Here are what I’ve come to understand, through watching, playing, and talking about Counter-Strike to be the trickiest spots to play on each individual map in the current tournament pool. As a note, these are positions that aren’t necessarily the most difficult to play, but to play properly isn’t as easy as it may first seem.

Cache

Playing the Vent/B rotator is definitely the most tricky, although oddly it is not the most difficult. Soloing the A bomb site is by far the hardest position to play on this map, but being that rotator from B can be quite tricky, as both mid and B need you almost simultaneously. The number of different scenarios you see as a B rotator tends to make the decision on where to play from difficult. The heaven and tree room are as good as useless to your teammate on the site, aside from any flashbangs you throw. This problem leaves a lot of players caught in the middle of a rotation, and losing rounds as a result.

Cobblestone

Cobblestone is pretty obvious, playing as that A rotator who is needed both on the A site and in the connector. It is an experience many don’t want to go through, and for good reason. Taking out of the equation A-splits using the drop zone, this would still be the trickiest spot to play; being in a good position in order to hold off an A push, while being able to support the drop zone player is impossible. When you add in A-splits, the position becomes a nightmare. One misstep, or hesitation and you could cost your team the entire round.

Inferno

Playing the arch side of the A bombsite can be quite tricky, although I actually think this one has to go to the pit. Playing the pit has always been tricky, but in this iteration of Inferno with how hard holding the banana can be, the pit is so much more crucial than it ever was. Not to mention, the removal of the pole leaves less cover. This position can completely turn the tides between a round won and lost on the A bombsite. While this is one of the weaker maps in terms of the rankings, Inferno’s positions are pretty straight up, so the pit has to take the cake.

Mirage

The stair/connector area to me is the most tricky on this map, just due to the fact that if you have the incorrect read on the situation in any sense, you can screw your whole team over. When a T side is taking the middle, if you aren’t there to support, you may as well give mid for free to the terrorists. When the T’s are taking A site, if you aren’t in front of the smokes, your teammate will be trapped in the site with no way for you to support him. If the T’s are Mid-A splitting, you need to be in the exact right position to isolate one side of the push or you are as good as dead. I could see an argument for short B; however, in this position, it is easy for your teammate to solo the B bombsite, whereas the A bombsite is quite difficult to solo. Thus making it less important to have the exact right read.

Nuke

This one is a little bit difficult, as I’ve found pretty much every position on this map can be tricky. The one that would have to take the cake here would be playing on the Upper bomb site as the anchor. The thing that makes this one extra tricky is not only do you have to be alert at every second in the round, as it takes mere seconds for a Terrorist team to swarm the upper bombsite, but you also have to know the exact right way to be able to position yourself, and where to look in order to maximize your efficiency within the round. You need to be quick and decisive, or you’ll be caught out of position.

Overpass

I would say on Overpass there aren’t any super tricky positions in the ideal setup on the map, which neglects the connector position. For the purposes of this list, however, I’ll say the connector, as if you lose your teammate in the bathrooms, you are as good as dead.

Train

The inner bombsite can be quite difficult, especially considering that you won’t be getting too much help from your teammates. Not only are fakes common, but the fourth defender is crucial to holding off a push successfully. Defending the B bombsite with the two drastically different elevations can be a total chore, and without a good read, you can get screwed in a lot of ways. An extra added bonus is you also get the most difficult bomb site in the entire map pool to retake should your teammates fall on the outer bombsite.

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