One of the most recent Counter-Strike 2 upgrades brought about MR12, a modification that reduced the need for winning a map from 16 to 13 rounds. Additionally, it cuts the total number of rounds in half, to 12. The ropz pro for FaZe Clan believes that this will lead to more “random” tournament outcomes.
During one of his latest streams, the renowned pro was asked about his opinion on the change. He said he “dislikes it as well,” and believes there are going to be “even more random [tournament] results.” The player also underlined how pistol rounds will have much more importance once CS2 and the change go live in the competitive scene.
Anyone who follows professional CS:GO should find it hard to disagree with ropz. When a team wins a pistol round and converts two following rounds, which are usually a force buy and an eco, they already have a three-round lead. And both force buys and ecos aren’t that tough to overcome.
With two pistol rounds on the board, a squad should in theory have six rounds already on their side, meaning they only need seven more to claim a map. Therefore, teams that excel in pistol rounds will have higher chances of succeeding, which could lead to more upsets and random results.
The same system exists in VALORANT, though it’s not as simple in Riot Games’ title. The economy and gameplay work a bit differently, especially due to Agents’ abilities, so post-pistol rounds aren’t as one-sided as they are in CS:GO.
We’ll have to wait for CS2 to release to see whether ropz is right or not. The game was meant to launch this summer, but at the time of writing, there aren’t any new details about its release date.