CS: A young talent from Peking University, you want me to play professionally?

Chapter 106: A Rematch Against FAZE, the Finals Take Place Early?

Why haven't you contacted your family for three days? Even Niannian's mom came to her own house.

Upon hearing this news, Li Mo was instantly agitated.

After chatting for a while, Li Mo learned that the two mothers were now very close and often met up for meals and shopping.

But thinking about it, Li Mo didn't find it strange.

The two families knew each other before, but they weren't familiar with each other.

They are both studying in Beijing now, and since they have such a good relationship, it's normal that their mothers have a lot in common and are getting more and more familiar with each other.

After chatting with Zhao Niannian for more than half an hour, Li Mo became increasingly sleepy.

It has to be said that Li Mo's body is indeed different from others because she loves sports and goes to bed early and gets up early at 18. Every night around 10 o'clock, she would feel sleepy.

In my past life, working overtime until 11 p.m. was commonplace, and staying up late had long been a habit.

In addition, due to premature physical exhaustion, Li Mo often felt extremely energetic around 1 or 2 a.m. after getting home from get off work.

After washing up, Li Mo went to bed early.

The following evening, NA also entered the knockout stage.

Their first opponent in the knockout stage is Faze!

In previous scrims, NA and FaZe had faced off a few times, but neither side was showing their full strength. Back then, NA was far less mature and powerful than it is now, so the scrims were evenly matched.

For NA, their journey in this WCA Global Finals was clearly not very fortunate.

They faced the in-form Gambit in the group stage, and then encountered FaZe in the first round of the playoffs. Their luck is simply unbelievable.

However, from another perspective, Li Mo was actually quite satisfied with the opponent he had encountered.

Having faced strong teams along the way, if they can ultimately win the championship, its prestige will be off the charts.

As the knockout stage began, two large outdoor screens were set up outside the venue.

There's no way around it, this is arguably the most popular and watched CS:GO World Championship in WCA's history.

Without a doubt, with a host of strong teams gathered, this competition, which was not originally a top-tier event, has become as prestigious as an S-level event.

Furthermore, the prize money for the CS:GO event at this year's WCA Global Finals is the highest in its history, comparable to S-level tournaments.

During the knockout stage, especially in matches between strong teams, tickets are extremely hard to come by.

Watching the game outside the venue is a great experience for many spectators who have come all the way there.

The knockout stage is a best-of-three (BO3) format.

After the host finished his opening remarks and introduced the two teams, NA and FaZe took to the stage amidst thunderous applause from the audience.

For most of the audience, the first round of the knockout stage was a thrilling match between NA, the dark horse of the year, and FAZE, the super team.

Many even believe that this first round of elimination matches could be a preview of the finals.

"Are you a little nervous, Kobayashi?"

After sitting down, Li Mo noticed out of the corner of her eye that Lin Yu was rubbing his hands together, and his expression revealed a hint of nervousness.

Logically speaking, after half a year of training and playing against many top teams, Lin Yu, a very young man, should not show such obvious nervousness.

"Mo-ge, you don't know, Niko is Xiaolin's idol."

"Still my only idol."

Upon hearing Li Mo's question, somebody turned around, patted Lin Yu on the shoulder, and laughed.

"Is that so?"

After receiving this answer, Li Mo was not surprised.

Ni Gongzi is indeed a mentor and a great regret for many CS:GO players.

It's perfectly normal for Lin Yu, at his age, to like and admire NIKO.

"Xiaolin, believe me, you will soon become an idol in the hearts of countless players and professional players."

Although Lin Yu felt that Li Mo's words were encouraging, he still felt a surge of excitement after hearing them, and the tension he had felt earlier vanished completely.

If someone had told Lin Yu before he met Li Mo and joined NA that one day he would become an idol in the hearts of countless people, Lin Yu would have thought it was a pipe dream.

He has always believed that he has a clear understanding of his own position.

His talent and hard work are both quite good in China, but under normal circumstances, his ceiling is at most that of a top-tier team in China.

But on a global scale, he can only be described as average.

If Lin Yu hadn't been selected by Li Mo to become a member of NA, he knew all too well that he would never have had the chance to shine on the world stage.

After securing a perfect record in the group stage and advancing to the next round, Lin Yu had a very strong feeling.

The dream that I once thought was incredibly distant is now so close to me.

The game officially begins.

Both sides moved on to the first map, Nuke. This first map was chosen by FaZe.

After extensive research and analysis, Faze's head coach RobbaN has compiled a wealth of data on NA, including map selection, win rate, and detailed match information for all known scrims and matches since the team's inception.

RobbaN's research suggests that NA's tactics on Nuke are relatively mediocre compared to many other maps, and FaZe had previously defeated NA on this map once.

If they were facing other teams, FaZe wouldn't have needed to be so cautious in their strategies during the first round of the playoffs.

However, NA's previous performance, especially their four victories over Gambit, has left a very deep impression on many top foreign teams and has attracted a lot of attention.

Given NA's current strength, everyone knows that if anyone dares to underestimate this team, they will likely pay a heavy price.

Therefore, when FaZe faced Li Mo, head coach RobbaN was fully prepared before the match.

Their thinking was simple: since the NA team mostly chose the same three maps and played relatively few other maps, map depth was likely NA's biggest weakness.

In fact, neither Faze nor any other team would have imagined that the map's depth was part of a smokescreen deliberately laid by Li Mo.

There are strategies and tactics for dealing with all points on the map, including unconventional tactics.

Nuke, or Nuclear Crisis, is a very unpopular map in the arena, rarely chosen by players in both official matches and casual games.

In Li Mo's view, this is mainly due to its complex structure, which severely tests the team's tacit cooperation and places extremely high demands on the player's marksmanship and tactical awareness.

The reason why Chinese players love the same three maps is largely because the overall structure of the maps is relatively simple. They are easy to learn and play, and do not require much thought.

This is actually quite normal.

After starting work in her previous life, Li Mo hardly ever touched games.

Only when I go back to my hometown do I occasionally hang out with my childhood friends.

At that time, Li Mo only played the same three games, just for the sake of simplicity and ease.

In fact, for professional competitions, maps like Nuka Crisis are the most effective way to differentiate professional teams.

It's important to understand that the most crucial difference between second-tier and top-tier teams often lies in their understanding and execution of tactics.

It must be said that Nuke is quite different from the traditional three classic maps, and on this map, the defending side has an absolute advantage. From every angle, it is extremely difficult for the attacking side to break through the defending side's defense.

First, Nuke is not suitable for fast-paced tactics. Although there are two fast-paced directions, A site and the double ramps, unlike Banana, this map lacks open space, making it difficult for players to freely use throwables in many situations.

Therefore, most of the firefights between the two teams are concentrated indoors, which greatly limits the use of flashbangs or smoke grenades, leaving the attacking side with no choice but to rely on a dry-pull tactic.

In this environment, the defending side has a significant advantage, especially when the equipment and tactics are well-coordinated. The attacking side, lined up in a narrow passage, can easily become a target for the defenders if they are not careful. Even if the defenders fail to pose a fatal threat, the players on the other side can easily use items such as Molotov cocktails to separate the attackers and pick them off one by one.

Furthermore, when both teams choose to play a default game and slowly gain control of the map step by step, the attacking team's common smoke positions can only cover the outer areas, and reaching the K1 point often requires consuming three to four smoke grenades. This, in turn, means that in pistol rounds and eco rounds, it becomes somewhat difficult to execute a bomb-blitz tactic and cover the area with throwables.

Meanwhile, placing the C4 in Site B of Nuclear Crisis is extremely challenging. The lack of cover within the site makes it difficult for the attackers to stop the defenders from multiple angles without the aid of smoke. This map design undoubtedly increases the difficulty for the attackers.

Furthermore, the Nuke map presents a significant elevation difference. Because few can accurately pinpoint the headshot line, the attacking team faces immense challenges in site A. They must not only be wary of fire from the left and right flanks but also constantly be alert to attacks from above. This design makes site A on Nuke extremely difficult to attack.

While CS:GO doesn't emphasize elevation differences as much as some FPS games, it's undeniable that aiming from a higher position offers a significant advantage in most FPS games. From a higher vantage point, you can easily position yourself and adjust your aim without significant crosshair movement, indirectly reducing the risk of being hit by pre-aimed shots. Similarly, this advantage or disadvantage of elevation differences gives the defending side a greater edge on the Nuke map.

Another significant characteristic of the Nuke map is that dry runs are extremely common.

The limited throwable positions on the Nuclear Crisis map make it extremely difficult for the attacking team to influence the defending team. Typically, after the attacking team executes a bomb tactic or throws fireworks, they are often left with only a quick push to launch their attack, while the defending team responds with simple sniping and crossfire.

Especially when top professional teams clash, the defending side has a significant advantage in this kind of close-quarters combat, so the defending side usually wins the final rounds. From this point of view, it further highlights the advantage that the Nuke map brings to the defending side, especially the one-sided pressure from projectiles.

The offensive side's projectiles are not as effective and efficient as the defensive side's, which means that the defensive side needs more projectiles to achieve its tactical intentions and objectives.

At the very beginning of the NA team's formation, Li Mo had already completed the analysis and research of all the maps.

It's no exaggeration to say that the tactical reserves he has in his mind right now are the sum of all the other teams combined.

"Welcome everyone to the first round of the knockout stage of the WCAcsgo Global Finals. Today's matchup is between NA and FaZe."

"I believe many viewers are looking forward to today's match, after all, both teams are quite strong."

"That's right. NA entered the knockout stage with a perfect record in the group stage, while FaZe only lost one game."

"The first map for both sides is Nuke, which is FaZe's choice. So, in Coach Woot's opinion, what kind of unexpected tactics might FaZe bring to this map? Because we all know that NA's commander Cobra is hailed by many players as the world's best tactical master, and tactics often play a crucial role on the Nuke map."

After hearing what the male commentator said, woot thought for a moment and then spoke.

"This map is indeed a great test of both teams' understanding of the map, and tactics are also very important."

Actually, I'm more optimistic about NA.

Woot made no attempt to hide his stance, which surprised the other two commentators.

After all, this famous coach from the CS 1.6 era almost never makes a clear statement of his attitude before the game during his commentary.

According to woot, the game is highly unpredictable, especially when both teams are very strong.

Today, contrary to his usual behavior, he expressed greater optimism about NA, which was quite unexpected.

“We all know that tactics and teamwork are very important on the Nuke map. I believe that NA is one of the top teams in the world right now. Of course, FaZe also does a very good job.”

"But aside from the tactical aspects, as we all know, the characteristics of this map also make the players' marksmanship particularly important on this map with its complex structure."

"This map often features pre-aiming and direct confrontations. We all know that the NA team has three riflemen with extremely outstanding individual skills. I think they are likely to bring us an aiming feast later on this map."

(End of this chapter)