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

In the initial rounds after the shift from offense to defense, NA put a lot of pressure on SQ, but SQ handled it very well overall.

At the beginning of the second half, the two sides were evenly matched, but when NA changed their defensive rhythm and made some unconventional attempts, SQ clearly didn't know how to deal with it.

It's worth noting that SQ already had a significant score disadvantage in the first half, so even though they started the second half very well, their deficit meant they were outscored 2-0, bringing the game to match point.

"We can all clearly see that the reason SQ was able to compete with NA to this extent is that they must have made certain preparations beforehand for such a strong opponent. But what we can see more of is the team's strong resilience, their strong execution from beginning to end, and the teamwork between the players."

"That's right. After changing the team's leader, we can clearly see that SQ now has the strength and potential to be among the world's top teams. And in this match, their first opponent after changing the lineup was such a strong NA, but they were not completely overwhelmed in the process of the match."

While we can see that SQ didn't put much pressure on NA, and we're being honest about that, I believe everyone could agree that they performed very well in front of the audience.

In this match, the biggest difference in strength between the two sides was actually reflected in the players' physical attributes. SQ clearly lacked the individual skill of NA's five players, especially NA's three bluffers, who were arguably among the top 10 individual players in the world.

Therefore, in such situations, Na often dominates in the endgame and crucial stages of the game, relying on the individual skill of its players. Even if SQ manages to turn the tide and win some rounds despite their best efforts, they ultimately cannot stop this invincible demon king.

"Force a move? Otherwise, there won't be another chance."

"Well, we have no choice but to fight to the death."

From SQ's perspective, the current situation on the field is no longer under their control. After all, once NA has fully adjusted their form and knows all of their usual tactics, the outcome is basically predetermined.

From the start of the second half, SQ clearly felt unprecedented pressure on offense. Playing in their home country, their superior leadership makes it much easier to establish offensive rhythm.

However, when facing NA, they could clearly feel that NA completely controlled the pace of the game. Whether they used conventional tactics, played the default strategy, or employed unconventional tactics, winning a round was extremely difficult. This meant that, most of the time, they were well aware that under the overwhelming superiority of individual skill, unconventional tactics had very limited effectiveness.

After all, they were facing NA, a team that could completely confuse opponents in any international tournament. From NA's perspective, they knew exactly how SQ would strategize when at a disadvantage, because once NA gained control of the game, SQ would have no choice but to change their playstyle.

So, after they changed their tactics, the results weren't actually that good, because all the adjustments and changes they made were within Li Mo's calculations.

"Alright, now that we've reached match point, we see that SQ has opted for a force buy, which is understandable given the round. After all, their score is on the brink of elimination, and losing this round would hand over match point."

For NA, they definitely want to end the game directly in this round, while SQ doesn't want to easily reach match point and wants to put up a fight, especially since they currently have a strong economic advantage.

"Yes, we still hope that SQ can bring us more surprises on the offensive end. Because to be honest, they may not have been in charge of the team for very long. So, we can see that they have made some breakthroughs and innovations in tactics, but they haven't done enough, especially against a strong opponent like NA. If they don't make some very strong adjustments and completely new tactical arrangements, it will be difficult to limit the defensive team's performance."

This round is crucial for SQ. If they can win it, there will still be a theoretical hope, since the overall score difference between the two sides isn't that large. More importantly, if they can maintain their momentum after winning this round and continue to close the gap, they will have a better chance in the later rounds.

"I feel we have to use a mid-lane gank tactic. Otherwise, if we try to control the map first, it will actually give the opponent information and time to reach important positions."

"For this round, we shouldn't hesitate at all. Leave one person at A site to give them confusing information, and then give them the items. Then, all four of us should move out at the same time from the middle position, take out the enemy's defenders in the middle, and then speed up to point B."

In this way, we're essentially maintaining our previous offensive strategy of a mid-lane pincer attack. More importantly, once our teammates can spread the pressure out, we can provide crucial crossfire support at point A. If we can get into the CT's position, or even deeper, our chances of taking this round are quite high.

After several rounds of setbacks, SQ realized a crucial problem: they often had a fixed mindset of trying to gather as much map information as possible. However, as the attacking side, spending too much time gathering information not only consumed too much of their offensive time but also caused them to miss opportunities to accelerate and outnumber their opponents. Therefore, after considering these factors, SQ decided to revert to their previous strategy this round, as it had proven very effective before.

Due to severe financial constraints, SQ's commander used a sniper rifle in this round. Although it was a round meant to be fast-paced, SQ's commander believed that with their numerical advantage, they were almost certain to take the mid lane. He didn't believe Na would gamble on their entire team pushing through the mid lane.

Therefore, after considering this, SQ made the decision to equip the commander with an AWP (Aquila Sniper Rifle). After all, the AWP has some use in the mid-lane, especially if they can successfully capture it. In the sand, the AWP in the mid-lane can restrict the CTs' retake as much as possible.

"There are gunshots coming from door A, it feels like they're trying to seduce us."

The Na players at A site immediately heard the smoke grenade deliberately thrown by the opposing team, but they didn't immediately give up their positions. After all, Na is no longer the same team it was when it was first formed. The three teammates are sometimes careless and inexperienced, or they tend to give opportunities in the endgame and are not so calm.

After returning to China and making adjustments, NA now boasts a very strong sense of discipline among its members. Otherwise, they would have easily exposed many problems when they came to the World Championship. When they participated in the WCA Global Finals, they were a completely unfamiliar team, and not many teams had a thorough understanding of them. Moreover, they had prepared a considerable number of unconventional tactics.

Therefore, in that situation, even the top teams would find it difficult to deal with them. After all, it's extremely difficult to fully analyze and review the opponent's tactics and various strategies during a match, especially given Li Mo's impressive tactical repertoire.

However, during this World Championship, almost all teams had conducted a comprehensive review of NA before the tournament, even a frame-by-frame analysis. Therefore, relying solely on brute force or unconventional tactics to win was no longer a viable option.

After all, the opponent will definitely make ample preparations in terms of tactics beforehand. More importantly, the unconventional tactics that can be researched on each map are limited within a certain timeframe. So, while Li Mo's tactics are not exhausted, he can no longer make adjustments to the general direction and can only make minor tweaks in certain areas.

"At first, SQ released a false message, trying to get NA to focus more on A site. However, we can clearly see from the map that NA's positioning has hardly changed. In fact, Cobra seems to have activated X-ray vision again, moving ahead to the mid-lane to provide backup. This positioning adjustment could very well become a variable in this game."

From an omniscient perspective, Li Mo's tactical choice was nothing short of outrageous. He completely ignored the smoke bomb SQ placed at the start of the game, and instead used this misleading information to make a logical deduction. He then proactively moved to the mid-lane to provide defensive support.

In Li Mo's opinion, the opponent is very likely to attack the middle lane this round. Whether they attack point A from the middle lane via the side path or simply attack point B from the middle lane, they must make a pre-emptive movement.

That's why he didn't hesitate to go to the mid lane after hearing the information. However, he didn't expect SQ to rush straight to the mid lane so quickly this round.

If he had fully anticipated that the opposing team would immediately rush to seize the middle lane and launch an unconventional speed-up attack, then his initial tactical setup would involve heavily defending the middle lane. However, for this map, even with a heavy defense in the middle lane at the start, it wouldn't have a disastrous impact on the defending team. After all, the middle lane offers relatively quick support for both point A and point B.

"The enemy team has given us items; we're going to rush mid lane this time."

Just as Li Mo positioned himself at CT, the opposing team had already begun their push down the mid lane. They first used smoke grenades to create cover, and then flashbangs filled the area. With this combination of items and the density of the smoke, even if the defending team had two players positioned at a relatively small angle, they wouldn't be able to achieve an effective kill. Li Mo only made a token attempt to blend into the smoke, but failed to secure a kill.

In this situation, SQ actually broke through the middle lane as planned and immediately, without allowing CT to gain a numerical advantage.

This makes the round quite difficult for the defending team. After all, the CTs' positions have been restricted. Even though they still have 5 players, their positions are blocked, and the opposing team can clearly use their positional advantage after the attack-defense transition on the map, as well as utility items, to buy them enough time.

More importantly, the player SQ placed at point A at the start is now proving very effective. He can go to the mid lane or any other key position. Whichever position he goes to, it puts pressure on NA's point clearing team. They need to be constantly aware that there's one enemy player whose location is completely unknown. Therefore, the defending team is already under considerable pressure.

(End of this chapter)