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

After only two days at home, Li Mo embarked on his journey abroad. It can be said that these past few months have been extremely busy and his schedule has been packed.

Especially in terms of competitions, a lot of time needs to be spent traveling to other places, or even abroad.

To be honest, Li Mo doesn't enjoy the mundane travel and going abroad. If he really had time, he'd rather stay home and rest, or go out and see the scenery and beautiful landscapes, relax and experience life.

In his past life, he was always under immense pressure. Although his salary was decent and he managed to buy a small apartment in Shanghai, a city where land is incredibly expensive, at a young age, he far surpassed most of his peers.

However, aside from buying a house and a car in a predictable manner, Li Mo considers herself a complete loser in terms of relationships, life, and family.

Since starting university, he had realized the importance of studying hard and getting a good job in the future. Not only did he devote himself to studying and job hunting throughout his undergraduate and graduate studies, but he also pushed himself very hard during the years he worked afterward, constantly striving to accumulate wealth.

Although his relentless hard work did bring him higher wages and a higher position in the company, he never truly relaxed or enjoyed life.

It might be hard for many to believe, but Li Mo's family was actually quite well-off. They lived in a small town, and through hard work, he successfully gained admission to a top-tier 211 university, majoring in a highly sought-after, top-ranked program.

But until his rebirth in his twenties, he had never truly relaxed. This is actually a very scary thing, because for most young people, the mindset is still to enjoy life to the fullest, to experience all kinds of different scenery and landscapes, and to gain life experience as much as possible while they are young.

For him, after entering university, there were really only two things: studying and making money. He really had no time to relax.

That's why, in Li Mo's view, it was all for naught. Although he successfully bought a house and a car in Shanghai before the age of 30, both his and his parents' health had been completely overdrawn, and he hadn't experienced any joy or satisfaction.

If he could make the choice again, even if he couldn't achieve the same success as in this life, Li Mo would still want to plan for a simple and ordinary life. As long as he returned to Seoul, even with only a meager salary, as long as he could live happily with his family, that would already be the life he longed for.

"Cheer up, everyone. We arrived relatively early compared to some other teams who have to play matches in the next couple of days before they can come to South Korea. We actually have plenty of time to adapt and prepare."

For NA, there's actually a small advantage: they arrived abroad relatively early. They'd already finished their domestic competitions and didn't have any other events requiring their time. Arriving abroad early meant that finances weren't an issue for Li Mo. As long as the team had time to adjust to the time difference, expenses for food, accommodation, and other things were negligible.

After all, for a competition of this caliber, arriving in the city a day earlier means the players have an extra day to adjust. On the world stage, a player's physical condition has a significant impact on their mental state. Sufficient rest before the competition allows them to conserve their energy and maintain peak performance, which will undoubtedly lead to better results during the match.

In the Swiss round of the competition, Li Mo's opponent on the first day was actually a world second-tier team, or even close to a third-tier team. Na felt no pressure facing such an opponent. Although the whole team would not underestimate their opponent, given the huge gap in strength on paper, the opponent would honestly have no chance in the BO1.

In CS:GO, each team has its own unique characteristics. Many teams with top-tier firepower can easily dominate weaker opponents if they maintain a consistent performance. However, not all top teams can consistently dominate weaker opponents. Some teams, when facing teams significantly weaker than themselves on paper, will occasionally experience upsets.

It is often said that for a top team, having a player who can dominate weaker opponents is crucial. If they are upset and lose their chance to advance, this unexpected elimination will undoubtedly ruin their reputation and put them in the spotlight.

Within NA's team, there are actually three top-tier players who stomp on weaker opponents: Li Mo, Zaiwu, and Shen Miaoxue. When facing second-tier or even third-tier teams, all three of them go all out, especially Zaiwu and Shen Miaoxue. This is because Li Mo sometimes holds back when playing against such teams, as he wants to allow his teammates to make more of a play when a victory is assured.

However, Zaiwu and Shen Miaoxue are unlikely to hold back, even against teams significantly weaker than themselves. They will still give it their all, making it extremely difficult for the opponent to find an opening in the match.

"Alright, welcome everyone to our competition venue. First, please allow me to introduce the match between the two teams in the first game of the first day of the competition. First, please allow me to give you a grand introduction to the na team from the CN region."

"On the stage of the recently concluded WC Global Finals, a team that had only been established for less than a year defeated all the strong opponents along the way, ultimately winning the championship of this year's WC Global Finals." "From being questioned and even ridiculed by many when they were first established, to demonstrating dominant strength from beginning to end in this WC Global Finals, without losing a single major match, winning the WC Global Finals championship, and defeating a host of the world's top teams, we have shown us just how powerful this team from the East truly is."

After the WCA Global Finals, NA's reputation abroad has undergone a dramatic change. Before that, although Li Mo and his NA team were completely unmatched domestically, with no team able to put pressure on them, they were only competing in domestic tournaments at the time.

During the WCA Global Finals, most of their opponents were top-tier teams, all ranked around the top 25 in the world. Even against such teams, Na didn't encounter any truly troublesome opponents. They swept through the competition like autumn leaves, easily defeating all those who stood in their way and ultimately securing the championship with ease.

It's important to understand that esports is always about skill. When NA fails to achieve convincing results, especially in the World Championship, all the voices that were pessimistic about them beforehand are amplified. But when they actually win the World Championship and defeat many opponents who previously looked down on them, they gain countless fans.

For many viewers, it's commonplace for traditional powerhouses or well-known teams to achieve results in a predictable manner, so they aren't too surprised. In fact, they don't experience much emotional fluctuation while watching the games.

And when you see a team that was never favored before participating in the World Championship, even considered the lowest tier by many professional players, teams, and commentators, yet they overwhelmingly won the World Championship, that's incredible. It's a resounding slap in the face to everyone who had looked down on them before. From the moment they won, they became a top team that will forever be remembered in history.

In the words of many professional esports commentators, Li Mo personally, and even the entire NH team, is an extremely charismatic and legendary team.

Before this, there had never been a professional CS:GO team in the world. In just six months since its formation, the three members of the team had never played professionally before, and then they won the world championship, which was comparable to an S-level championship, with lightning speed. They won the championship without much pressure from beginning to end. This is a script that even novels dare not write.

The moment the entire NA team stepped onto the stage, thunderous applause erupted from the audience. For most of the audience members, if before this they had been mocking or pessimistic about NA or Li Mo online, now that they were actually there in person, especially after seeing Li Mo, their eyes burned with fervor, and their hands were practically pounding their palms to pieces.

Soon after the two teams finished their introductions, they were all in place.

In the first match of the Swiss round, Na and SQ chose Dust2 as their map. For both sides, this map selection largely determined the outcome. This map heavily relies on individual player skill, as its open layout allows both riflemen and snipers to demonstrate their full potential.

For NA, the pressure from three world-class riflemen in their team, plus Li Mo's sniper rifle, is undoubtedly immense.

It could even be said that when they saw that their first-round opponent was na, the entire SQ team and even the coaching staff had lost much of their confidence, because in their view, the gap in strength between the two sides was simply too great.

They hadn't given up on the idea of ​​an upset, but they were fully aware of just how terrifying their opponent was. Even top teams that had written countless legends would ultimately feel a profound sense of powerlessness when facing NA. For a team like theirs, a lower-tier, or even third-tier, team, simply getting any points against NA was a victory in itself—and that's no exaggeration.

It's important to understand that NA previously maintained a 100% win rate on this map in both domestic and international competitions. This win rate means that this map can be considered NA's strongest map. Given this, it's worth noting that teams like SK, Astralis, Na'Vi, and FaZe have historically struggled to score more than 9 points on this map.

For a team like theirs, even if they can't win the pistol round, getting three points would already be a huge success.

"Don't put too much pressure on yourself. When your first opponent in the first round is already NA, you should let go of all your burdens and baggage. Because standing in front of you is a team that none of the world's top teams can do anything about. What you should be thinking now is that as long as you can play to your full potential and show your style, that will be the best you can do."

Before the match began, SQ's head coach gave a final word of encouragement. He felt that once the map was chosen, it would be somewhat laughable for them to try anything fancy.

Because everyone knows that even if they struggle with all their might, the chances of changing the outcome are extremely slim. Therefore, what he really wants is for the players and team members to perform to their own level and not to lose all confidence during the competition because the team encounters a strong opponent.

(End of this chapter)