One of the exciting and tactical aspects in CS: GO is the map veto. There are seven maps in the Official active Duty Map Pool. However, the veto system in Counter-Strike tournaments allows teams to play to their strengths. It provides for new competition from upcoming talent as well as a chance for the underdogs to potentially cause an upset.

The maps in the competitive CS: GO map pool are:

Dust 2

Inferno

Mirage

Cache

Nuke

Overpass

Train

Valve removed Cobblestone and added Dust 2 to the active duty map pool in April 2018. The map removal was mainly due to their attempts at rebalancing the map ( Cobblestone ). Adding Dust 2 also allowed the tournament organisers to have a better map in the pool.

The depth of the Map Pool

One aspect of a team’s strength in CS: GO is the depth of their Map pool. Every team has a unique map on which they are the strongest. In the various CS: GO eras, we have seen teams having a dominant map where opponents seem to fizzle out. Fnatic had Inferno, EnVyUs had Dust 2, Virtus Pro on Cache are just some of the examples of teams dominating on individual maps.

Generally speaking, the deeper a teams map pool is, the better are their chances. Ofcourse their skill, talent and coordination are just a few of the numerous aspects determining their performance. But a deep map pool gives you an advantage even before you enter the server. It serves as a psychological pressure on their opponents who know they are at a disadvantage when it comes to the map pool.

Different routes to dominance

However, having a deep map pool is not a necessity towards becoming a robust top tier team. After all, several top-tier teams have a standard veto, where they will veto their worst map. For long, Astralis would constantly veto either Cache or Cobblestone. Na’Vi still vetoes Cache regardless of their opponents. It is a psychological block for these teams as they have lost consecutive matches on these maps.

Once a team starts losing a map after a period, it becomes a mental block for the roster. It is often easier to veto the map rather than attempting to play it and repeatedly losing.

The rotating Map pool concept

The rotating map pool will primarily see a set of maps in rotation. The rotations would only happen after the conclusion of a CS: GO Major. It will allow teams to develop their strategies and tactics for the incoming map. It is a concept that needs some more thought and hopefully something can come of it.

Here are safest and the best websites that you can currently use to bet on CS:GO:

Betway – €30 Free Bet

X-Bet – €50 Risk Free

Rivalry – $1.50 Free bet + earn up to $350 in bonuses

Keeps the scene dynamic

The rotating map concept will help keep the scene extremely dynamic. There have been very few map additions to the game since its release in 2012. Teams do continually evolve and come up with new strategies within the game. However, there are several community maps which can be of use in the active map pool. Adding new maps makes it more exciting for the average Counter-Strike viewer.

Allows map-testing for a limited period

One of the biggest complaints against Counter-Strike is the lack of new maps for the game. Counter-Strike Global Offensive has several classic maps such as Mirage, Dust 2, Cobblestone etc. Cache is the only non-Valve map in the map pool. However, ever since the addition of Cache, Valve has refrained from adding any new community created maps. Their silence on this issue provides no insight into the thought process behind adding new maps.

Cache creator FMPOne has control over the map’s maintenance. A rotating Map pool could serve as a breeding ground for new map developers and talent. It would foster an ecosystem where new competitive maps would have regular submissions. A thriving map building community would be great for the future of Counter-Strike Global Offensive.

The final test – CS: GO Majors

Such a system would also allow Valve to formulate CS: GO seasons, similar to how the Dota 2 scene works. While not precisely identical, CS: GO seasons could be much smaller with independent third party tournaments spread throughout the season.

The developer Valve allows two CS: GO majors per year. These are official Valve events and hold prestige and bragging rights. They also have a decent prize pool for the winning team. Having the season culminate with the CS: GO Majors would prove extremely beneficial. It would provide a fair idea of how the CS: GO landscape changes over the years. Each Major winner would be the most dominant team during the season.

When a player recounts CS: GO history, he could easily have points of reference. Since there are only two CS: GO Majors per year, it would mean two seasons per year.

Teams can develop their map pools through the season

Teams will have ample time to build their map pool immediately post the Major. It would provide them with the opportunity to have a bigger, deeper map pool closer to the CS: GO Major. Watching the top teams develop their map pool and change their veto as the Major approaches will give us an idea of how the teams are preparing for the CS: GO Majors.

From a spectator point of view, this is great since it will show you how different teams perform on something entirely new. The teams obviously will have to learn the smokes, flashes and different angles. So we will see the team that puts in more hours on the new map being more successful early. Even if the map is vetoed, it provides a slight advantage to the team that has prepared for it.

The CS: GO London Major Playoffs will start at the SSE Arena, Wembley on September 20, 2018. You can catch all the action live on Twitch.