After watching many Counter-Strike events, there is a clear next step to increase the production of the analyst desk. As a disclaimer, I’ve never been involved with production, so I don’t know the fiscal, technological or time restraints of what exactly is possible, but here goes:

CS:GO, much like Dota 2, has a pick and ban phase. Dota 2 picks and bans heroes whereas CS:GO does maps. The difference is that in Dota 2, it is a much longer and more harrowing process, which allows the analysts to go as deep, as they want and have a visual that attracts the viewer. In CS:GO, the pick/ban phase goes by much faster and there isn’t an obvious UI or graphic to go to when it happens. Most tournaments usually do a mini-graphic at the bottom where they show each map getting picked or banned.

My idea is to combine that with the statshelix tool and have the analysts break down the map and the teams with clear cut examples that are shown on screen. It could be something like this:

For instance, if SK Gaming and Virtus.Pro are playing on Mirage, the analysts can pick a round to run through and then show how the double AWP CT side works for SK or how VP runs its T side offenses. If they want to highlight a particular player they can show a round where a player does something insane, like Jonathan “EliGE” Jablonowski’s ace against Fnatic, or Nikola “NiKo” Kovač’s hold on Cache against FaZe. They can then run the actual highlight itself to show what it looks like in-game.

Doing it this way has multiple benefits. There is a dynamic display viewers can watch. Analysts can point out specific examples for both overall strategies of a map, specific points of interest and specific players they want to highlight. It helps visualize and set up how the games could play out and gives some more structure to the pick/ban.

There are two problems with this, though: People and Time. You must have the right analysts that can use the tool, pick out the right rounds and coordinate with the production staff. The second is time. There are too many games in the group stage to use this effectively for every game and even in the later stages, analysts don’t always get that much time to break down a particular matchup.

So the use of this depends on the talent of the event and how much time there is. In all likelihood, the best way to use this is sparingly. There just isn’t enough time to use it in group stages or quarterfinals, as all quarterfinals are usually played on one day. Instead, use it for semifinals or final matches as you get more time so you can do the entire pick/ban, then use the tool for the first map. Play the first map. Use the weather screen to select specific rounds to analyze the previous game, then use the statshelix tool again to preview the second map.

Just one way to improve the production at the event and give it some structure, but there could be multiple reasons as to why this doesn’t work that I haven’t thought of.

Cover photo: Adela Sznajder/ESL, eslgaming.com