CS2 pro match ends in unprecedented scoreline
Does the scoreline of a Major qualifying match imply something about issues that may be inherent to Counter-Strike 2?
22nd Jan 2024 16:50
Image via Valve
CS2 pro match ends in unprecedented scoreline
Does the scoreline of a Major qualifying match imply something about issues that may be inherent to Counter-Strike 2?
22nd Jan 2024 16:50
Image via Valve
This hasn't happened yet, and the fact that it did might give us pause. In the match between Counter-Strike 2 teams paiN Gaming and Imperial Esports, a peculiar pattern emerged, with neither team winning a single CT round during regular play. This forced the match into overtime.
Fans have been speculating that the score directly results from the current state of the map and CS2 as a whole, citing the game's economy as a culprit.
Big swings
Imperial finishes first half 12-0 against Pain, loses next 12 rounds, wins in Overtime.
byu/iReallyLoveYouAll inGlobalOffensive
During the closed qualifier in the South American RMR for CS2's first Major PGL Copenhagen, the Brazilian teams paiN and Imperial faced off against one another in an even match that came down to the wire.
During the first map on Nuke, Imperial took the match lead by taking the round in a hard-fought 13:11 on the back of a carry performance by Henrique "HEN1" Teles. Going into the second map on Anubis, paiN's spirits appeared broken as they gave up every single T round in the first half, with the map score sitting at a dire 12:0.
Still, paiN showed grit on their attack and fought the map back all the way to 12:12, triggering overtime. Finally, Imperial would break the spell and put two CT rounds on the board, breaking the spell and allowing the map to conclude.
A result of game design?
Fans have been speculating that the score may be a result of the current state of the game. Much like a coin that flips heads 24 times is likely to be weighted, they suspect the scoreline to be an expression of various issues currently allegedly plaguing the game.
In a thread about the results, Reddit users u/Mechaflippin shared: "I'm heavily in favor of MR12, but MR12 with a s#!t CT economy makes the game so absolutely f#@king punishing and snowballing against the CTs that it has actually pushed me away from watching more competitive CS until they do anything about it."
Others chimed in, sharing their view that the way both teams played their CT-side was suboptimal, contributing to the scoreline. The numbers appear to tell a different story too, with CTs winning 43.7% of all rounds on Anubis in the last three months in all tracked competitions, according to CS community website HLTV.org.
Despite the aforementioned first Major rapidly approaching in mid-March, various community figures had raised awareness of remaining issues with CS2 and the current competitive system it operates under.
During a recent award ceremony, Jarosław "pashaBiceps" Jarząbkowski asked the developer to step up. "Valve, Counter-Strike, Mr. Gaben, please take care of our lovely game, Counter-Strike. It’s not too late," pasha pleaded on stage.
About The Author
Sascha Heinisch
Sascha "Yiska" Heinisch is a Senior Esports Journalist at GGRecon. He's been creating content in esports for over 10 years, starting with Warcraft 3.
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