddenly, the man playing with the machine shouted, "It seems the director has shown a pre-match interview with a big brother on the other end. Hehe, let's switch to the English stream first."

The scene shifts to the English commentary booth, where host Banks is interviewing karrigan with a smile, while Broky, carrying a peripheral bag, stands next to him.

Banks: "Welcome karrigan! How does it feel to be back on the Major stage, facing familiar faces like Niko and G2? Are you excited?"

Karrigan smiled and swayed his body: "Of course I'm looking forward to it. It's always interesting to play against G2."

Banks: "How confident are you about your journey in this Major?"

Karrigan immediately stopped hesitating, his tone calm and confident: "Full of confidence! Since the beginning of the year, I've had complete confidence in this FAZE team. This isn't just because of my personal performance, but also because of my teammates. Everyone can make a huge contribution in the game. Having such teammates to support me gives me a lot of confidence. I think our five players are a perfect lineup, and I'm ready to win all the championships this year!"

boom--!
The surrounding FAZE fans erupted in enthusiastic cheers.

After the cheers subsided slightly, host Banks continued with a smile, "G2's newcomer Dark has been performing exceptionally well in the Challengers Stage. Have you been following him? Will there be any special strategies to counter him in today's matches?"

Karrigan laughed out loud upon hearing this, appearing quite relaxed.

"Yes, it's that young man who said he wanted to be number 1 after the match. I've seen his stats, and they are indeed very good. But to be honest, we won't deliberately target Dark, this young player. Our strategy is designed to counter G2 as a whole."

At this point, the older cousin suddenly spread his hands strategically: "Well, in fact, I even have some doubts about whether he can maintain the level he had in the Challengers in the Legends group."

At this moment, Broky suddenly interjected, laughing and saying, "I don't think he outsmarted his opponent in terms of game intelligence; he just had better aim and speed. But CS:GO has never been just a simple aiming game."

Douyu live stream room 6657.

Upon hearing this interview, Wanji couldn't help but exclaim, "Holy crap! Big Brother is really confident! What he's implying is that he doesn't take Dark seriously at all."

"But thinking about it, it makes sense. At his age, what kind of prodigies haven't he seen while playing professionally? Take, for example, his teammates ropz, broky, and Twistzz—aren't they all prodigies who started as gunners? For him, it's probably nothing special!"

He paused, then added a hint of anticipation: "That being said, I personally really hope Dark can pull through today and maintain his form and touch from the Challengers group! He needs to perform well again today! He absolutely can't be a flash in the pan, Dark!"

The live stream chat immediately split into several camps:

"You know what, my cousin has a good eye for people, he might actually be a good one."

"It all depends on the opponent! These top predators in the Legendary group are just too damn ferocious!"

"Indeed, a complete wipeout in the first four matches—that's the strict hierarchy of Counter-Strike in the trenches!"

"Believe in Black! No! Believe in Black God! Charge!"

"I want to see Black God go all out again!"

"If I can beat FAZE today and slap that big pig in the face, you'll be my Dark Lord!!"

"."

The pre-match interview segment ended quickly.

But the atmosphere in the 6657 live stream suddenly reversed, and even the barrage of comments that used to flood the screen became much less frequent!

There's no way around it, it's just that Big Pig's pre-match interview was just too infuriating!
Although everyone knows that's just his personality.

But this sarcasm was so direct and sarcastic, and it was directed at the college student who came from our village—we can just curse him behind our backs and that's fine, but what's with you, you big pig, showing your attitude before the competition even started?
Amidst the heated discussions off the field, the fifth round of the first day of the Legends Group match took place: G2 vs. FAZE!

With both players ready, the draft phase is finally about to begin.

In this match, G2 banned the map first, immediately removing Amusement Park and Ancient Ruins.

FAZE's three consecutive bans included the Lost City, Town, and Sand City.

Suddenly, only the nuclear reactor and the building remained on the field.

In live stream room 6657, I laughed while watching them play with the machines.

"Dude! You're telling me this is not deliberately targeting Dark?! You're clearly targeting Dark from the very first map selection!"

"Maze and Town are currently Dark's strong maps! Let's not even talk about Sand City 2! Dark achieved the highest rating in the Challenger Group with 43 kills in Sand City 2! It's a huge lead over the second-place Degster's 1.83 highest single-game rating! It's absolutely amazing! Now, all of them have been taken away by Big Brother."

At this point, Wanji took a breath, "Then this is going to be difficult! G2 isn't going to play on Tower now! Although Carry is a strong map for G2, Dark's Carry performance is relatively average, so this final draft will be very difficult."

On the FAZE pitch, Karrigan watched as the G2 players on the opposing team stared at the screen, their brows furrowed, engaged in a heated discussion. A smile crept onto his lips as he exchanged a knowing glance with his teammates.

Just throwing out smokescreens before the match, surely no one will actually take it seriously?
That kid with the ID Dark had such an exaggerated rating in the Challenger group, his data was dazzlingly impressive, how could Karrigan not take him seriously?
As one of the commanders who had studied their opponents most thoroughly, he had already watched Dark's match recordings in the Challengers Group several times over.

But he also understands a principle: CSGO is not just a game of gun skill, especially for "gun-wielding" players like Dark who clearly rely on extreme reaction and positioning. There is one map that can be called their "truth mirror" - that is Nuka-Crisis.

This map has an extremely unique structure, with layers of underground areas, iron plates, outer areas, and Bomb Site A stacked on top of each other, forming a complex three-dimensional battlefield.

Its narrow passages, numerous corners, and complex information positions make it easy for individuals to get caught in a crossfire by relying solely on their shooting skills, or to be easily neutralized by opponents using terrain and equipment.

A simple gunner on this map can easily be slowly whittled down by experienced opponents through crossfire, item restrictions, or tactical maneuvers, due to aggressive movement or poor positioning, and then easily "arrested" by traps set for them.

In other words, in a nuclear crisis, having a crosshair but no brain won't get you anywhere. That's exactly what Big Brother (the author) was targeting in BP (Browser Plan).

So when he saw BP ultimately turn out as he had predicted.

After much hesitation, G2's young player named Dark turned to coach xtqzzz and captain Xiao Lizi and said something. Then, the coach finally made up his mind and removed the map they almost never played, the one with a dismal win rate, and chose Nukem as the final map.
At that moment, the eldest cousin's smile completely blossomed.

"Nice!"

On the FAZE stage, ropz, broky, and others exchanged glances, all seeing smiles in each other's eyes.

Today's draft phase, starting from the very first ban, was completely within Big Brother's calculations, giving him a head start!
However, what the FAZE members didn't know was that
Meng Lang had just turned around and said to the conflicted Xiao Li and coach XTQZZZ:

Leave the nucleus!
I'm incredibly powerful with nuclear weapons now!
……

After a while,
Antwerp Major Legends Group
Day 1, Round 5!

G2 vs. FAZE Clan.

Map: Nuclear Crisis!
T (Attacking Side):

rain, twistzz, broky, ropz, karrigan.

CT side (defenders):

NiKo, huNter-, m0NESY, Aleksib, Dark! !
Undoubtedly, Nuclear Crisis is a famous large-scale map, and the CT side, with its geographical advantage, theoretically has a greater advantage over the Defenders at the start.

Unfortunately, FAZE had bad luck and lost the rock-paper-scissors game, so G2 will definitely pick CT first.

But at this moment, Karrigan, the commander of FAZE on the offensive side, seemed very optimistic. With his natural leadership qualities, he clapped his hands and encouraged his teammates in a relaxed tone:
"Brothers, let's start with the hard stuff! Let's take them down on the T side first! Let's really demoralize them!"

He paused, his gaze sweeping over his teammates, and added deliberately:
"And from another perspective, if the opponent is on the CT side, Dark won't be able to buy his best AK in the first half. Once we start the round, we'll disrupt his rhythm and break his touch. In the second half, if we switch to CT, the game will be much easier!"

Rain, his former teammate known as "Rain God," chuckled and asked, "So, how are you planning to start?"

The older brother smiled confidently, his instructions simple and direct: "Simple! In the pistol round, rush the iron plate! Utilize the advantage of our Glock in close-quarters combat, and quickly break through!"

In fact, there was a deeper motive behind his instruction.

He had studied G2's defensive positioning and knew that Meng Lang was G2's main defender on the CT side's iron plate. Since he wanted to "cool down" Meng Lang's performance, he naturally had to start applying pressure from the very first moment of the game!
Moreover, pre-match data indicated...

G2's pistol round win rate in this Major is "a piece of shit", so why not concentrate firepower from the start and break through this iron plate guarded by rookies!

……

Douyu live stream room 6657.

Watching the completed match, Wanjiqi (a commentator) smiled and said, "Alright! Viewers, this is the Antwerp Major Legends Group match between G2 and FAZE. I'm Wanjiqi Ma Xing! Let's take a look at the pistol round first. Hopefully, G2 can improve in the pistol rounds today. They've won very few pistol rounds in this Major."

"Let's take a look at the opening. T's FAZE has two utility sets, but only one smoke. Oh? Big Brother jumps out and throws a smoke grenade at the front gate. Are they going to gank A from the outside?"

"Wait! There isn't one!"

The voices of those playing with the machines suddenly rose, "The smoke at the main entrance is a decoy! Big Brother directly called for a RUSH on the steel plate! The five members of FAZE assembled and charged straight for the steel plate!"

As the sound of machines being operated was heard, the director quickly switched the camera to FAZE's perspective.

At the junction, five people, T, gathered.

ropz precisely fired an incendiary grenade, setting fire to the box near the metal plate, commonly known as the "scalp position," while simultaneously firing a flashbang over the top of the metal plate—a classic one-way flashbang to cover his teammates' charge.

"Rain took the lead! He didn't hesitate at all! Because of the RUSH iron plate tactic, the first one to go out is to create a firing line. Anyway, the directors Twistzz, broky, and ROPZ behind him are all top-notch gunners and can definitely provide follow-up fire. Rain trusts his teammates a lot!"

They started playing the machines loudly!
"FAZE is going to make a hard push! G2 seems to have had some attention drawn by Big Brother's smoke blast at the front gate at the start, and now only Dark is watching the iron plate!"

"Damn it! If someone falls in Dark, our teammates on the third floor won't have time to cover, and FAZE will take the B bombsite!"

"What about Dark? He got burned by the scalp fire from ropz's scalp box, so should he go underground to protect himself and wait for his teammates?"

"Wait! What?!"

The man playing with the machine exclaimed in astonishment, "Dark didn't choose to go down to save himself! He just used a self-defense flashbang to spawn!"

The director's camera immediately locked onto Meng Lang's first-person perspective. The moment he was burned off the iron plate, instead of retreating, he decisively switched to a flashbang and aimed it at the wall. Under the cover of the flashbang explosion, he pulled the USP out of the iron plate ramp with a fierce grip!
puff--!
The USP silencer emitted its distinctive crisp gunshot!

G2-Dark used a USP to headshot and kill FAZE-rain.

He instantly eliminated the Rain God who was at the very front!
Then, without stopping,

Quickly pull the iron plate ramp horizontally!
The three gunmen who followed up from FAZE—Director, Broccoli, and ropz—all managed to successfully backflash thanks to their top-notch reflexes. However, they never expected that the CT, who should have been burned back by the fire, would not only not run away but would instead actively engage in a gunfight!

Meng Lang's USP crosshair, drawing on his previous experience in the simulation space, no longer targets the head, but instead uses the USP's unique recoil to hit "bullets" one after another!
puff--!
puff--!
puff--!
The USP gunshots rang out rhythmically and continuously!
Like being called out by Death!
G2-Dark used a USP to headshot and kill FAZE-Twistzz

G2-Dark used a USP to headshot and kill FAZE-broky

G2-Dark used a USP to headshot and kill FAZE-ropz.

Gunshot to the head!

Live stream room 6657! All that could be heard was the player exclaiming in astonishment, like a counter:

"Oh! One! Rain God! Two! Director! Three! Broccoli! Four!!! ROPZ!!! Dark caught four in one go! My God! Dark! Is your USP that terrifying too? That's so precise and elegant!"

After marveling at the machine, his speech suddenly quickened again!
"But Dark's health is low! FAZE only has Karrigan left! He's circling around the iron plate with Karrigan! Karrigan knows G2's rotation is coming soon, so he doesn't dare to stay on the iron plate with Dark for too long. He's going to jump off the iron plate and go underground to at least try the next bomb!"

"Dark's mission is complete. His health is too low. He just needs to wait here for his teammates on the third floor and outside to come down to K1 and gank him!"

"Wait! What? Dark gave chase right away!"

Suddenly, the sounds of playing with the machines filled with an incredible atmosphere.

"Oh! My cousin heard footsteps! He turned around! Glock is facing the sky!"

"But Dark! Whoa—!!!" Wanji let out his signature super-high-pitched bubble sound, his voice almost distorted, "Dark fired another USP jump shot in mid-air! Headshot! He got Big Brother! Pentakill! Dark got a pentakill on the iron plate! ACE!!!"

G2-Dark used a USP to headshot and kill FAZE-karrigan in mid-air.

Pentakill!

ACE!

The chat in live stream room 6657 exploded instantly:

Holy crap!!!

[Completely destroyed?! This USP must be a lock-on lock!]

[This self-replicating flash refresh is absolutely amazing! What a mysterious food delivery port!]

That final headshot in mid-air was just too ridiculous!

[Big Brother: What happened to the arrest of the gunman? Why am I the one being treated like a pig and slaughtered?]

[FAZE: The five of us rushed the steel plate, and then we were surrounded by him all by himself?]

[That reaction! That positioning! You're the Bandaged God of War!!]

[G2's pistol round... was carried by Dark all by himself!]

The G2 stands erupted in cheers!
"Holy shit! Nice brothers!"

My cousin was the first to shout it out.

Old Ni and m0NESY excitedly high-fived Meng Lang.

Leonardo DiCaprio breathed a sigh of relief, a smile of relief spreading across his face.

After realizing that FAZE's fake outer area was actually a solid defensive wall, they all thought that the solid wall had been lost and that they would have to go to point B to fight an extremely difficult defense!

However, once the enemy enters B and plants the bomb, their gun positions spread out. In the pistol round, without pliers, the enemy doesn't even need to engage in gunfights with them; they can simply wear them down by stalling. The success rate of retaking the area is pitifully low.

However, Leonardo DiCaprio did not expect this.

All his worries were unnecessary. Meng Lang, all alone, with just a USP, wiped out the entire FAZE team right there on the iron plate!

Too bad!
Meng Lang himself breathed a sigh of relief, a slight smile appearing on his lips!
"lucky."

That's half the truth.

When he first took down the first four, thanks to the boost to his basic shooting skills from the fused Chrysanthemum remnant, he was somewhat confident in mastering the "ricochet" headshot rhythm.

However, that last jump shot against my cousin!
Although he knew that the USP could maintain relatively high accuracy when jumping and firing in the air, far surpassing other pistols, this thing was still full of uncertainties!
Able to kill instantly
To be honest, I was lucky.

At this moment, everyone in the Faze booth was stunned!
The relaxed and confident atmosphere just moments ago seemed to be shattered instantly by a USP called "Dark"!

Karrigan stared at his gray screen, his chubby cheeks twitching slightly. His smug smile, which had been so confident and composed just moments before, froze completely.

Then it slowly disappeared.
(End of this chapter)