âTurn down the AC a bitâitâs getting hot in here!â
The Newhappy coach glanced up at the controls: 16°C, maximum power, full blast. It couldnât get any colder.
He knew JEE wasnât lying, though. The sweat dripping down his forehead proved it.
JEE took a few deep breaths, struggling to calm his nerves.
He opened the scoreboard and checked. That guy on the other teamâsomeone his own ageâhad already racked up a staggering 24/4/6 stat line in just the first half of 15 rounds.
JEE wiped the sweat off his brow.
Dude, werenât you trash just a few days ago during the qualifiers?
How come youâre going supernova just because weâre playing you?
24 kills, 4 assists, and 6 deathsâthat kind of insane stat line would already count as a carry performance for an entire match.
Was this for real?
As the match moved into the second half pistol round, JEEâs teammate on B-site was the first to take down young. Finally, JEE could breathe a sigh of relief.
When they won the pistol round, JEE couldnât hold back and yelled excitedly in the training room, âNice!!!â
âDonât give them any chancesâclaw back the points!â
âAs long as we can hold off their top fragger, the rest of their team is easy to handle!â
No one could blame him for getting so worked up. The ID âyoungâ on the opposing team had been intimidating them all game.
And with this being a BO1 (best of one) match, losing meant an immediate exit!
If they lost to top-tier teams like Tyloo or VG, it wouldnât be so bad.
But to lose against Steel Helmets, a team of streamers? That would be absolutely humiliating.
âUnlucky, unlucky.â
âI shouldâve just jumped down there.â
The Steel Helmetsâ team comms were full of self-reassurance.
Their teamwork had some glaring flawsâunder pressure, their coordination often broke down, leading to frequent mistakes.
Now that theyâd lost the pistol round in the second half, momentum seemed to be swinging toward Newhappy, and the Steel Helmets were feeling the heat.
Fortunately, they managed to plant the bomb, which kept their economy in decent shape.
âLetâs force buy and try a strat,â MO suggested. âWeâll hit sewer and mid at the same time on the second timing, then execute the VIP and Archway strat.â
This was a modified tactic inspired by an old play from Team A, focusing on map control and synchronized timingâperfect for a group of experienced veterans like them.
This round was more of a test run to look for opportunities. If they could turn the game around, great.
As the countdown ended, Jiang Yang followed the plan. He bought half armor, a Desert Eagle, and a smoke grenade, saving the rest of his money for a sniper rifle in the rifle round.
At T-Spawn, he stayed behind cover, watching out for enemy aggression.
Meanwhile, DD and Su Di steadily advanced through sewer, moving toward the area beneath VIP.
Seeing this, MO gave the order: âSync up at T-Spawn and midâclear mid first!â
The moment they synchronized, gunfire erupted from Archway.
But the CT playerâs aim wasnât greatânot a single kill with an entire magazine.
Instead, DD landed a clean headshot with his Tec-9.
âArchwayâs low HP!â he called, rushing forward.
Su Di, who always claimed to be âas calm as a bull,â followed up without hesitation to finish off the enemy.
Seeing the situation unfold, Jiang Yang moved into B-Short, covering the VIP area.
But just as gunfire erupted in Archway, Jiang Yang sensed something was wrong.
âThereâs another player hiding close in Archway.â
Su Di added, âThat guy is half HP.â
Hearing this, Jiang Yang immediately instructed, âCover me from VIP,â before pushing forward and pre-aiming Archway.
As the enemy moved, they werenât in his crosshair, but Jiang Yang quickly crouched and fired his Desert Eagle.
âBang!â
ãyoung+karsa killed Daniel with a Desert Eagleã
âNice shot!â MO praised. âIâll smoke Archwayâyou can grab the gun.â
As MOâs words echoed, good news came from another spot.
At L-position, Xiao Sa took out a CT trying to peek B-Short.
âNice shot! Itâs 3v3 now! One of them is low HP!â DD reminded everyone in comms.
It was clear that Newhappyâs young players were getting impatient, always peeking for kills but without Jiang Yangâs calculated approach. Their mistake gave Steel Helmets a window of opportunity.
Jiang Yang quickly threw a smoke into VIP, planning to retrieve the gun from B-Short.
But under the strict training of âDungeon Boss,â Jiang Yang had developed strong discipline.
He knew that rushing in without waiting for the smoke to fully deploy would be a death sentence.
In VIP, JEE heard the sound of the smoke grenade and immediately pushed out, trying to catch the timing.
But as he stepped out, he saw Jiang Yang holding a Desert Eagle aimed straight at him.
âBang!â
ãyoung killed JEE with a Desert Eagle headshotã
In the training room, JEE wore an expression of pure frustration, unable to understand why Jiang Yang had been holding that angle at that exact moment.
Now that he was dead, the CT side was at a numerical disadvantage.
Could they really lose this game? JEEâs unease grew.
Meanwhile, in CSBOYâs livestream, Ma Xixi shouted excitedly, âCousin just killed another one with his Desert Eagle! Now they have the numbers advantage! If they donât rush, they can reorganize, and MOâs top-tier calling will carry them!â
âBut MO, can you deliver?â
âMO delivers! He groups up the team and decides to rotate back through A2 for a coordinated push!â
âNewhappy, on the other hand, splits up their defenseâsuch a rookie move at this critical moment!â
âThe low-HP CT in CT-Base gets instantly deleted by MO, and they easily secure the bombsite. This round is theirs!â
Newhappyâs remaining CTs hesitated in B-Site, realizing they couldnât retake.
As the C4 exploded on A-Site, the score shifted to 11-6.
The chat in CSBOYâs livestream erupted:
ãLooks like theyâve stabilized in the second half.ã
ãAre they really going to pull off a comeback?ã
ãDonât jinx it! Steel Helmets is still a clown team!ã
With Steel Helmets winning the second round of the second half, Newhappyâs economy was shattered. Forced buys werenât enough to stop Steel Helmetsâ momentum.
By the time the game entered rifle rounds, Steel Helmets was on a roll. Jiang Yang, DD, and Xiao Sa all stepped up, picking off Newhappy players.
Before they knew it, the score was 15-9.
One more round, and Steel Helmets would advance to the next stage!
Newhappyâs mental state was teetering on the edge. At that moment, Jiang Yang heard DD say, âCaptain, call a timeout. I need a smoke to calm my nerves.â
âCall two. I need to hit the restroom,â Su Di added.
âNo kiddingâIâve had a cigarette sitting between my fingers for two minutes, but Iâve been too busy to light it.â
Jiang Yang: ââ¦â¦â
Sensing Jiang Yangâs silence, DD laughed and said, âWe might as well mess with the other side a bit. They called so many timeouts in the first halfâlove timeouts, do they? Letâs give them some!â
MO chimed in, âItâs fine. Letâs take this chance to catch our breath. Itâs been a while since weâve had such intense matches, so letâs all rest a little.â
This tactic left Newhappy completely bewildered.
Steel Helmets was already on match point, putting immense pressure on Newhappy. Now Steel Helmets called a timeout out of nowhere. Newhappy thought they were plotting some top-tier strategy, which put them even more on edge.
When the timeout ended, Jiang Yang considered his options and grabbed an AK-47. âAlright, guys, time to show off my A-Long pre-aiming skills.â
MO thought for a moment and said, âIâll smoke VIP right away. Su Di, apply some pressure in mid while we push A-Site together!â
Su Di responded, âGot it. Iâll make them feel like an army is charging down mid.â
Jiang Yang joked, âSwitch to manual!â
The team burst into laughter.
As the countdown ended, Jiang Yang pushed forward to A-Long, planning to seize the first opportunity to make a play.
When he peaked out, he noticed that the CTs hadnât thrown a molotov at A-Long. Instead, he saw a smoke grenade flying toward A2.
Judging by the trajectory, it was clearly thrown from behind Long Box!
âTargeting reward +25,â flashed on his screen.
Jiang Yang immediately called out in comms, âDonât flash behind meâIâve found an amazing timing!â
Just as he said that, he saw a molotov coming his way from Long Box. However, it exploded mid-air, failing to land properly.
Jiang Yangâs eyes widened, his breathing quickened with excitement. This mistake gave him an even bolder idea.
If the same CT player threw both the smoke for A2 and the molotov, that likely meant the other defender on A-Site had no utility leftâor it was a solo defense on A-Site!
CS:GO isnât just about aim;
itâs also a game of information and mind games.
âThe siteâs probably being solo-defended. That guyâs at Long Box. DD, cover meâIâm pushing Archway!â Jiang Yang announced.
If he could eliminate two players quickly, this round was as good as won.
MO understood Jiang Yangâs plan instantly and said, âOnce you start engaging, weâll throw utility from the backline. But youâve got 10 seconds maxâany longer, and their rotations will ruin the timing.â
Jiang Yang nodded silently and, with DD covering him, crab-walked forward, pre-aiming each potential angle.
In the spectator view, Ma Xixi felt goosebumps rise.
This kid had guts.
But in CS:GO, fortune often favors the bold.
âCousin is still showing off his pre-aiming skills. Look at thisâthe VIP player just missed the perfect timing. The precision here is insane. Cousin, was this part of your master plan?â
Finally, the CT behind Long Box peeked out for informationâonly to be instantly headshotted by DD.
âLong Box down!â MO announced.
Hearing this, the defenders started rotating toward A1 to reinforce the site. But just as the CT at Archway turned to reposition, he found himself staring down the barrel of Jiang Yangâs AK-47.
âBang!â
ãyoung killed Navygo with an AK-47 headshotã
âLong Box is clear!!â Navygo yelled in confusion over Newhappyâs comms.
How had the enemy already reached Long Box when theyâd just reported A1 was breached? Was the enemy a teleporting ninja?
Jiang Yang wasnât done. His teammatesâ utility grenades flew in as he darted into CT-Spawn, capitalizing on the confusion.
Pre-aiming again, he spotted a CT crouched at the VIP entrance, carefully aiming his gun.
But the CT underestimated Jiang Yangâs speed.
âBang!â
ãyoung killed JEE with an AK-47 headshotã
The instant Jiang Yang landed the kill, he shouted in excitement, âGuys, plant the bomb! Iâm pre-aiming so hard, itâs crazy!â
Three consecutive kills had the Steel Helmetsâ comms buzzing with energy. The team rushed to plant the bomb on A-Site, while everyone reminded each other to stay disciplined since they were already on match point.
Newhappyâs last two players tried to mount a retake, but they had no teammates, no numbers advantage, no defuse kit, and no utility.
They had nothing.
In the end, Su Di silently flanked through mid to Archway, catching both remaining CTs off guard and killing them from behind.
The final score on Dust2 was 16-9.
Steel Helmets, a team of streamers, had defeated the professional squad Newhappy.
And with that victory, Jiang Yang celebrated his first professional win!