CS: I’m Only 16, and You Want Me to Stage an Old Veteran Comeback?

October 30, 2021, Saturday.

Auspicious for: Praying, traveling, consecration… and pouring liquids where they belong…

The sun was blazing in Stockholm today, making Jiang Yang feel quite comfortable.

Notably, as soon as he woke up, Ma Xixi messaged him, saying he had already bought a ticket and was preparing to fly to Stockholm. This made Jiang Yang quite excited.

With October coming to an end, the Challenger Stage break was officially over, and the Legends Stage was set to begin.

The Major’s main event—also known as the Legends Stage—kicked off with a face-off between new and old legends. The eight teams that battled their way through the Challenger Stage were set to go up against the previous Major’s top-eight teams.

However, since the last Major was so long ago, the top-eight teams in this Stockholm Major were special—they were all directly invited.

The invited teams were: NAVI, Gambit, Vitality, NIP, Furia, Liquid, EG, and G2.

As for Steel Helmets, they were matched against the North American powerhouse Liquid, one of the old legends.

Right now, Liquid was on the verge of a roster shake-up. Their performance over the past few months had been terrible, making them one of the weaker teams in the Legends Stage.

To put it in perspective—when it came to predictions, Liquid and Steel Helmets were considered either 3-0 or 0-3 tier teams.

With two teams of similar strength, Steel Helmets actually had a sliver of a chance to advance.

The prep work for facing Liquid was already done. Feeling a bit bored, Jiang Yang scrolled through his phone, checking out online discussions.

With the Top 16 matches about to begin, forum threads about predictions had noticeably increased.

But aside from prediction threads, there were also discussions about the matchups:

"This bracket is crazy—G2 is facing the strongest dark horse right off the bat. Feels like G2 is gonna get smashed by Firefly."

"Man, it's a shame we didn’t get A-Team vs. NIP. That would’ve been a 'betrayer showdown'."

"Not gonna lie, I just hope Steel Helmets can win at least one match. Otherwise, coming to the Legends Stage would feel like a waste."

"Trust in Cousin! As long as he plays like he did in the Challenger Stage, he’s definitely making it through!"

"Don't overhype him. He only popped off against Tier 2 teams and smurfed on noobs."

"This Major is stacked with young talent—NAVI has B1t, Steel Helmets have Cousin, Denmark has Lucky."

"All the rookies are popping off, except Lucky, who’s just getting farmed, lol."

"Let’s see if Cousin can destroy Liquid today. I went all-in on Steel Helmets making it through!"

Chinese fans had high expectations for Jiang Yang. As for those who believed he'd crumble against an elite Tier 1 team—Jiang Yang didn’t really care.

He didn’t feel much pressure either.

After all, he had already faced a Tier 1 team once—his very first Challenger Stage match was against Heroic.

That match had shown him that if his aim was on point, even Tier 1 teams were beatable.

So instead of feeling nervous, he was looking forward to it—because this was the moment he’d finally face the legendary pros he had watched for years.

Liquid’s current lineup:

• Brazilian Godfather Fallen
• CS:GO’s One and Only Chicken Man Elige
• North America’s Last Clutch Master Sloth NAF
• North America’s Sun Yalong Grimz
• NIKO’s Three-Box Brother stewie2K

…Yeah, a beautiful day starts with seeing Jiao Jiao.

But Jiang Yang knew what the viewers were really hoping for—

A beautiful day starts with Jiao Jiao getting wrecked.

As match time arrived, Steel Helmets' players took their seats one by one.

Jiang Yang, as always, brought his Little Pony plushie to the venue. It had basically become his lucky charm at this point.

But it was kinda big, so he was considering getting a palm-sized version to carry around.

"Man, those two Black brothers went off just now."

While adjusting his gear, Brother Xiaosa came over for some small talk.

"I really thought Firefly was gonna take down G2, but then those two brothers dropped 50 kills combined and just obliterated them."

"And that Amanek guy was something else—his AWP was throwing so hard. I feel like G2 is the most unpredictable team ever."

Jiang Yang hopped into an aim-training map for a quick warm-up and joked:

"That’s just how G2 is. The moment you believe in them, they’ll hit you with the biggest throw. The moment you doubt them, they’ll suddenly clutch up."

"That’s why G2 fans can never trust G2 to win."

DD chuckled, "G2 is the team that never feels out of place in any prediction bracket."

Truly a team that lives for chaos.

Meanwhile, on the secondary stage, FaZe easily took down EG, which was totally expected.

After all, the team had already heard before the match that EG’s White Fatball had been struggling with depression and was in terrible form.

It wouldn’t be surprising if EG went 0-3 and got eliminated.

Jiang Yang quickly went through his warm-up routine, stopping as soon as he felt even the slightest hand fatigue.

Then, he sat up straight and glanced across at the Liquid players—right at Elige.

And that’s when he noticed—

Elige was sitting more than a meter away from his screen.

Can he even see anything from there?!

In fact, it looked like Elige wanted to sit even farther back—but the desk was physically preventing him from moving his monitor any further.

What the hell?

As Jiang Yang was mumbling to himself, the map veto process finally began.

Seeing Ming Riqing return with a confident strut, Jiang Yang teased,

"So? You gonna blame your left hand again?"

Ming Riqing responded,

"Of course! My left hand is always the problem. But this time, my win has nothing to do with my hands."

"I played Rock, they played Scissors. So this time, Scissors is just weak."

Jiang Yang laughed, "What a load of nonsense—take this, Clip Queen’s Sword!"

Then, he got punched twice.

MO turned to Jiang Yang, "Stick to the plan? Take the gamble?"

Jiang Yang took a deep breath, "Let's try it."

MO nodded and immediately banned Vertigo and Inferno.

6657 Livestream Room.

Wan Ji Qi perked up when he saw the veto:

"Wait… they left Overpass open?"

Steel Helmets hadn't played Overpass once since entering the Major—leaving it open was a bold move.

But Wan Ji Qi, being well-versed in match analysis, broke it down:

"These two teams have overlapping map pools, so Steel Helmets probably assumed Liquid doesn’t like Overpass either and wanted them to ban it instead."

"But Liquid left Overpass open too! They banned Mirage, Ancient, and Dust2 instead!"

He took a sharp breath.

"Well… this just got tricky."

The final map selection came down to Nuke and Overpass.

When facing a true Tier 1 team, vetoing was always difficult.

After careful calculations, they realized that if they went for a standard veto, they'd likely end up playing Inferno or Nuke—Liquid’s strongest maps.

So instead, they took a gamble and chose Overpass—a map Liquid wasn’t good at, but one where Jiang Yang could shine.

Looking across at Liquid’s players, Jiang Yang caught them glancing over in surprise.

They seemed a bit worried, thinking that Steel Helmets was holding back a big play.

However, the map had already been locked in—there was no way to rewind and redo the BP. Both teams' players could only load into the selected battlefield of Overpass.

Steel Helmets vs. Team Liquid

Map: Overpass

T-Side: CaptainMO, DD, xiaosage, young, Karsa

CT-Side: FalleN, EliGE, Grim, NAF, Stewie2K

The match officially began!

Even though they had rushed through two days of practice, Steel Helmets’ strat book for this map wasn’t deep. The good news? Their opponents probably weren’t much better off either.

So, MO opted for a simple approach—no-fuss, straight-up B-site execute, letting their aim do the talking.

“This round, Liquid has set up a heavy defense in the sewers, trying to counter a map-control push from the other side,” Wan Ji Qi analyzed. “They expect Steel Helmets to start with a mid-heavy approach, scouting for info before committing.”

“But Steel Helmets isn’t nearly as complicated as they think—they’re just rushing B straight away!”

Wan Ji Qi burst into laughter. “And it just so happens that Liquid has completely abandoned B-site! Steel Helmets takes the site effortlessly, and Liquid is forced into a retake with only their utility!”

“Stewie2K, holding solo on the first level of B, tries to collect a toll for entry, but Brother Xiaosa has already pushed up close—instant headshot kill in the duel!!”

With B-site secured and the first frag in the bag, Jiang Yang felt the pressure ease up.

After a quick consideration, he spoke with MO: “Captain, I’ll go cut off rotations at Construction. Don’t peek for trades—wait until I’ve dealt with the first wave, then you can flank them from behind.”

His plan was to take down one or two players at Construction. That would force Liquid into a panic, and MO could then clean up from behind.

Overpass had a lot of small, structured areas, making it ideal for these localized tactical plays.

Jiang Yang crept into a corner at Construction, crouched, and held his crosshair on the Sewer exit.

Soon, the door creaked open, and Jiang Yang heightened his focus.

A flurry of footsteps echoed near his crosshair. The moment a CT jumped into view, Jiang Yang opened fire, tapping away.

His opponent was caught mid-air, exposing their side. Jiang Yang seized the opportunity and sprayed his Glock wildly. Just as they landed and tried to turn, he secured the kill.

Immediately, another CT wielding dualies turned toward him. With the Glock’s rapid fire rate, Jiang Yang landed a clean headshot before the enemy could even land.

Though surprised that the first headshot didn’t finish the job at this range, he quickly adjusted his aim downward and shot straight into their chest.

[young headshot-killed Grim with Glock]

[young headshot-killed NAF with Glock]

EliGE, seeing two teammates drop in quick succession, immediately swung out to trade. But at this close range, it was awkward—he had trouble landing a clean shot.

So, EliGE tried to jump onto the railing and spray down from above.

He leapt up like a war god.

And immediately fell like a log.

[young headshot-killed EliGE with Glock]

“Liquid didn’t account for the Sewer dead angle, and Cousin caught them with a massive opportunity—three instant Glock kills!!”

“The Godfather finally managed to trade him, but Cousin has already done his job!”

Wan Ji Qi hyped up the play: “Now the last player is locked in at Construction—does the Godfather still want to make a play here?”

“Even though he knows this is a lost round, the Godfather still wants to fight!”

“He forces a kill, but MO has already crept up from Short, taking him out with a single shot.”

1:0. Steel Helmets secures the pistol round—what a comfortable start.

But Wan Ji Qi couldn’t help but critique: “Stewie2K really played that terribly. Holding solo B, he just needed to stay alive at B1.”

“He failed to defend himself, got killed, and lost site control.”

“That’s just throwing, man.”

After winning the pistol round, Steel Helmets took a moment to adjust. Jiang Yang now had himself a full-armor AK-47.

Knowing that Liquid would force-buy this round, they played cautiously at the start.

Jiang Yang held at Mid Doors, waiting. Snipers were common on this map, and he had watched the Godfather’s replays before the match.

He knew the Godfather liked to perch on Balloons to snipe.

So, he deliberately waited at the start. Once he confirmed no utility had been thrown, he faced the wall and made a fine adjustment.

For players like him and NiKo, who specialized in pre-aiming, as long as they memorized the map and built a mental model, pre-aiming was simple.

With his crosshair set, Jiang Yang flicked left in a wide swing.

The moment he spotted a target, he counter-strafed and micro-adjusted.

“BANG!”

Stewie2K, holding an AWP at Balloons, never even got the chance to pull the trigger. The only sound was an AK’s headshot ding as he got blown away.

Jiang Yang clenched his fist—this peek had been a little nerve-wracking.

EliGE, acting as his bodyguard at Mid Doors, saw this and immediately swung out, trying to catch Jiang Yang as he repositioned.

Soon enough, he spotted Jiang Yang walking out. He snapped his Desert Eagle toward him and fired a shot.

But it was as if he had triggered some kind of instant counterattack mechanism.

The moment EliGE fired, Jiang Yang stopped, adjusted, and one-tapped him in return.

EliGE fell, clutching his face with a wry smile.

This kid’s reflexes are insane.

“Cousin just double-tapped two players with an AK at mid. The ECO-round god really is something else. Strictly speaking, this was a force-buy round, but hey, if there’s a pistol, it’s an ECO round!” Wan Ji Qi joked, referencing a popular forum meme.

Meanwhile, at Construction, DD caught Grim trying to push forward.

Suddenly, it was a 5v2 situation. MO had the team regroup outside B and overwhelmed the site with sheer numbers.

They secured the force-buy round. In the following eco round, Liquid managed to save an AK, but that was about it.

Steel Helmets won the first three rounds in a row, and the match was now heading into the first full-buy round.