This week at IEM Sydney, many professional Counter-Strike players are participating in their initial official matches in CS2. However, these players are already expressing disappointment and urging Valve to address the issues in the new game.
Most top-tier professionals didn’t extensively play CS2 during its beta phase as they were occupied with CS:GO events. Consequently, their transition to the new game was slowed down. They find CS2 lacking in polish compared to the refined and perfected CS:GO, which has had 11 years to evolve.
Criticism of CS2 is widespread among professionals, including well-known players like NiKo from G2 and Snappi, the in-game leader of ENCE. NiKo, after G2’s victory against Complexity at IEM Sydney, expressed his concerns in an interview with HLTV on October 17. He mentioned that CS2, especially with the MR12 format, feels odd and unsatisfactory to play. He hopes for Valve to be responsive and supportive in addressing these issues.
Valve introduced the MR12 system in CS2 during the beta’s final stages, reducing the maximum rounds in a match from 30 to 24, a format reminiscent of CS 1.6 and now common in games like VALORANT.
Snappi, in his interview with HLTV on the same day, criticized MR12, stating that it simplifies Counter-Strike. However, MR12 isn’t the only problem bothering him. He finds numerous aspects of the game, including the movement mechanics and audio, to be glitchy. These issues have also been raised by casual players, providing ample reason for Valve to investigate and resolve these problems in the coming weeks.
Despite their longing for CS:GO, professionals like Snappi must adapt to CS2’s changes soon, as Valve is likely to maintain these alterations, particularly MR12, for the foreseeable future.