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

After losing this round, SQ is now in a defensive predicament, as their current tactics are hardly effective in containing NA's offense.

More importantly, their biggest headache is that they can't seize good opportunities in the endgame. Like in the previous round, after making a good unconventional tactic, they achieved the desired effect.

However, despite having an absolute advantage, they don't actually have a particularly good ability to capitalize on opportunities.

As a result, in the endgame, they gradually went from having the upper hand to being on the defensive, and were completely at a loss as NA beat them.

"Let's continue with our unconventional tactics. This round, we'll push forward at A site to prevent them from gaining further control. We'll maintain a default defensive stance on B tunnel and mid. Also, leave one person in the side tunnel. This way, we can exert maximum control of the map while putting pressure on them."

From SQ's perspective, they are currently in a period of growing pains because they haven't faced NA before. They lack understanding of NA's potential and are unsure how to best implement a defensive strategy to gain map control and establish a defensive advantage.

Furthermore, for them, maintaining this pace of combat is actually quite acceptable. After all, the map itself is already at a relatively manageable level.

However, after scoring two points, they found it very difficult to score on the defensive end. Even when they had an initial advantage, they failed to capitalize on it. Therefore, they clearly need to make some adjustments to their defensive tactics.

Therefore, under these circumstances, before the coach called another timeout, SQ's commander could only make tactical adjustments based on his own assessment of the situation and analysis of the current situation on the field. In his view, when facing a team like NA, the more you try to avoid their strengths, the more you often inadvertently lose a lot of initiative in the game.

As the defending side, they actually have a certain advantage in terms of map control, especially in positions like A site, where the opposing team has to rely on items to gain any position to advance.

Therefore, in his view, they must maintain a flexible adjustment in their tactics, only in this way can they prevent the NA from easily judging their defensive formation and intentions.

Because it's important to understand that for professional teams, if one side is completely figured out by the other and is in a passive position from start to finish, then scoring points becomes extremely difficult.

"At point A, we immediately used flashbangs to gain a positional advantage and prevent them from having a chance to break through A gate. Then, we maintained a loose defense at the other mid and B points. Because without enough numbers, we couldn't guarantee firepower, so we could only rely on positioning and utility to delay as much as possible."

"Actually, they played very cautiously when facing us, and they didn't underestimate us because of that. So, because they were very cautious, they would definitely spend a lot of time in the default phase at the beginning. Therefore, we need to take advantage of the fact that their attacking side has limited time, and keep delaying, trying not to give them the opportunity to implement their tactics and formations."

"Moreover, their players' individual abilities are completely inferior to the opponent's, which places higher demands on them tactically. After all, with insufficient individual ability, we can only rely on tactics, teamwork, and mentality to make some attempts."

After the tactics were explained, the SQ team executed them with great discipline. They were very clear about the gap in individual ability between themselves and their opponents, and they could also clearly see that na's teamwork was significantly different from before.

It's important to understand that during the WCA Global Finals, while the teamwork and coordination of the Na players had improved significantly since the team was first created, they were still far from being a top-tier team. In fact, when problems arose, they were only at the level of a second-tier team.

Therefore, Na's teamwork was previously their biggest weakness, but this time their improvement is clearly remarkable, contrary to rumors that they couldn't replicate their previous performance and level at this World Championship. Instead, they demonstrated a stronger core and driving force than before.

Without the ability to exploit the opponent's previous weaknesses and launch a decisive attack, SQ has fewer opportunities to capitalize on. At this stage, they are no longer focusing on capitalizing on the opponent's defensive lapses or coordination errors, but rather hoping to establish a well-structured lineup and then use their own performance to create opportunities or score as many points as possible.

"The opposing team immediately used their utility to take the A gate, which makes it difficult for us to break through. Otherwise, we would have to pay a heavy price."

In this long, drawn-out round, Na immediately felt the pressure from the opponent's items at A gate. Therefore, they didn't choose to recklessly engage in a head-on confrontation, because judging from their formation, the opponent had clearly put a lot of effort into A main, not intending to give them any further opportunities to gain control of the map.

More importantly, SQ's economy is sufficient to acquire an AWP in this round, while NA is unaware of this and has difficulty predicting the AWP's location if the opponent acquires it.

Therefore, in this situation, Na, as a highly disciplined team that always respects its opponents, will not make mistakes that the opponent can exploit and give them an opportunity. From the perspective of the situation, it would clearly be unwise for A to choose to engage in a head-on confrontation.

After some deliberation, Na decided to try attacking the middle lane again this round. Based on previous rounds, the opponent's initial mid-lane setup didn't seem to provide sufficient defense, as CTs typically don't leave a large number of players there. While this map presents a defensive disadvantage, it's not insurmountable; they need to maintain overall map control. Leaving too many players in the middle without proper control would be detrimental.

"Want to come in? I can provide you with props."

"Don't rush. Right now, they don't know anything about us, so we need to be patient and more composed than they are."

In this long-range round, the opponent did not choose to launch an unconventional defensive push immediately, so Li Mo was unlikely to make any rash choices when he was uncertain about the situation on the field.

Because if, at this moment, the opposing team sets up a completely unexpected and heavily fortified defense in the middle lane, then if they choose to contest the middle lane with the opposing team, then they will obviously be the ones who suffer losses.

Although SQ's early pressure in this round prevented them from gaining further control of A site and acquiring more information and positions, sometimes a lack of information is actually a good thing. This means that SQ has at least two defenders on A site this round. Knowing this, Li Mo can easily determine the approximate locations of the others.

For this map, after gaining control of A site, mid and B points are obviously also very important. If you only control A site, the attacking team doesn't even need to focus too much on mid and B points. The side lanes are easily breached if the defenders aren't covering them.

At this moment, what Li Mo most wanted to speed up was A short. After all, in his view, the current situation on the field was quite obvious. The opponent must have left people in the middle and B points. Given that there were two or more people at A long, this short path was either completely undefended or at most only had one defender.

If they choose to suddenly accelerate down A path, and then provide another wave of items, they will undoubtedly be able to take control of the path due to their numerical advantage. This means that they will be able to quickly take control of the entire A main area.

By that point, even if the defending team still has personnel at A site who can provide firearms, it will be difficult to make any significant difference. After all, the defending team, having gained control of A site, will be unable to provide fire support to the bomb site.

At this point, they can only rely on the players in the middle and B points to coordinate with them after returning to defend. Otherwise, if the players at A site choose to rush in or rely solely on one or two smoke grenades, they will not be able to pose an effective threat to the bomb site.

"Let's enter from the side path. First, use the items in the middle to confuse them, making them think we might be planning a middle flank attack this round. Then, we'll leave one person in the middle to threaten them simultaneously with items and footwork. Finally, we'll speed up our advance through the side path."

After finalizing their tactics, Na's strategy for this round was quite clear. Although Li Mo initially considered a mid-lane flank, he felt that such a tactic was rather conventional and wouldn't effectively utilize the positioning of the players on both sides.

More importantly, in normal thinking, it's unlikely that the opposing team would implement a complex tactical setup on the offensive end.

"We can see that in this round, NA clearly has a certain advantage in terms of positioning. Although SQ gained an advantageous position at the front point in the early stage by providing items to two players, and forced NA to not be able to easily try to break through A gate."

"However, because NA did not choose to expand from the middle or point B, they are at a disadvantage in this position. If NA chooses to accelerate from the A short route, SQ, with only one defender, will not be able to defend well against a four-man rush."

From the perspective of the commentators, or even the viewers' God's eye, SQ is finding it difficult to win this round so far. Although they haven't lost a single player, the attacking team has already taken all the positions they wanted. Moreover, without a good defense against the small area and without any gunfire at the A bomb site, it's easy for Na to quickly capture the bomb site.

"But now the situation on the field seems to have suddenly changed a bit, because the two players from SQA are now retreating towards the bomb site. So, NA is now in a bit of a dilemma. From their positions, they are ready to accelerate down the small path, but at this moment, two defenders have advanced and are about to return to the slope of the A bomb site. So, if NA continues to accelerate, then SQ's positions on both sides of A main and the small path can provide excellent crossfire."

Undoubtedly, this match, which almost everyone thought would be a one-sided affair and a complete rout, still brought a pleasant surprise to many viewers and even the commentators. This was because SQ displayed a level of composure and performance far exceeding their theoretical strength throughout the entire game.

In such a situation, their ability to react so quickly and adjust personnel positioning to compensate for the shortcomings in the overall situation is something that only many top-tier teams can achieve.

With SQ retreating to the position of the blue car at A University, the course of this round has once again become unpredictable. (End of Chapter)