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

Chapter 119, 12:3, Team A's five members, beaten to the point of being unable to breathe.

This time, the defending team had two players, unlike most previous rounds where only one player was left to defend point B. Therefore, the attacking team, unaware of this, used a significant amount of utility to clear the area at the front.
However, what they didn't know was that both defenders were positioned at the back post. So even though the attacking side paid a heavy price with a lot of items, their gains were actually quite small in terms of the overall situation.

"So for the team, after losing this long-range round, they were sent back to the economy round."

"Failing to win the long rounds means that it will be incredibly difficult for them to catch up now. Especially considering their excellent tactical communication on the field, they still couldn't win the long rounds. From a situational perspective, it will be very difficult for them to find opportunities in the future."

"That's right. Right now, the most troubling thing for Team A is that even though they have performed very well and have shown great strength, from the perspective of the game situation, neither the mid-lane ganking tactic nor the direct attack on the banana lane has achieved good strategic results."

Even though they managed to turn the tide and gain the upper hand, they ultimately failed to win the clutch rounds. Especially with both sides currently in very hot form, the situation on the attacking team is quite dire.

Up to this point, Team A's offense in the first half has been exceptionally strong, putting pressure on Team A that they've never faced before.

Even so, their score deficit was still significant. While the Infernal Town map isn't particularly favorable for attackers, giving defenders a considerable advantage, it would be extremely difficult for the defenders to score points and close the gap once the score difference is reached.

Having considered this issue, Team A faced a significant challenge in the subsequent attack rounds, as their initial tactical setup had been excellent. They made no obvious mistakes in either map control or gunfights, and were able to quickly seize control of the hard-won second floor and A1.

Even under these circumstances, they encountered significant resistance in subsequent tactical deployments and offensive gunfights. Therefore, if they want to catch up in the score, they will definitely need to make further tactical adjustments.

The biggest difference between Team A and previous teams like Gambit and FaZe is that they didn't actually use many unconventional tactics. For most of the time, especially during regular play, they played relatively standard tactics.

So, on the one hand, they believe their research is quite thorough; on the other hand, they are very confident in the players' individual abilities.

So, looking at the previous rounds, their thinking and ideas weren't particularly problematic, but some deviations occurred during execution. Especially in these rounds, losing the score would be a major headache, especially considering they were already far behind in the overall rounds.

So, under these circumstances, they had no choice but to call another timeout in the first half. For NA, they had already paid the price of two timeouts in regulation time to face this first half. If they couldn't call another timeout and launch a sharp offensive to keep closing the gap, and if they still couldn't get a passing score in the first half when the game transitioned between offense and defense, then they would obviously face enormous pressure on the defensive end.

"Your initial handling and strategy were fine, but you started having problems after securing key map control and bomb sites, especially in teamwork and utility usage. You need to think more about these aspects. In the endgame, don't be intimidated by the opponent's strong individual skills; instead, actively create firing lines."

"Because if you feel pressured during gunfights, you are likely to experience pre-existing tension during double-pull maneuvers, especially during gunfights. If you fail to engage in a gunfight in the first instance, it will be a fatal mistake for the endgame rounds."

"So we should maintain our previous tactical approach and adjust our mindset, especially in the endgame gunfights, try to control an advantageous gun position and actively move the firing line, right?"
"It's not entirely about immediately trying to take control of the mid lane after calling this timeout. Even if you do try to contest the mid lane, don't use too many items. Your economy is already quite poor, and if you use too many items, especially smoke grenades and fire grenades, during the initial map control phase, it will be very difficult for you to counter the defenders' counter-clearing and bomb-bursting tactics after you gain control of the bomb site later."

"I think you could try to take control of the map at point B for a while, and then see if you can break through from the banana route during the engagement. Judging from previous rounds, the opposing team hasn't deployed a particularly dense defensive presence or utility at point B. In that case, you should try to attack banana route immediately. If you can create a breakthrough there and gain a numerical advantage using bomb-pushing tactics and double-pushing maneuvers, then breaking through to point B would be a better option for you. However, if we try to take control of point B immediately, and the defenders arrive, and our tactics or utility usage result in too many of us being wiped out, it might be too late to rotate to another point."

"Don't think too much about it right now. Your immediate priority is to try more things. From the start until now, your offensive rounds have been rather monotonous, and you've made relatively few tactical arrangements. If you want to score points in this process, it's actually difficult to gain an advantage by challenging the defender's bottom line."

"The main issue is that if you try to strengthen the banana route now, it will inevitably disrupt the defending team's defensive strategy. If the opponent deploys a large number of defenders at point B, you may not face as much pressure when you try to return to the middle to capture the map or control the second floor."

"Understood. So now we need to consider the bomb site as a potential breakthrough position. Then, during the map control phase, if we can exploit the defenders' weak points, we can accelerate our pace. The key issue is that since the start of the semester, we haven't been able to effectively manage the endgame after gaining control of the bomb site. We've made quite a few mistakes in the endgame, especially during gunfights when the defenders seize opportunities. In this adjustment process, we should be careful not to worry too much about 1v1 matchups. So, after understanding this situation, we should play with more confidence."

"That's right, keep it up. After all, this is only the first half of the first map selection round. Given your inherent disadvantage in offense and defense, you actually played quite well overall in the first half, without making too many fatal mistakes. It was mostly about the details. So you should try to play more relaxed and not put too much pressure on yourselves."

For Team A's head coach, it was actually quite frustrating. At this point, making many adjustments to the players wouldn't be very meaningful, because from the beginning until now, the players on his side had been playing quite well, especially tactically. Even with a standard tactic, they were often able to gain an advantage from the start.

It's just that NA's individual ability and overall command and control are also top-notch. So, under such circumstances, the head coach can't make any particularly high demands on them because they didn't perform exceptionally well in the offensive rounds. Rather, it's that the opponent's overall teamwork, tactics, and individual player abilities are simply too exaggerated.

Furthermore, from the perspective of Team A's coaching staff, this first map selection was, after all, Team A's own selection. Therefore, if the whole team performs exceptionally well and coordinates well during this process, it is reasonable to say that they can achieve this.

After figuring this out, looking back at the map, it's clear that for the attacking side, especially top teams, getting a passing score in the attack round isn't so easy.

Based on past matches, top teams often maximize their map advantage. Therefore, even if Team A only scores 3 points or less in the first half, they may still have a chance to catch up in the second half when they are on the defensive.

"So, going back to the game after the timeout, I wonder what tactical adjustments Team A will make, or whether the players' mentality will be able to adjust in time after the head coach's reassurance."
"Yes, even though we can see that the team played very well in the first half's offensive rounds, they are still at a significant disadvantage in the score. And we all know that although this map is clearly biased towards the defensive side, if the offensive side can't get a 3 or even 4 point as a safety net, it's hard to predict what kind of offensive tactics the defensive team will employ in their rounds. If the defensive side faces a lot of pressure in the score and loses the pistol round, it will be very difficult for them to close the score gap."

In the round following the timeout, it wasn't entirely unusual for Team A to call a timeout at this point. Usually, even when the attacking side's offensive is stalled and it's difficult to catch up in the score, they would still choose to call a timeout during a round with long-range weapons. This is because if they call a timeout during an eco round, even if they can make a good tactical adjustment, it's still difficult to turn the tide when they have a significant disadvantage in both weapons and items.

However, Team A is a very strong team, and it's clear they play very calmly in each game. Looking at both this match and previous ones, they have a high probability of turning the tide. Therefore, both the commentators and the viewers have high expectations for what will happen after the timeout.

Expectations were high, but reality was harsh. In the eco round, facing an impenetrable defense, even though Team A adjusted their offensive strategy in time, playing a largely passive, tactical approach for a long period in the early game, they still couldn't find a good breakthrough. In one round in the zone, they failed to secure any kills or gain crucial information. Therefore, in this eco round, they only managed to get one kill at the end, while their entire team was wiped out.

With a swift and decisive first half defense and Team A's increasingly difficult offense, the final score was 12-3.

(End of this chapter)