Sniper Mirror Shattered
Lee Siwoo nails Shin Jin-woo with a rotating shot!
Incredible—a perfect aim search!
The casters, commentators, and fans are all stunned in the same way.
What the hell?
Shin Jin-woo's vision turns black and white in an instant. He blinks, forgetting to even call out his position.
Did he just land an aim on me with a rotating shot right now?
He couldn't believe it.
Sure, predicting he was pre-aiming and rolling out to counter—that made sense. It was a common trick pros used.
Coming out at a speed where aim couldn't keep up due to accel buff, or rolling for a counterattack. Those were the opponent's only choices.
But precisely aiming and hitting with a rotating shot right after? No matter how he thought about it, it didn't add up. Was that even possible?
Anyone who's played FPS even a little knows how hard a "backshot" is.
Dodging the enemy's bullet while landing yours. A trick you can only pull off if you've read their movement in advance or know their position.
What the hell was that.
Goosebumps ripple across Shin Jin-woo's skin. He lets out a hollow laugh. To him, it was utterly ridiculous. He'd never heard of play like this.
"What? Did Jin-woo just lose?"
"What happened? The pub picked it off?"
His teammates jump in surprise, asking questions. Bewilderment colors their voices too.
"…Just keep going for now. Point's not activated yet."
Shin Jin-woo forces himself to stay calm. It was still early in the match. Dying once wouldn't shift the setup much.
The favorable setup had just tipped slightly against them.
This is getting fun instead.
But Shin Jin-woo doesn't feel anxious or uneasy. If anything, he enjoys the situation.
Back home, there weren't many attackers who could match him. Choi Woo-jin and Ryu Jin-seok were the closest, but even they fell short.
So he'd looked forward to Lee Siwoo.
This is a jackpot.
Shin Jin-woo grins.
It didn't just meet expectations—it shattered them.
Shin Jin-woo respawns! He's back in!
Early game, so respawn isn't too long!
Soon, the respawned Shin Jin-woo climbs back up to the fourth-floor building.
"How's it looking?"
Shin Jin-woo asks.
"Enemy's waiting sniper again. Looks like they've claimed the spot?"
"Yeah? Then we gotta break through."
"What do we do? Push from main squad side?"
"Nah, that'd hurt us."
Shin Jin-woo's expression hardens as he shoulders his sniper rifle.
"I'll take back the turn I lost."
It's not stubborn pride. If you spill the water, you clean it up yourself. That's Shin Jin-woo's motto, his philosophy.
….
Siwoo holds his breath, eye pressed to the scope.
Shin Jin-woo will definitely come back.
From his playstyle, one thing's clear: he fixes his own mistakes himself.
"How's main squad?"
Siwoo asks.
"They're still watching the lanes."
"They'll push when point activates, right?"
"Yeah, we're watching lanes too for now."
As expected.
They're not using main squad like he thought. Shin Jin-woo would show up at the fourth-floor railing again. That's the kind of pro gamer he was.
Siwoo sharpens his senses once more. Ambient sounds fade, vision tunnels to a single point.
Then—
"…!"
Screeech!
Shin Jin-woo slides out with the healer. Siwoo instinctively pulls the trigger.
Bang—!
Oh, Shin Jin-woo comes out with Lee Jian—!
Lee Jian's down! But they bought a turn!
But it wasn't Shin Jin-woo who died. The sniper healer who slid out with him went down. Siwoo ducks behind cover fast.
Ting!
A bullet hits the wall. Shin Jin-woo's follow-up shot, aimed instantly.
"Phew."
Siwoo exhales in relief. If Shin Jin-woo's aim search had been a hair faster, or if he'd been a split second slower, his head would've been pierced.
"What now? Should I peek first?"
Yong-taek hyung asks.
Siwoo chuckles and shakes his head.
"Just hang the Force accel buff on me, hyung. If you die here, it's all pointless."
"Got it."
Graciously, Yong-taek hyung doesn't argue. He trusts him. Siwoo's proven it with results so far.
Click.
Siwoo enhances his shouldered sniper rifle with Force.
Crackle!
Blue light wraps from muzzle to stock, sparks flying.
Force Enhancement round.
One shot, one chance.
Opponent reacts fast, or prediction hits—or one or the other.
Siwoo closes his eyes, replaying the earlier scene.
Shin Jin-woo slid left and braked. So he'll probably peek left again this time.
He had a habit of aiming right from the left side. Recalling the last play, odds were high it'd repeat.
Simulation done.
Siwoo twists his ankle sideways, ready to burst out.
"Hyung, accel buff now!"
"On it!"
Crackle—!
His body lightens instantly.
Physical stats boosted across the board.
He bursts out.
Thud—!
Shin Jin-woo appears on the opposite railing, aiming. Siwoo, accel active, twists his ankle for a full rotation.
Whish—!
A straight beam of light streaks by, missing by a paper's width.
Lee Siwoo dodges the Force Enhancement round!
Then, braking with his toe, he aims.
Sliding, drops one knee, shoulders the sniper.
Through the scope, he sees the opponent stepping out.
No good.
Siwoo grins and pulls the trigger.
Perfect brake—speed at zero.
Bullet flies true.
Bang—!
TARGET DOWN
Lee Siwoo!! Picks off Shin Jin-woo again!
Perfect aim search!
Siwoo grins and mashes his in-ear mic.
"High ground fully secured. We can start main squad fight now."
"OK! Let's push!"
His hyungs advance in sync with Siwoo's briefing.
Point not activated yet, but claiming position matters. It lets them block efficiently.
Plus, GZ's comp is support-fire breakthrough. Hold a good spot, and they can defend solid.
Main squad clash begins!
Kim Ho-jong and Park Chan-seong push forward!
GZ retreats! Shin Jin-woo's respawning!
GZ avoids the fight as expected. Numerical disadvantage from the start made it obvious.
"Ho-jong hyung, objective status?"
Siwoo asks.
"Split blue and red. We're blue."
"OK, spamming Force Enhancement rounds then."
"Copy."
Siwoo presses his eye to the scope, holding his breath.
And….
Bang—!
Lee Siwoo's support fire begins!
Can't back off! Gotta fight!
But Shin Jin-woo just respawned!
Hold somehow! Retreating drags time!
That moment I mentioned! Siwoo picks off another! Supporter down!
Siwoo's yelling it feels like! Dare bring a sniper mirror? Time to teach you lot a lesson!
Kaiserst presses GZ hard.
But GZ can't counter. Their attacker, healer, and supporter got sniped out.
In Overlant, number disadvantage is absolute.
Firepower gap, no trait-based strats possible.
Shin Jin-woo rushes back desperately—!
Can't do shit against a positioned sniper!
Even with Shin Jin-woo back, reversing the flipped setup was impossible.
They'd botched the initial advantage repeatedly—natural outcome.
Soon.
But GZ's lines still collapsed!
Kaiserst captures the point.
GZ tries to break through somehow.
Can't break! Siwoo's too solid!
Gotta take Siwoo somehow! Setup's too flipped!
Is this why pros avoid sniper mirrors with Siwoo?!
Exactly! Too much risk in sniper mirrors!
Easily repelled.
Map balance aside, beating a positioned sniper is tough. Pro level means fundamentals are evenly matched.
Plus GZ even banned smoke support for the sniper duel.
No holes for GZ to exploit.
GZ has nothing! From the sniper mirror loss—that sealed GZ's defeat!
First time seeing GZ pushed like this! Undefeated round 1 league team crumbling?!
GZ's practically trapped and getting pummeled.
Forced pushes get backline sniped, range fights impossible against Siwoo.
Soon.
That moment! Point activates! But GZ hasn't even entered!
Match locking like this?!
Point activates, timer ticks down.
GZ!! Final push attempt!
Ahh, Lee Jian down again!
What do you want them to do against Siwoo!
Too perfect—no gaps!
The game tips to Kaiserst.
5, 4, 3, 2, 1…!
GG! Set 1 to Kaiserst!
Kaiserst takes set 1.
Screeech—.
Logging out, Shin Jin-woo emerges from the capsule with a hollow laugh.
"Ha."
That game was pure attacker gap.
In attackerX trash games, attacker difference means…
You can't win.
What a madman.
Shin Jin-woo's reason for sniper was simple. Easiest path to victory.
Beat famed sniper Siwoo in mirror, crush morale and take the win.
But nope?
Got utterly wiped.
OK, can't win with sniper.
He admits it.
No winning mirror match.
Siwoo's level has long surpassed domestic. To challenge him? Masters? Nah, Worlds crawling with monsters.
Unbridgeable gap between Shin Jin-woo and Siwoo.
No choice.
Go with favorable matchup then.
Shin Jin-woo's face hardens as he exits the booth. Next game, he'll beat Siwoo for sure.