The match entered a pause, and this time it was Heroic who called it.
No choice, huh? They didn't expect such an explosive game today.
1V5!
A full-on professional confrontation, and there are only a few of these in a year.
And this 1V5 wasnât a simple case of a long rifle against pistols, but a Desert Eagle against their full-armored rifles.
Thatâs even more insane!
In the first part of the round, Heroic had no issues with their early-game handling. They smoothly cleaned up their opponents, and everyone thought they might be able to get an ACE, which would allow them to build up a good economy for the following rounds.
But no one expected the Desert Eagle to come out from A2, instantly eliminating the Pit, then taking down the sniper with ease, and finishing off the entire team.
They actually had a chance to end the roundâlike when Xiao Hei tried to back up, or when TeSeS pulled out that spray from Long.
But sometimes, thereâs just nothing you can do.
Every player's highlight moment is built on the opponent's mistakes.
The only one who hadn't seen young in action was stavn, but even he didnât expect young to be bold enough to smoke push!
As the captain, Cadian stepped forward and said, âItâs fine, everyone, calm down. I think you all handled it well. Itâs just that young played a really good round!â
âWe need to acknowledge our mistakes and also recognize the opponentâs skill. Letâs focus on the next round and play it well.â
The Idea Guy encouraged his team on voice chat.
However, the following rounds werenât as smooth as heâd imagined.
After that 1V5 clutch, Jiang Yangâs bad luck buff was cleared, and in the next few rounds, his sniper put a lot of pressure on Heroic.
Although Inferno isnât the best map for aggressive sniping, Heroicâs defensive setup is based on a dynamic defense strategy, which requires map control to be effective.
But with Jiang Yangâs AWP putting pressure on them, they lost a lot of manpower early in the rounds, and that crippled their dynamic defense.
On top of that, the 1V5 clutch had boosted the morale of Steel Helmets, and they quickly picked up momentum.
By the end of the first half, the score was 7:8.
Steel Helmets were one point behind Heroic, but they could totally accept this score!
During the halftime break, MO stepped up, tightening the strategy: "7:8âthis score is good, guys, you're playing well. Once we switch to defense, thereâs no pressure."
"We know this map well, and the hardest part of offense is already behind us. Just donât give them any opportunities when we defend."
He then looked at the male model next to him: "And when it counts, trust in our cousin. Weâve got top-tier players on our team! Weâre not scared of their team at all!"
âExactly, letâs go, team!â
In the midst of the laughter, both sides switched sides, and Steel Helmets moved to defense.
The second halfâs pistol round began, and MO made a bold call: âLetâs gamble on a point and try B-heavy defense.â
âCousin, can you handle solo A?â
MO was considering Jiang Yangâs highest firepowerâif he soloed A and faced a fast push, he could still trade some frags without getting instantly wiped.
On the other hand, if they couldnât even hold B with the extra manpower, Jiang Yangâs firepower would be pointless.
âNo problem, Iâll scout it out,â Jiang Yang replied.
Once the countdown ended, Jiang Yang charged straight through the middle.
He first jumped to A1 to scout and saw no activity at Mid Doors: âNo one's at the Mid Doors.â
He immediately sensed something was off. Usually, if the enemy controls the map, theyâll send at least one person to Mid Doors for basic scouting, but he saw nothing and instantly became cautious.
âNo activity at Banana either. Be careful at A,â MO reminded him.
Jiang Yang peeked Mid Doors again from A1, didnât see anyone, but caught a glimpse of someone standing on the left side of Mid.
âBang!â
ãyoung headshot Cadian with USPã
Jiang Yang instantly fired and managed to headshot Cadian.
With that kill, Jiang Yang immediately realized, âTheyâre going to rush the second floor!â
Before the match, they had quickly watched some of Heroicâs recent gameplay footage, and they had used this tactic before.
Now that he had secured a kill, Jiang Yang knew he didnât need to rush. He decided to set up at A2 and wait for the enemy to jump out.
However, he soon heard footsteps from A1 and quickly turned to adjust his position.
âRight after that, the boiler room side pushed out. Cousin turned around to take one, then two! stavn finally responded with a kill!â
âBut after taking out three, Cousinâs task was complete, leaving Steel Helmets with a 4v2 retake!â
stavn with a bomb planted entered the bombsite, while TeSeS was hiding in Graveyard.
But Steel Helmets quickly locked down the bombsite, unsure of the second position, so they compressed into a formation and stormed in.
The remaining two Heroic players couldnât hold out!
stavn traded a couple of frags, but it wasnât enough to turn the tide.
âTaking out three was key,â Ma Xixi praised her cousin without holding back, âBut stavn was impressive too, managing to trade two headshots while holding the spotâhe almost brought them back!â
Hearing Ma Xixiâs comment, the livestream viewers also noticed stavnâs stats.
ãWow, didnât realize until Ma Xixi pointed it out, stavn was the only one carrying X team todayã
ãLol, stavn got 22 kills, no one else even hit double digitsã
ãSteel Helmets arenât far behind, Cousinâs at 25 kills, itâs practically a showdown between their top players nowã
ãTied up the score now, letâs go, time to overtakeã
In the second round of the second half, after planting the bomb, Heroic decided to force buy rifles.
But MO came up with an amazing tactical move, calling for a position change at A and implementing the classic NAVI 3-box setup, while the trio at A kept throwing smokes in Mid to disrupt Heroicâs flow.
Heroic had no choice but to push with explosives, but Steel Helmetsâ three players at A site managed to score a 2-for-5 exchange.
In the third round of the second half, Jiang Yang didnât immediately buy an AWP but pulled out his signature MP9.
DD suddenly burst out laughing, and the team looked at him confused.
DD explained, âEvery time I see Cousin with the MP9, I think of that memeâitâs just too funny.â
Su Di chimed in, âBut you canât deny that Cousin is incredibly reliable in ECO rounds.â
Hearing this, MO reminded them: âAlright, letâs keep it stable. Donât let them pull off a comeback in the ECO round. Let Cousin take the lead, and the rest of us will cover.â
Jiang Yang thought for a moment: âIâll try pushing B and see how it goes. The priority is still map control and securing rounds.â
While he wanted to push, he didnât want to be reckless and cause a reversal.
...
âCousinâs now in Banana, and here comes our favorite ECO round,â Ma Xixi remarked.
âHeroic had spent a long time discussing strategy at Mid, and now theyâre finally looking to push Banana. But Cousinâs not falling for it.â
âSu Diâs throwing a smoke to buy time, and Heroic is looking at the Yellow Wall but sees nothing. Cousin just needs to hold that angle and smoke.â
Jiang Yang held the sandbag position, with Su Di helping with the flash.
Suddenly, Jiang Yang spotted a leg peek out of the smoke and fired with the MP9.
âBang bang bang!â
He took one out, and the Terrorists behind the stone wall rushed out. Jiang Yang dropped down from the sandbags, then asked Su Di for a flash in voice chat.
When the flashbang popped, Jiang Yang peeked and opened up with a flurry of shots.
âThe Terrorists tried to focus fire on him, but Su Diâs flash was perfect! Cousin took out the second, then the third, switching to pistol and securing another!â
âHe finally got traded, but Su Di was right there to shut down stavn, and it was an MP9 quad-kill to win the round!â
ãFeels good~ã
ãCousinâs still got it!ã
ãEven at Major, you canât stop the Specialistâs march!ã
ãCousin just wants to make money, whatâs wrong with that?ã
ãNow heâs got enough for an AWP again, so sweet!ã
âThe score is now 10:8, and Steel Helmets are in the lead. Cousin has racked up 31 kills, and it looks like he might break the single-game kill record for Inferno,â Ma Xixi raised an eyebrow.
But compared to Cousinâs record-breaking kills, she hoped the second half would stay smooth for Steel Helmets, without her emotions bouncing around like a rollercoaster.