So, it’s official. Dust 2 is in for Overpass, and the competitive CS2 map pool is getting its first update since November 2022. The move is set to cause a shift in the competitive scene, as players ditch an old favorite in favor of another classic.
We wanted to take a slightly deeper look, to see who the big winners and losers are from the CS2 map pool update. Let’s dive right in.
Credit: Daniel Morris
Credit: Daniel Morris
The year is 2020. Counter-Strike is played all online, and BIG are inexplicably a top-five team, with syrsoN is all of a sudden an all-star AWPer. So, why was this the case? BIG were quite simply the Dust 2 masters. Its return will have sparked joy in the BIG camp, for sure, and we’d expect it to make an instant return in the German roster’s CS2 map pool.
Now, it should be noted that this isn’t the same BIG team from 2020, with only tabseN and syrsoN remaining. However, with tabseN still calling, we’re confident he’s more than capable of bringing the likes of JDC, prosus, and Krimbo up to speed on the map. It may not see BIG return to the dizzying heights of the online era, but it could definitely prove to be a big buff for the last bastion of hope for German Counter-Strike.
Credit: Daniel Morris
When NAVI were the kings of competitive Counter-Strike back in 2021, the team made themselves right at home on Dust 2. No one could touch them on the map, and this kind of form continued well into 2022.
It’s the same story as with BIG – this isn’t the NAVI we know. However, b1t and b1ad3 remain from that team, while jL, iM, and Aleksib all have a long history of playing Dust 2 in previous rosters. When we spoke with iM at ESL Pro League recently, he seemed pretty confident that b1ad3 would be drilling the team into playing Dust 2 the NAVI way soon enough. Our only question mark here is w0nderful, who hasn’t really touched the map much at a pro level. Still, it’s an AWPer’s paradise, so we’re sure he’ll be fine.
Credit: Daniel Morris
The last of our winners in the new CS2 map pool is G2. They have only been playing Overpass as of lately, and have never looked particularly comfortable on the map. They’ll be happy to see the back of it, and Dust 2 couldn’t be a more perfect replacement.
Crucially, NiKo has always overperformed his already-ridiculous standard on Dust 2. He hasn’t had the smoothest transition to CS2, and this map pool shake-up could be just what he needs to find form again. It’s the same story for his cousin huNter-, too. HooXi will need to get up to speed and nexa has never looked great on Dust 2, but we think the tradeoff could be worth it if it gets the Kovač cousins firing again. Then, there’s m0NESY, but let’s be for real right now – he just looks remarkable on any map at this point.
Credit: Daniel Morris
There are no two ways about it – losing Overpass is a disaster for Virtus.pro. It’s their map with their second-highest win rate in 2024, and is generally their insta-pick in any veto. Overpass just fits their more passive style, which is why they’ve made it their home under Jame.
The good news for Virtus.pro is that its pieces have generally had a good time on Dust 2, too. Jame has historically overperformed on the map, no matter the roster, and electroNic was of course part of the legendary NAVI team that was so good on Dust 2. Still, this is a net loss for them.
Credit: Daniel Morris
With Overpass coming out of the CS2 map pool, we’re losing a map that Spirit are very confident on. They’ve won each time they’ve played the map in 2024 comfortably, although it’s not one they get to play all the time. However, this feels like a moot point – we’ve not seen as much Spirit as we’d like in general throughout 2024. The maximum any team has managed to get against Spirit is just five rounds, and they’ll be sad to lose it from the map pool.
Then, there’s donk. A master of Overpass, his previous Dust 2s while on Spirit Academy pointed to a struggle on the map. Now, this is a different donk nowadays. One of the best CS2 players in the world, you have to imagine donk will be able to adapt to Dust 2 a little easier this time around. Still, it’s an uneasy change for Spirit to make.
Credit: Daniel Morris
Astralis is another team that has had good luck from Overpass over the last twelve months. Even when it was quite a dysfunctional lineup, Astralis generally found success on Overpass, meaning we’ve seen a lot of it from the Danes. It leaving the Active Duty CS2 map pool is a big blow, and they’ll need to improve their other maps to continue their recent good form.
Of their current lineup, br0 has played a handful of times over the years on Dust 2. While stavn played it a handful of times over the years, he never looked comfortable, and jabbi has managed a positive K/D ratio just seven times in 30 Dust 2s. Staehr has a few reps on the map from his time at Sprout, but again, it wasn’t his best. Maybe dev1ce can work some magic, but we can’t imagine we’ll see too much of Dust 2 for Astralis.
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