CSGO pro AmaNEk alt-tabs mid-clutch and still pulls off an insane play

In the decider series between CS:GO in the middle of the play, he still made the save for this team.

Any player with serious hours in CS:GO matchmaking has heard a teammate curse and slam their desk at least once because of an accidental alt-tab. When those two keys are hit in that order, all the player sees is the Windows desktop screen, and a window into their own folly.

• Read more: Bizarre bomb glitch causes CSGO team to lose series

But it’s rare to see someone alt-tab but still be able to come back and make the play. It’s even rarer to see a pro make that mistake and save. And it’s unbelievably rare to see it happen in overtime of a tournament game.

But in overtime on Dust II in the decider match at ESL One NY between G2 Esports and ENCE, that’s exactly what AmaNEk did when he had to defend his team’s bomb plant by himself from three ENCE CTs.

First he jumps onto the short A ledge to get his first kill; an AWP shot onto Aerial on the bomb site. After jumping down into the CT ramp, SuNny tried to go aerial and follow him, but get shout out of the sky from below. 

Then, he froze. For only two seconds tops, but that two seconds felt like an eternity to perplexed fans watching. But then he snapped back to reality, jumped onto one of the boxes on the A site, and pulled out his pistol to put an end to xseveN’s defuse attempt.

Casters Anders Blume and Jason ‘moses’ O’Toole were as confused as anyone else watching. Anders believed that he had flicked his mouse completely off the table, while moses threw out the idea that he thought the round was over was celebrating early, à la Woshige at EVO 2015. 

But unlike Woshige, AmaNEk prevented disaster, and his teammates and coach could laugh about it in the moment. They had a lot to laugh about, considering their previous viral mistake.

• Read more: G2 Esports loses match at Berlin Major after forgetting how CSGO works

In an interview with Matthew ‘Sadokist’ Trivett after the series, AmaNEk finally revealed what really happened.

“I alt tab.”

As Sadokist said, he got away with it though. And that clutch helped propel G2 to win that map, and eventually take the series over ENCE in three maps. With that win, they’ve secured a playoffs spot in the tournament, and will take the stage in the Barclays Center on Saturday.