Pay AttentionâThis Man Is Called Xiao Shuai.
He is a CS:GO professional player.
Today, heâs about to start his second-round match in the Asian RMR.
Right now, thereâs still plenty of time before the match begins. Having already finished his preparations, Xiao Shuai is casually surfing the web as part of his daily routine.
His outstanding performance yesterday left him itching to see how the internet was reacting to him.
He opened Bilibili and was about to check out CSBOYâs recorded stream to see what people were saying about him when he stumbled upon a clip from Big Brother Long Neckâa.k.a. Leonkai.
Xiao Shuai actually liked Leonkai quite a bit. Back when he faced Leonkai in the ladder matches and completely dominated him, other streamers had immediately jumped to conclusions, swearing up and down that Jiang Yang must be cheating.
But Leonkai had been differentâhe had spoken cautiously, unwilling to wrongly accuse anyone.
In the CS:GO scene, Leonkai might not be the most popular figure, but his character was undoubtedly among the best.
ãLeonkai: "The Steel Helmets Ruined CNCS!"ã
Jiang Yang burst out laughing the moment he saw it and instinctively clicked on the video.
The very first scene was his 1v4 clutch on Mirageâa top-tier highlight.
This was also Jiang Yangâs first time watching his clutch from a godâs-eye perspective, and he immediately noticed a few areas where he could have made better decisions.
But looking back, given his perspective at the time, his choices had been natural.
âDamn, that really was risky,â Jiang Yang muttered. âIf Danking had landed just one more pistol shot, the outcome of Map 1 couldâve been completely different.â
Had they lost Map 1, Steel Helmets would have been on the back foot, and the outcome of the BO3 would have been much harder to predict.
After all, Tyloo might have their moments of inconsistency, but their skill level was undeniable.
But thatâs the beauty of CS:GOâa single round, a single kill, can change everything.
And as the key player who tipped the scales, Jiang Yang was absolutely loving it!
The clip continued, showcasing the highlight plays from both sides.
For Steel Helmets, it was mainly Jiang Yang and DD stepping up.
On Tylooâs side, Danking and Cy1 were putting in the work.
But when Tyloo couldnât hold out in the final moments of Map 2, and Steel Helmets pulled off the comeback together, Leonkaiâs eyes widened in disbelief.
âNo way⦠Steel Helmets actually beat Tyloo?â
Even though he had just watched the whole match unfold, he was still shocked.
As a veteran CS:GO player, Leonkai had always hoped that Tyloo could reclaim their 2018 glory and that Chinese players would make their mark on the international stage.
Yet time and time again, Tyloo had let him down.
And now, they had lost to Steel Helmets.
For a die-hard Tyloo fan, Leonkai was utterly speechless.
It felt like being a soccer fan watching the Chinese national team lose to a bunch of casual players.
After a long silence, Leonkai finally spoke.
âSteel Helmets really were insane today. Letâs check out the post-match stats.â
He quickly pulled up HLTVâs database and refreshed the page a few times.
âAlright, the stats are in. Letâs take a lookââ
Before he could even finish his sentence, his expression changed dramatically.
âWhat the hell?! Xiao Shuai averaged a 2.01 rating across two maps?!â
Leonkai took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes, as if he had misread the numbers.
But after checking again, he saw the same result.
Leonkaiâs neck stretched out as he let out a stunned cry.
âHe got 73 kills?! DD only had 35 kills across two maps, even if you doubled his kills, he still wouldnât surpass Xiao Shuai!â
ã???ã
ãIs this guy even human?? Did he borrow S1mpleâs USB today?ã
ãWasnât Little Yang supposed to be tame against Tyloo? Why is he getting stronger the more he fights?ã
ãThis is insaneâ+43 kills!ã
ãXiao Shuai really is a divine stand-in.ã
ãHow did Tyloo end up getting smurfed onâ¦?ã
Leonkai couldnât help but laugh.
âTyloo really had no way out of this, huh?â
He continued to analyze the stats.
âHe dropped 40 kills on Map 1 and 33 on Map 2.â
âLooking at it this way, Tylooâs loss was completely justified. How do you fight when Steel Helmets has an extra player on the board?â
â73 killsâif Xiao Shuai got four kills per round and his teammates cleaned up the last one, he could have won 18 rounds on his own.â
âIf he landed five ace rounds, he could have single-handedly closed out 14 rounds. Thatâs just broken.â
By the time he finished looking at the stats, Leonkai had completely stopped questioning Tyloo.
âPlus 43 killsâholy sh*tâ¦â He laughed again. âThis kidâs gotta be cheating, right?!â
Of course, he wasnât actually accusing Jiang Yang of hackingâit was just that his stats were so absurd that Leonkai couldnât help but be amazed.
âEven Danking, who already had an insane performance, only got 53 kills across two maps.â
âBut Xiao Shuai had 20 more kills than himâ10 more per map. Thatâs a completely different tier of performance!â
Though Leonkai was disappointed that Tyloo lost, he saw a glimmer of hope in Jiang Yangâs talent.
Maybeâjust maybeâthis kid could be the one to save CNCS.
ââ
Jiang Yang scrolled through various CS:GO content creatorsâ clips, enjoying the wave of praise.
He was on cloud nine, barely keeping himself from getting carried away.
If these people were here in person, heâd at least pretend to be humble.
Right then, he heard his cousin, Ma Xixi, yelling excitedly.
âYang Yang, check this outâHLTV put you on their Weekly Best!!â
Jiang Yang turned his head just in time to see Ma Xixi rushing over.
A few minutes ago, HLTV had posted their weekly highlight video, titled ãyoung VS Tylooã.
HLTV is a professional CS:GO statistics and ranking site, widely recognized for evaluating players.
Each yearâs top player rankings are based on HLTVâs data, and they also release weekly highlights featuring exceptional plays.
Normally, only players with truly outstanding performances make it into HLTVâs highlights.
Jiang Yang never expected himself to be featured.
ââ
Watching the clip, he saw his own 1v4 clutch on Mirage play out in slow motion.
Ma Xixi, sitting beside him, was just as amazed as he had been the first time.
Even after watching the play several times, he was still in awe of Jiang Yangâs decision-making and execution.
âThat was seriously insane.â
Jiang Yang grinned with satisfaction.
Ma Xixi praised, âYou really played out of your mind yesterday. Keep it up today. Letâs not get ahead of ourselves, but if you guys can take down VG, youâll really make a name for yourselves. And if you guys get the Major stickers⦠thatâs when youâll have officially made it in this scene.â
Jiang Yangâs eyes lit up. âIâll give it my all! I heard those stickers are worth quite a bit, huh?â
Ma Xixi nodded. âNot much for me, but for you? A lot. If you donât blow it all on a car or a house, you could live comfortably for years on that money.â
He added, âYou could even let your aunt and uncle hold onto it for you. Show them that youâre serious about going pro.â
Hearing that, Jiang Yang nodded.
His parents had agreed to let him pursue a CS:GO career mostly because of Ma Xixi.
Ma Xixi had personally guaranteed them that if Jiang Yang couldnât make it big, heâd help him find a decent job. That was the only reason his parents had reluctantly let him take this leap.
But Jiang Yang knewâno matter how much his cousin supported him, if he could achieve real success in the pro scene and earn a stable income, his parents would no longer see this as him goofing off.
Theyâd see it as him chasing a real dream.
ââ
âBut wait, I donât think weâre playing VG today.â Jiang Yang suddenly remembered. âThey lost yesterday. Got 2-0âd by NKT, so weâre up against NKT instead.â
âNKT? That Thai team? The one XCCâs on now?â Ma Xixi asked. âArenât they kinda bad?â
Jiang Yang shrugged. âI only caught a few rounds, but honestly, VG played super passive yesterday. On defense, they just let NKT walk into sites without contesting. Plus, XCC was on fireâhe absolutely popped off, which is how NKT won both maps in close scores. As a team, though? Yeah, theyâre not great.â
Ma Xixi smirked. âSo this whole Asian RMR is basically a Tyloo 2018 alumni reunion, huh?â
Then, he clapped Jiang Yang on the shoulder. âWell, you guys better not mess up like VG did. Play smart.â
Jiang Yang rolled his eyes. âEven if we wanted to play passive, we couldnât. Iâd love to slow things down, but DD and the others just keep rushing in headfirst.â
Ma Xixi laughedâSteel Helmets really were a team of fearless maniacs, impossible to rein in.
âAlright, keep grinding. Iâm heading out to pick up your niece. Want anything special for lunch? Gotta treat you a little.â
âEh, you guys pick. Iâm not picky.â Jiang Yang replied, then turned back to his ladder practice.
ââ
Afternoon arrived. The second round of the Asian RMR began.
Steel Helmets were up against XCCâs NKT.
Although Ma Xixi had downplayed NKTâs strength, Jiang Yang still took the match seriously.
But reality proved that NKTâs first-day performance had been a total fluke, purely carried by XCCâs individual pop-off.
On the other hand, Steel Helmets were riding high after their win against Tylooâeveryoneâs confidence had skyrocketed.
They were playing better than ever, and their desire to win was stronger than ever.
In this state, Jiang Yang didnât even need to hard-carry.
Aside from a few ECO rounds where they let him go crazy, in rifle rounds, he barely had to do anythingâhis teammates were cleaning up before he even had to step in.
In the end, Steel Helmets swept NKT 2-0.
The map scores? 16-5, 16-7.
Total domination.
DD even ended with a monstrous 1.46 rating.
Meanwhile, Jiang Yang only had a 1.21 ratingâway below yesterdayâs insane numbers.
Viewers who had tuned in specifically to see him go off immediately started trolling in the chat.
ãDamn, Xiao Shuai already fell off.ã
ãBro peaked for one match and is already washed.ã
ãThis rating is unacceptable, whereâs our god-tier Xiao Shuai?ã
ãWhat happened to the guy who dropped 73 kills yesterday?ã
But Jiang Yang didnât care at allâstats meant nothing if they didnât win.
ââ
Meanwhile, in the losersâ bracket, Tyloo and VG faced off.
A massive BP (ban-pick) blunder by Tyloo cost them the match.
VG barely took the series 2-1, eliminating Tyloo.
VG then went on to face NKT in the next elimination matchâand this time, they proved that NKTâs first victory was a total fluke.
VG stomped them 2-0, just like Steel Helmets had done.
ââ
That meant the final qualification match was set: Steel Helmets vs. VG.
If Jiang Yang and his team could take down VG, they would qualify for the Major.
If they won, they could go live and yell,
âWeâre going to the Stockholm Major!â
Just imagining that moment sent chills down Jiang Yangâs spine.
This was it.
One last match. One last step.
If they wonâtheyâd make history.
Jiang Yang had never been more fired up.
ââ