At this moment, on G2’s side.
Because of Liquid’s opening utility, G2 had lost early information on Boiler and VIP. After thinking it over briefly, Little Li at B made a decisive call.
“I’ll molly Cubby! Niko, pop a flash! Dark, take Banana info!”
Little Li commanded.
“No problem!”
Meng Lang nodded at once.
The instant the flash went off, he swung straight out through the smoke at Logs, the crosshair of his M4A1 snapping quickly as he searched for a target.
But there was no one.
“No one Banana.”
“Not good! They should be hitting A.”
In the 6657 livestream room, Wanjiqi’s voice suddenly grew louder as well.
“Oh! God Li’s reaction is very fast here! Dark pushes through the smoke for info! God Li has read Liquid’s call, and G2 are making a dynamic defensive adjustment on the fly, quickly falling back into a 4A setup. Over on Banana, they’ve only left smoke and Dark.”
“That’s right! It’s Dark! Looks like Dark’s steady performance alongside old Ni on the main B defense this game has already earned him the team’s trust. Old Ni has proactively given up the Banana position.”
In the match,
Meng Lang, alone on B, did not get overconfident.
After his two teammates left, he immediately refreshed a smoke at T-ramp, then fell back toward CT spawn, holding another smoke in hand while jiggle-peeking.
Why was he playing so steadily?
On one hand, he did not want to let down his teammates’ trust.
On the other hand,
what he had in his hands was an M4A1, not an AK; it did not have the condition for a one-shot headshot.
And Liquid was a team that loved to push smokes. If they really went for a last-second rotate into a B execute, Meng Lang holding a forward position would be very easily punished by their utility. So he decisively chose to defend from the back of CT spawn.
But at this moment, on Liquid’s side.
Facing the mid smoke Little Li had thrown from Connector, shox and NAF in Second Mid both pulled out flashes at the same time!
“Oh! Liquid have two high flashes from Mid and Second Mid, supporting Boiler and Mid at the same time. EliGE leads the charge, and three of them burst through the mid smoke to take Mid!”
“Cousin, the main defender in the A area, eats a high flash and decisively falls back to the tall box on A site. He knows Liquid are clearing Mid and quickly throws utility toward A1 and A2 apartments to stop Liquid from speeding up.”
“But the good news is, Cousin doesn’t need to panic! Little Li and Niko have already rotated back to Connector! Right now, G2 have an incredibly heavy 4A defense on A!”
“Liquid! Can you break through this round?”
At this moment, the round timer showed 1:09.
But right then, after Liquid cleared Mid, EliGE in Mid suddenly began walking backward silently, with nitr0 and NAF following behind him.
In the blink of an eye, Liquid had only left Osee’s AWP in Mid to hold Connector and prevent a CT push, while Shox stayed in Boiler, holding A1 and the spiral stairs to apartments.
One sniper in Mid,
one rifler in Boiler!
A perfect counter to any CT aggression!
Wanjiqi was shocked at the sight!
“Eh? No, that’s not right! It’s not a fake B into A, it’s a fake A into B!”
“nitr0 has gone back home to pick up a flash! He throws it straight into Banana as a re-clear flash! But Dark has already refreshed the smoke and fallen back to the deeper position. Chicken Bro and NAF take the flash and push through the smoke to re-clear Banana!”
“This is bad! Right now, G2 only have Dark alone defending B from the back of CT spawn. If Liquid speed up here! Can Dark hold off three long guns by himself?”
At this moment, the round timer showed 0:44.
Almost as soon as Wanjiqi’s words fell, Little Li and Niko in Connector heard Meng Lang call that someone had popped a flash in Banana, and their hearts lurched!
The opponents were still hitting B!
“Rotate! Throw smoke and delay them! Niko and I are coming right away.”
“Okay!”
Meng Lang’s reply was terse.
Without waiting any longer, from his CT spawn position, he threw the divider smoke in his hand directly.
Clang—!
Smoke instantly billowed in the direction of Sandbags!
Wanjiqi’s voice grew louder and louder.
“Oh! God Li and Niko’s rotation is very fast. The two IGLs are really matching wits this round! How will this go? NAF has thrown a CT smoke! Both sides have made a utility exchange! Are they going for the final execute and speed-up?”
Facing this divider smoke, EliGE, leading the way, relied on calm pre-aim to creep out from Logs and clear Sandbags.
Then, the three Liquid players on Banana actually began “backing up” silently again!
At this moment,
there were only 37 seconds left on the clock.
Wanjiqi was instantly stunned!
“No way, bro! They’re still rotating at this timing?”
“Oh! Liquid really are rotating! This round isn’t a fake A into B, nor is it a fake B into A. After this timeout, Liquid are running the classic ABA tactic!”
“My god! The two IGLs are trading calls head-on this round! Liquid have baited G2’s defense back toward B again, but in the end, they still want to hit A! And now, there are only m0NESY and Cousin left on A!”
At this moment, the round timer showed 0:28.
The trio from Liquid who had silently backed out of Banana instantly sped up with loud footsteps in Mid. As the observer switched the camera, m0NESY’s AWP on G2’s side was still hard-scoping under Stable in Mid!
Liquid’s previous fake hits had already consumed too much utility.
After backing out of Banana and arriving in Mid, EliGE saw that Osee’s AWP was still slowly edging outward, so he simply swung wide himself!
“Oh! Is Chicken Bro helping Osee draw the crosshair?”
Bang—!
It was the sound of an AK!
Blood burst under Stable!
“No! My god! Chicken Bro has directly torn apart m0NESY’s AWP! m0NESY failed to hold the angle! Now there’s only Cousin left on A!”
“Liquid are moving very fast. With their final smoke, they put it on the arch in Connector, then hold Library! Two Connector! Two A1! Shox, who previously controlled Boiler, is coming through apartments to pinch A!”
“Cousin! Cousin’s position is in Pit! But right now, Liquid—no, the whole world knows he’s in Pit! Liquid are throwing all their final mollies and grenades into Pit. Cousin has been forced out! How will this go? Can he take one?”
“Oh! Cousin is tortured by the molly in Pit. Shox comes out of A2 apartments and takes Cousin down with a clean counter-strafe!”
In an instant, G2’s A site was broken open, and the bomb carrier quickly planted.
As the C4 began ticking down,
the round immediately turned into an offense-defense swap: the Ts were now defending, and the CTs were attacking.
The chat in the 6657 livestream room instantly exploded!
“Did m0NESY fall asleep?”
“I’m dying, m0NESY let them in this wave, and Cousin really got tortured!”
“Holy shit! Liquid’s timeout actually worked? God Li’s calls got suppressed this round!”
“They were the ninth-ranked team in the world last year, what did you think?”
“Wait, Liquid won’t be like G2 too, right? Win one round and instantly awaken to start catching up?”
“Don’t say it! You really shouldn’t say it!”
“.”
Wanjiqi also laughed and shook his head. “Liquid’s tactic this round was indeed beautiful. All I can say is G2 didn’t lose this one unfairly, okay? Some chatters are saying G2 haven’t lost yet—no, bro, how do you win a 3v5 retake like this?”
“There are so many gun positions on A site, right? It’s definitely over!”
Just as Wanjiqi’s words fell, he suddenly let out an “Eh?” His tone turned startled and doubtful. “Wait! G2… they haven’t chosen to save! Little Li and Niko have already rotated into position from Connector, and Dark has also rushed over from CT spawn. They want to give it a try!”
“That makes sense too! Their economy is very good. Even if they lose this round, they can still buy. So how does this go now? A 3v5 retake, and Liquid still have the gun-position advantage.”
Before Wanjiqi could finish speaking,
in the observer’s camera, Little Li, who was trying to swing out from the Connector arch to get information, was immediately taken down by NAF, who was holding from the A1 cubby!
【TL-NAF killed G2-Aleksib with an AK47!】
But almost the instant Little Li fell, Niko behind him instantly swung out. The M4A1 in his hands locked on with precision, and he quickly traded NAF!
【G2-Niko headshotted TL-NAF with an M4A1】
“Niko! Niko’s trade is very fast! He picked up the AK dropped by NAF! Now the situation becomes a 2v4! This is a Nini-Heihei clutch!”
On G2’s match seats, Niko did not hesitate at all. He quickly shouted in voice chat, “Bro, A1!”
Meng Lang understood at once. The two of them immediately moved together from Connector toward A1, preparing to begin the retake from the A1 direction.
“Niko and Dark have chosen to clear from A1! Dark first throws a molly into Pit to prevent anyone from hiding inside, while Niko very carefully throws a smoke to block the apartments line!”
“Dark pops the flash! Niko swings out of A1 off the flash!”
Bang—!
【G2-Niko headshotted TL-nitr0 with an AK-47】
“Niko! He instantly kills nitr0 on the tall box! But wait! Behind him! Mini Pit! There’s still Osee’s AWP in Mini Pit!!”
Wanjiqi’s voice suddenly rose!
Bang—!
The AWP roared!
Just as Niko had killed one, the sniper bullet from Mini Pit viciously slammed into his side!
【TL-Osee killed G2-Niko with an AWP!】
【G2-Dark headshotted TL-Osee with an M4A1!】
Two kill notifications appeared almost at the same time!
“Dark! He traded Osee in Mini Pit! Now the situation becomes a 1v2! He’s facing the last two, Shox in apartments and EliGE! The positions of both are unknown. Dark picked up the AK dropped by Niko! But… there are only 10 bullets left in the magazine!”
“The smoke hasn’t faded yet. Shox is moving! He’s gambling that Dark has too many spots to clear and won’t have time to hold the smoke! He chooses to silent-walk out!”
“Dark! Will you look at apartments?”
“What? Oh—!”
Meng Lang definitely could not be watching apartments, but after clearing the dead angle on A site and the rat positions,
he chose to spray a whole burst directly through the smoke!
Da-da-da—!
And so, almost the instant Shox swung out,
Meng Lang’s crosshair snapped violently toward the edge of the smoke at apartments. Relying on his terrifying spray-control feel, he sprayed a burst straight through the smoke!
【G2-Dark killed TL-Shox with an AK-47】
“Holy shit! Perfect timing! Shox got spammed to death by Dark!!”
Wanjiqi was immediately overjoyed!
“Now only the final Chicken Bro, EliGE, is left! A 1v1 clutch!”
“But there isn’t much time left! Dark’s AK… there’s only one bullet left in the magazine! He doesn’t even have time to reload! Is one bullet enough?”
“Where’s Chicken Bro! The last direction Chicken Bro disappeared in was Connector! He has already wrapped from Mid to A1!”
“This position is very hard to guess! Because Dark and old Ni came in from A1! Dark is now watching the Connector direction!”
On the bombsite, the C4 was still ticking away!
“Is Dark going to defuse? He just picked up Niko’s kit! But this is an A2 apartments plant. Chicken Bro knows his position can directly shoot the side of the defuser! So he’s being very respectful, waiting in Mid for the tick!”
“How will this play out?! Dark doesn’t have much time left!” The observer’s camera locked tightly onto Meng Lang’s POV.
He took a deep breath,
as if making a decision!
He moved one step toward the bombsite, then pressed the “E” key!
Beep—!
The sound of the defuse began!
“Dark has chosen to defuse!!”
Wanjiqi cried out in shock.
“But Chicken Bro definitely heard it! It’s over! This round still feels like it’s going to Liq—” Before Wanjiqi could finish saying the “uid” in “Liquid,”
a sudden change erupted!
At the very instant the defuse sound rang out and drew everyone’s attention,
on the screen, Meng Lang suddenly made a terrifying ninety-degree flick, the muzzle whipping toward A1 at a speed beyond ordinary comprehension—toward the ultimate blind spot where he had originally believed no one could be, but which he had identified through the danger sense of his 【Spider Sense】!
Bang——!!!
The final AK bullet!
Like lightning in the dark night!
It shot out of the chamber!
Along with Wanjiqi’s distorted, voice-cracking cry of “Wait! What!?”
the bullet tore through the air and struck EliGE precisely in the head just as he swung out from A1, ready to catch the defuse timing!
【G2-Dark headshotted TL-EliGE with an AK-47】
Headshot!
Instant kill!
“Enough! One bullet is enough! Chicken Bro got insta-killed!!”
Wanjiqi’s voice had completely warped, filled with disbelief, and he hurriedly said, “Then is there still enough time?”
And in the game, after firing that miraculous shot, Meng Lang did not pause at all. He immediately lowered his gun and crouched down again, seamlessly continuing the defuse!
It was confidence!
At the same time, it was because he knew.
If he missed, he was dead.
There would be no need to struggle at all.
Only,
he had succeeded!
Beep—zzzz—
The defuse sound rang out again!
Everyone on G2’s match seats looked tense!
Just as the C4 explosion countdown reached the final, ultimate threshold of 0.25 seconds!
Clang—!
The C4 was successfully defused!
Counter-Terrorists win!
Nice, bro!
Huu—!
Old Ni, who had almost become the tragic figure of this round, let out a long breath!
He wanted nothing more than to hug Meng Lang and kiss him!
In the 6657 livestream room.
“He defused it! An absolute limit defuse! He got it!”
Wanjiqi went all out again, letting out a roar in an unbelievably deep, resonant voice.
“A Nini-Heihei clutch—you can believe in it! In Dark’s final 1v2, with an AK that only had 10 bullets left! Relying on the ultimate display of individual skill, he forcibly turned Liquid’s timeout into an ineffective timeout!!!”
“Dark! He understood it too clearly! Not only did he use his final bullet to blind-guess the position and insta-kill Chicken Bro! He also defused the bomb with just 0.25 seconds left!!”
“Chicken Bro was very respectful this round! But he still wasn’t completely respectful enough!”
“He didn’t choose to wait for the tick and count down before coming out! But after this shot, he’ll know that he must respect this genius youngster from CN!”
“Especially when he gets his signature weapon, the AK!”
Boom!!!
The entire chat of the 6657 livestream room instantly exploded!