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

Chapter 28 Darkness Descends? Nothing to Fear!
The Liquid team in 2022 is undoubtedly a team with both experience and potential!
Not only does it have nitr0, an experienced commander and one of the iconic figures in North American CS, but it also has EliGE, a veteran star player who is an evergreen in North American CS and known for his terrifying frontal firepower, nicknamed "North American Headshot King" and a top 6 player in 19, as well as the all-around support NAF and flex player Shox.

Both of them were once HLTV's top 10 players of the year, but they have faded into obscurity in recent years due to a lack of achievements in North American CS.

In addition, Liquid also has new talent. oSee was considered one of the most promising new generation snipers in North America in 2022. His sniping style is steady and accurate. After joining Liquid, he took on the responsibility of the main sniper and was highly regarded by the North American CS community.
When G2 were talking about their opponents in the hotel training room.

At the same time, in TeamLiquid's temporary training room.

The pre-match preparation meeting is also underway.

Coach adreN stood in front of a whiteboard, on which G2's player information and basic data were posted.

"Alright guys, today's opponent is G2. Niko and huNter-, the Bosnian duo, need I say more? Their individual abilities are world-class, and they are always the biggest threat. m0NESY, a young and talented sniper, is dangerous when he's on fire. And then there's their new commander, Aleksib, whose tactical system we need to be careful about."

He paused for a moment, then pointed his pen at Meng Lang's photo.

"Then there's this newcomer, Dark. He got the MVP in yesterday's match against EG, and he handled several clutch situations beautifully. He seems to be on fire."

Upon hearing this, EliGE leaned back in his chair, crossed his arms, and showed little emotion on his face. With his bald head, he exuded an aura of strength.

In fact, as a top rifleman known for his head-on gunfights in North America and even the world, he has seen too many newcomers with "amazing debuts".

“Every year, a few guys like this emerge from the Major Challengers Stage, playing one or two good games.” EliGE’s voice was calm, carrying the confidence of a top player. “But CS:GO has a strict hierarchy, and the intensity of later matches will be completely different. What’s more…”

He paused, as if remembering something, and a barely perceptible smile appeared on his lips.

"Besides, he's not a complete rookie. Did you find his stats from his time with EG?"

adreN nodded and projected the data from his tablet onto the whiteboard: "That's exactly what I wanted to say. I've watched his previous match replays and stats with EG. He's always been a typical 'gunner' type of player. He relies heavily on his feel for the game and individual performance, with relatively weak tactical discipline and teamwork. His performance declined drastically after his hand injury last time, and he was indeed one of the relatively unstable factors in EG's loss."

"But EG lost yesterday largely because they didn't expect him to recover so quickly and be in such hot form. This type of player can be very strong when he's on a roll, but he's also the best target to counter."

adreN analyzed, "On the other hand, although G2 has brought in Aleksib in an attempt to create a more academic style of play, their foundation, or rather their greatest strength, still relies on the exceptional individual abilities of their star players to break through defenses and score points. Niko and huNter-'s ability to break through defenses is world-class."

"Therefore, when selecting maps, we must avoid those where their individual abilities can be maximized, such as Dust2."

adreN tapped the whiteboard with his pen. "We need to choose a map that emphasizes tactical gameplay, mid-game strategy, and teamwork to limit their individual abilities, especially the newbie Dark's aim. If we can get him into our tactical rhythm, his threat will be greatly reduced."

At this moment, EliGE spoke, his tone carrying an air of self-assured confidence:
“I don’t think Dark is a threat. We need to focus more on limiting Niko and huNter-’s bursts, keeping an eye on m0NESY’s sniper rifle, and breaking Aleksib’s tactical setup.”

"As for this newcomer..."

The scene from the match against EG not long ago flashed through his mind—at the critical moment, the sniper bullet from the Eastern boy's hand hit his leg, while he himself ended the game with a seemingly random AK spray, which also seemed to end the opponent's career with EG.

“If I can defeat him once, I can defeat him a second time,” EliGE said with unwavering conviction.

There is no such thing as pure luck in CS:GO. So-called 'good luck' is just a favor that the strong deserve.

And he,

It's clearly the stronger one.

When it comes to world-class riflemen, everyone only knows that Niko is the longest river.

But EliGE's rifle was not without its advantages!

Upon hearing EliGE's domineering and incredibly confident speech, the atmosphere in the liquid training room immediately relaxed, and everyone laughed.

nitr0 smiled as well. As the commander, he needed this kind of confidence from his teammates to boost morale, and immediately nodded, saying:
"EliGE is right. Let's do as the coach says. We'll choose a map where we're better at teamwork and steer the game in our own rhythm. No matter how strong G2's individual skills are, they can't overcome the synergy of five players. Let's get ready, win this game, and we'll enter Group 2/0, one step closer to the Legends Group!"

Next, Liquid's pre-match meeting ended in a cautious but generally relaxed atmosphere.

They respected G2 tactically, but did not regard Meng Lang, this "unexpected factor," as the biggest threat.

After all, in the brutal arena of CS:GO, a single outstanding performance is far from enough to win the attention of strong teams.

Leaving aside top-tier players like Senzai,

Under the forest,

Among top-tier professional players,
Who wasn't a prodigy who amazed the audience and attracted worldwide attention when they debuted?

As for Dark

Indeed, there is nothing to fear.

In the afternoon, when we left the hotel and got into the car, Antwerp was no longer bathed in the clear blue skies of the previous day. Dark clouds covered the sky, making it look as gloomy as night.

Looking at the dark, oppressive sky, Meng Lang suddenly remembered something, took out his phone, and took a picture of the gloomy sky above.

Click——!
Hearing the sound, the child turned his head and looked at Meng Lang curiously.

What are you doing?

"Oh, take a picture and post it on social media."

Meng Lang quickly shared the photo on his Instagram and Weibo accounts.

With text:

Darkness is coming!

Darkness is coming!

Location: Antwerp, Belgium.

Yeah, that's a bit cringey.

He rubbed his nose and gave a crooked smile.

But this is necessary; his interactions on Weibo and Instagram are also an important source of his Goat value.

Meng Lang's recent addition to G2's popularity, coupled with his outstanding performance at yesterday's Major, has led to a rapid increase in followers, with his Weibo account now exceeding 5 followers.

The number of Instagram followers has reached 3946.

Soon, Meng Lang's domestic fans who follow his Weibo account received this post.

"????"

"Did you pack it up in black?"

"Are we getting in the car to go to the racetrack?"

"Black God played really well yesterday! That clutch was so cool, I cried! You have to play well today too!"

"."

"I think G2 is playing Liquid in Group 1/0 today, right? Tsk tsk, Chicken Bro might be coming to punish Black ÷ again!"

"I remember when we played Liquid on EG, Chicken killed Dark ÷ in lane a lot of times. Will you get weak in the knees when you see Chicken this time?"

A dozen minutes later, the van arrived at the venue. Meng Lang got out, took out his phone, glanced at the comments under his Weibo post, and casually replied to a highly-rated comment: "Blackie gets weak in the knees when he meets Chicken Bro."

"Don't worry, Little Blackie won't lose to your Brother Kun!"

"???"

He just posted it.

Below are various question marks.

Meng Lang chuckled and followed the old nun into the studio.

They were placed in the first round today.

quickly,

Both players are seated and ready.

G2's second match at the Antwerp Major is about to begin.

Douyu, live stream room 6657.

"The girls are in luck today! Group 1/0 plays first, and G2's first match is it. Everyone can enjoy watching!"

He continued, laughing as he played with the machine:
"Someone asked me, 'Who do you think will win today's match?' The streamer is definitely supporting G2. Some people say that the 'traffic team' is a mess, but G2 in this Major is not a 'traffic team' at all. And the streamer definitely trusts his good brother Dark."

Before he could finish speaking, Wanji himself burst out laughing, cleared his throat and said, "Alright, enough joking. I actually think the win rate for both sides in today's round is about 50/50. After all, they are both teams in the 1/0 upper bracket, and Liquid is considered one of the top teams in North America right now. EG definitely can't compare. Last year, Liquid was ranked ninth in the world. In the first half of this year, LiquidV dropped one place in the rankings, but it is still tenth in the world. It is definitely the number one team in North America."

"And another thing is that in the Blast match in January this year, I remember that Chicken Bro tore Dark's sniper rifle apart several times, with a kill ratio of 10:3, meaning that if he killed you ten times, you could only fight back three times."

"To be fair, this guy is somewhat restraining Dark. Although everyone is a rifleman now, I feel that with Chicken Bro's firepower, Dark will be under more pressure today."

The live stream chat was flooded with comments.

"Oh no! Could 2K have really been right?"

"The sunlight is so intense that everything becomes visible?"

"Where are those young Black players who were praising Dark yesterday? EG really messed things up."

"Indeed, it's normal for a team like EG, which came up from the North American RMR, to get kicked out in one fell swoop."

"Actually, I'm kind of looking forward to Dark making a comeback today. They should get back up wherever they fall."

"I think it's a bit difficult. Whether G2 can win depends mainly on whether Brother Xia will agree today."

"Niko: Watch me jump rope with shrimp whiskers ╰╯╭╮╰╯╭╮!"

"I'm so angry! What kind of live stream is this? Is this really the biggest NiKo fan club in China?"

"."

Playing with the machine, I switched the screen and immediately perked up. "Alright, enough talk, guys. Let's ban the map first. They immediately removed Dust2 and Mirage. G2? They removed Amusement Park and Tower. Now all that's left are Ancient Ruins and Town!"

Upon seeing the remaining two images, Liquid's coach's eyes lit up immediately. He clenched his fist and slapped his hand, feeling as if he had just gotten the job he wanted.

"Choose a small town."

He said it without hesitation.

Commander nitr0 was slightly taken aback, but quickly realized what was happening and immediately removed the Ancient Ruins.

That leaves only the last image.

Purgatory Town.

at this time,

nitr0 and coach adreN exchanged a smile. This map, Town, was the one they had chosen this morning when designing tactics against G2.

If Sand City is the best for marksmanship, and Mirage City is the best for tactics, then Infernal Town is the best for teamwork.

In this compact image, the individual abilities of star players are minimized.

Because this map has short roads and many corners, there are almost no long-range gunfights except for the terrorist entrance and the middle road, making it very reliant on item coordination.

This also limited the performance of the star players with strong firepower to some extent.

It's not just a casual game.

Many professional players with good marksmanship don't really like this map either—Chicken Bro frowned when he saw his team pick Town.

He actually wanted to explore the ancient ruins more.

In this situation, he will be relatively powerless to fight.

But he also understood the coach's intentions, after all, the opposing team had the Bosnian duo.

He was weakened.

The opposing team will also be weakened!
After the draft phase, G2 proactively chose to play on the defensive side first.

With the countdown to the match underway, Leonardo DiCaprio started twisting the rope, emphasizing that they absolutely had to win the pistol round today.

After yesterday's game,
During the rematch that evening, both Coach XTQ and Xiao Li Zi felt that the reason they had such a difficult time against EG yesterday was because they lost the pistol round.

The idea that a skilled player doesn't win the first three games is a lie.

In professional matches, if you lose the pistol round, you'll likely eco round the next one. If you lose the third rifle round, the next round is practically over.

This is equivalent to losing four points in the opening game.

That's what happened yesterday against EG. G2 lost four points in the first half, which caused everyone's morale to drop and their performance to falter.

It's inevitable that there will be some lapses in performance.

result,

They lost the pistol round in the second half.

In fact,
If it weren't for Meng Lang's incredible 1v5 comeback with an unarmored Glock in the fourth round, followed by his AK and leading the team to three consecutive kills to get into form, it would have been a different story.
It's really hard to say whether they'll make it into Group 1/0 today.

"Therefore, we must win today's pistol round."

Little Li said earnestly.

(End of this chapter)