"Nice!" echoed repeatedly in the voice chat, and everyone was too excited to contain themselves.
Jiang Yang suppressed his excitement and shouted at MO, "I told you, you never know if you can win until you actually play!!"
This second map was a real test of mental fortitude.
At the start, they had complete control, storming to a 7:0 lead.
By the end of the first half, they had secured 10 rounds.
But after switching sides in the second half, Tyloo suddenly caught fire, relentlessly chasing points and overtaking them.
On the verge of losing the second map, Jiang Yang and the Steel Helmets stepped up, held their ground, and refused to let it slip away!
In the end, they closed it out 16:14, leaving Tyloo with a bitter, drawn-out defeat.
ãBro, did the Steel Helmets really crush Tyloo?ã
ãThe true Tyloo spirit lives on in the Steel Helmets!!ã
ãAfter all these years, I realized I never loved the 2018 Tyloo itself, but the people in it.ã
ãWE ARE THE CHAMPIONS!ã
ãThat was insane!!ã
ãNiu Dongdong is a beast! He carried the Steel Helmets and wrecked Tylooâthis 2-0 left me speechless.ã
ãCousin was on god mode today! Yang God? More like Yang
!ã
The chat exploded with excitement as viewers flooded the screen with celebratory messages.
Even though this was just an Asian RMR qualifier, a relatively minor tournament, for the Steel Helmets, beating Tyloo had always seemed impossible.
Before this match, no oneânot even MO himselfâbelieved they could defeat Tyloo or VG, teams at that professional tier. If Tyloo actually lost to them, they might as well disband.
Yes, the Steel Helmets were composed of former pros, but just a week ago, they were still parachuting into PUBG lobbies, grinding out 20 matches per hour in a battle royale simulator.
Meanwhile, Tyloo was a fully professional squad, training every single day to improve. The gap was enormous.
Aside from a few gamblers, nobody had bet on them.
But today, Steel Helmets proved them all wrongâ
And not in a lucky BO1 upset, but a crushing 2-0 in a BO3, not even letting Tyloo take a single map.
Absolutely legendary!
As soon as the match ended, Ma Xixi rushed into the Steel Helmets' voice chat:
"Brothers, you guys played out of your mindsâthis was TYLOO!!"
"Insane, boys!!"
The comms were a chaotic mess of hyped-up voices, everyone letting loose after the tense battle.
Even Ma Xixi hadn't expected Steel Helmets' RMR run to deliver such a shocking upset.
Their goal in joining the Asian RMR wasn't even to qualifyâthey just wanted Cousin (Jiang Yang) to get some exposure against Tyloo and VG.
Only one team could make it out of this RMR, and with Tyloo and VG in the mix, Ma Xixi never thought they had a shot.
He just wanted Jiang Yang to hold his ground, make a name for himself, and secure a future in pro CS.
But even he had underestimated his cousin.
Yes, Tylooâs players were all young prodigiesâ
But even among prodigies, there are levels.
Today, Jiang Yang led a team of washed-up veterans and absolutely shattered Tyloo.
At this moment, Ma Xixi felt like a thousand wild horses were stampeding through his mind.
Did it really have to be this dramatic?
Is CNCS finally about to produce another world-class talentâright from my own family?!
Meanwhile, Jiang Yang wasnât thinking about any of that.
He was still basking in the joy of victory.
The clutch moments, the brilliant plays, the intense battlesâall of it replayed in his mind.
A wave of euphoria surged through him.
This is the beauty of esports!
Even without fist bumps from teammates or a roaring LAN crowd, just hearing the raw emotion in voice chat was enough to send chills down his spine.
Ma Xixi wasnât even focused on thanking gifts yetâhe went straight for an interview:
"Yang Yang, letâs hear itâhow does it feel to take down Tyloo 2-0?"
Jiang Yang's face lit up with a satisfied grin:
"CS is just too damn fun! This is f*ing amazing!"**
"So what if theyâre a pro team? So what if theyâre world #1? You never know until you play! Give me the chance, and Iâll topple world #1 too!"
The Steel Helmets erupted.
Jiang Yang's words were bold, but he had every right to be.
They won today because he carried them to victory.
In esports, fans love a confident young player, and right now, Jiang Yang had both the skill and the attitude that resonated with viewers.
ãYou gotta have fire in your heart when you're young!ã
ãCousin, are you trying to destroy CNCS?ã
ãMO recruiting Cousin to the Steel Helmets was the best decision of the year.ã
ãThis kid might actually save CNCS!ã
ãTwo more wins left! Are the Steel Helmets really making Major?!ã
ãMOâs best quote: âIf you canât even beat Steel Helmets, just disband already.âã
Suddenly, Brother Xiaosa chimed in:
"Honestly, we should never have played this RMR."
His pretentious tone immediately sent the chat into laughter.
"Think about itâif we crush VG next, wonât that mean CNCS is doomed?"
"Then what? Tyloo hires us? Do we accept or not?"
"Maybe we should forfeit now and let Tyloo and VG duke it out instead. Wouldnât that be hilarious?"
Everyone burst out laughing.
Of course, forfeiting was out of the question. But as a streamer team beating one of Chinaâs top pro squads, they were definitely allowed some friendly banter.
Ma Xixi sighed in relief:
"That second map was way too close. So many times, I thought we were done."
"Especially after that last timeout."
As they reminisced, MO spoke up:
"Props to Cousinâhis sniping was insane. Not even joking, that Scout play where he took out two? Completely flipped the round for us."
"Yeah, Cousin was the MVP today. Xixi, you better treat us to a proper mealâdonât make our star player eat instant noodles like you do."
Jiang Yang quickly added:
"Nah, everyone played well. No one choked under pressure. Letâs keep this momentum going tomorrow!"
"Letâs gooo!!"
Meanwhile, chat was going crazy, demanding an interview with somebody, a former teammate of the Steel Helmets now playing for Tyloo.
They wanted to see his reaction after getting demolished by his old friends.
But Jiang Yang knew better.
GO players generally had good relationships, but interviewing somebody right after beating Tyloo would be straight-up BM.
Instead, he leaned into Ma Xixiâs stream and played along with chat:
"Yo, Steel Helmets chatâwhatâs with you guys?!"
"All you ever spam is âIâll crush you, Ma Xixiââcanât you come up with something new?!"
"How about this? Everyone spam âMO, Iâll crush you!â instead!!"
The chat instantly rebelled, spamming âMa Xixi, Iâll crush youâ even harder.
As Ma Xixi laughed, he realizedâ
He really liked his cousin.
Jiang Yang was handsome, insanely talented at CS, and had a natural gift for entertaining people.
Pulling him into this team was the best decision he ever made.
But Jiang Yang didnât waste time celebratingâ
As soon as he finished interacting with chat, he logged off and went straight into training mode.
Tomorrow, he had two more wins to secure.
Because one day, he wanted to stand on the grandest stageâ
Stockholm Major.
And hear the crowd chant his name.
"YOUNG! YOUNG!"
After about an hour of aim training, Jiang Yang opened his system panelâonly to see a new floating message pop up in front of him.
ã30-year-old you had incredible streaming talent, but Danking always had the upper hand. He even smeared you, claiming you were never better than him. Now, in this comeback match, youâve made him relive the pain of the past.ã
ãHidden mission completedâ¦ã
ãRewards are being distributedâ¦ã
ãCongratulations, Old Veteran, you have received: "A pack of betel nuts."ã
ãCongratulations, Old Veteran, you have received 10,188 Comeback Points.ã
Jiang Yang blinked in surprise.
This was the first hidden mission he had ever encountered.
A sudden mission rewardâdefinitely unexpected, but he wasnât complaining.
Beating Tyloo had directly triggered it.
This meant the Comeback System had three different types of missions:
Main Missions, Temporary Missions, and Hidden Missions.
Jiang Yang thought for a moment.
So⦠in my future at age 30, Danking also became a streamer?
And he was popular enough to suppress me?
That guy mustâve quit playing professionally at some point, then.
Jiang Yang wasnât surprisedâDanking had talent, but he wasnât some once-in-a-generation prodigy.
What did surprise him, though, was the idea that Danking could surpass him in the streaming world.
No way.
Jiang Yang had always believed in his natural talent for entertainment.
Even now, he didnât take streaming seriouslyâjust fooling around in Ma Xixiâs broadcasts.
But one thing was for sureâ
If Danking ever said he was better than Jiang Yang at CSâ¦
That was straight-up delusional.
Jiang Yang had played against him today in multiple duels.
Danking was strong, sure, but compared to the monsters he faced in the simulated training space, the pressure was laughable.
He glanced at his rewards.
The betel nutâ¦
Yeah, he immediately threw that away.
Jiang Yang never liked that stuff.
Besides, heâd read that excessive consumption led to oral cancerâwhy would he ever risk it?
The real prize was the 10,188 Comeback Points.
Ever since unlocking "Choose Your Opponent," he had been desperately low on points.
If he wanted to train against truly elite opponents, he needed a ton of points to simulate those matches.
Now?
This was exactly what he needed.
His confidence after defeating Tyloo was sky-high.
The mental barrier of grinding in the simulation space was gone.
Jiang Yang was ready.
He opened the selection menu and quickly scrolled through the available opponents.
Added to training queue:
â
NIKO (2018)
â
S1mple (2018)
â
gla1ve (2018)
â
â¦
After confirming payment, Jiang Yang cracked his fingers.
Now letâs see if these prison wardens live up to their reputations.
And thanks, Danking.
Without you, I wouldnât have had the points to afford this session.
Meanwhile, at the Tyloo team dormitoryâ¦
Danking suddenly sneezed.
The team manager turned his head, voice sharp with frustration:
"What, you got a problem with this?!"
"You guys lost to the Steel Helmets today. Next, you're gonna lose to a net café team? After that, a random five-stack from matchmaking? What's nextâlosing to silver ranks?!"
"Do you even care about your careers anymore?!"
Danking glanced at his monitor, expression twisting into pure agony.
They had already been lectured for half an hour.
When would this hell end?!
"Young, are you trying to destroy Tyloo?!"