Liam's heart pounded louder than the in-game sounds in his headphones."Tusk knows."Those two words echoed in his mind, threatening to unravel the focus he'd spent the past day rebuilding.
He forced himself to shove the phone aside. There was no time to panic.
"Focus, Liam" he muttered under his breath, adjusting his grip on the mouse.
The third round countdown hit zero, and the match resumed.
On the minimap, it was immediately clear: Tusk had changed. They weren't falling into the traps the team had set. They were adapting fast.
Matt's voice crackled in his headset. "They're not playing standard. They're expecting early aggression. They're baiting us!"
Coach Nolan's warning made sense now. Tusk had studied them. Maybe they had even gotten footage of their scrim with Evil5. However it happened, they knew.
"They're luring us in" Ava added quickly, her tone tense. "We need to change the plan. Now."
Daniel cursed under his breath. "Mid push is a death trap now. They're stacking it."
Liam's mind raced. Adapt. Overcome. Don't panic.He clicked over to the team comms. "Shift. Fast. Rotate to the side lanes. We can't brute force mid anymore."
There was a beat of hesitation, then Clara responded. "Copy. Swapping now."
The team pivoted. Instead of forcing mid control like they'd drilled, they shifted their pressure to the flanks, moving more fluidly around the map. It wasn't the clean, polished plan they'd practiced but it was the right call.
The fourth round was brutal. Fast rotations. Heavy trades. Tusk fought viciously, but Liam's squad clawed their way to a narrow victory.
The fifth round, Tusk responded with ferocity. Their lurkers caught Ava off-guard, dismantling the rotation Liam had called for. They lost the round. Tied game.
Matt slammed his fist lightly against his desk, frustration leaking through. "They're reading us like a book, man!"
"No, they're reading our old plan" Liam said sharply. "They aren't ready for what we haven't shown yet."
Coach Nolan's voice cut in through the team comms calm, focused, steady."Remember: you are not one strategy. You are five players, thinking together. Play loose. Play smart."
Liam breathed deeply. Right. We're not stuck in a playbook. We adapt.
Next round, they played unpredictable. They faked a heavy mid presence, then collapsed on the top side with a double rotation. Caught completely off guard, Tusk scrambled and lost the round.
Momentum shifted.
For the first time, Liam saw doubt creep into Tusk's plays. They started hesitating. Second-guessing rotations. Missing key timings.
"We've got them on the back foot" Clara said, a fierce edge in her voice.
But it wasn't over yet.
Tusk retaliated in the next round with an all-out, aggressive push, flipping the tempo again. Liam was caught out early, and without their initiator, the team was overrun.6–6 halftime.
They gathered during the short break, all cameras off, voices low but determined.
"Second half" Matt said. "We set the tone. We take control first."
"Play around Liam" Ava added. "He's calling the shots. We trust the call."
Liam nodded slowly, feeling the weight of their trust settle around him not as a burden, but as armor.
They went into the second half guns blazing. Smart, unpredictable plays. Quick rotations. Baiting and punishing Tusk's aggression.
Round after round, they carved a path forward.
10–7.
11–7.
Liam could feel the victory within reach but so could Tusk.
Tusk adapted yet again, bringing out strategies they hadn't shown all tournament. A brutal eco-round ambush. A triple fake. A last-second rotation that left Liam's squad scrambling.
11–9.
12–10.
Tusk wasn't letting go without a fight.
The final round. Match point.
Everything slowed down in Liam's mind.The timers.The footsteps.The chaos of comms.
He closed his eyes for half a second. Trust the team. Trust yourself.
He opened them and made the call.
"Fake a B push. Hard rotate mid to A. Fast. No noise."
The team moved as one.
Tusk bit the bait. Their defenders rotated out of A site, leaving it wide open.
Clara planted the bomb while Daniel covered. Matt caught a flanker mid-rotation. Ava watched the backline like a hawk.
Liam took position high ground, covering the spike with precision.
The final retake from Tusk was desperate scrappy. Liam clicked. One shot one down. Matt traded the second. Ava nailed the third with a clean headshot.
Victory.
The scoreboard flashed:13–10.
They'd done it.
The team erupted in cheers, their comms filled with laughter, exhaustion, pure relief.
Liam leaned back in his chair, letting out a long, shaky breath. His phone buzzed again, but this time he picked it up with a grin.
A message from Coach Nolan:
"They threw everything at you. You adapted. You earned it. Proud of you."
Liam's smile widened.They had survived Tusk.They were moving to the semi-finals.
And the real battle was just beginning.
(New Scene)
Post-Match Confrontation:
The team packed up their gear, heading toward the waiting area backstage of the cafe. The adrenaline was still wearing off when Matt stopped dead in his tracks.
Across the hallway stood members of Evil5 smirking, arms crossed. Their captain, a lanky player with sharp eyes and a cocky grin, stepped forward.
"Congrats on the win" he said lazily. "Must've been hard after they countered your whole stratbook."
Matt stiffened immediately. "You knew" he growled. "You leaked our scrim footage."
The Evil5 captain just shrugged, unapologetic. "Tusk made an offer. Business is business."
"You sold us out" Clara snapped, stepping forward. "For what? A few thousand bucks?"
"It's not personal" another Evil5 player said, almost mockingly. "It's just the game."
"You think this is a game?" Daniel's fists clenched. "You put players' careers at risk."
A tense silence settled. It felt like if anyone took a step closer, a fight would break out for real.
Liam's voice cut through the tension cold, sharp.
"You're cowards" he said simply. "And everyone will know."
The Evil5 captain smirked wider. "Only if you can prove it."
Coach Nolan appeared behind them, his face calm but deadly serious."Walk away" he told Liam's team. "We settle this where it matters."
Reluctantly, Liam turned away first, his team following.
But as they walked off, Liam made himself a silent promise:When they faced Evil5 next, there would be no mercy.