To stop them from achieving this, you need to save your counterspells for their most valuable cards (such as planeswalkers), even if that means letting less valuable cards resolve, such as smaller creatures
I've done counters with only four cards, but I just finished a Frantic Search that used thirty copies
These spells will have additional effects that happen "if evidence was collected." For permanents with those additional costs, they may have unique enters-the-battlefield triggered abilities that occur only if evidence was collected
Congrats to him on his first-place finish
That results in two creatures with haste
You cant nab your counterspells, give other cards flash speed, or otherwise play your instants at optimal timing