CS:GO Maps – Official Map Pool For Esports, Surf Maps & More

Ever since its release, one of Counter-Strike's best features is the quality of maps. The latest edition has seen a lot of changes, reworks, and new maps being added to the active duty pool. In this piece, you will find out which operators accept betting on maps, CS:GO maps that are most popular, and much more!

What Are CS:GO Maps?

We can describe CS:GO maps as the surrounding on which the action is takes place. From our point of view, we like to spread Counter-Strike maps into three sections: the active duty map pool, surf maps, and the training maps.

One of the best features of CS:GO is that the majority of the maps can be modded by the community and talented map creators alike. This brought a lot of good things such as reflex training, precision, movement, and so on. All of this can be used to enhance your skills and give you an edge over your opponents in the competitive environment.

Counter-Strike Map History

The first-ever Counter-Strike kickstarted things on Dust. Alongside this map, we have also seen Aztec, Cobblestone, Nuke, Train, Inferno, Mirage, Prodigy, Assault, Office, and Tuscan being played. Bear in mind that the graphics for CS 1.6 were outdated, and once we compare them to revamped maps, we will see major improvements.

Current Active CS:GO Map Pool

Ever since CS:GO was released, we had seven maps in the active duty pool. This also applies to the professional scene where players would often compete in a series of three matches. Below, you can find all CS:GO maps that are currently in rotation.

Mirage

In our opinion, Mirage is the only map in the active-duty pool that is balanced. You can never know which team will get an advantage as team cohesion and tactics are the only things that count here.

Every bomb site has to be addressed from at least two points of entry. For A, it is at least a ramp, palace, or connector, while for the B bomb site, T-s usually approach from apartments and short. All in all, if the attacking side does not have the necessary team play to coordinate their attack, they will have a hard time, and the same can be applied to early rotations from the defending side.

FUN FACT: Mirage is the only map to be played in every single CS:GO Major so far.

Vertigo

Even though Vertigo has been around since 1999 and CS 1.1, it took Valve quite a while to introduce it to the competitive scene of Global Offensive. Vertigo was announced alongside Operation Riptide back in September 2021, and with quite a lot of changes and adjustments, it is still going strong as the go-to pick for many top teams.

Here is some betting advice for you. The attacking side on this map usually wins around 53% of the rounds. If you are having a hard time figuring out who is going to win on Vertigo and the odds are 50-50, this piece of information could come in handy.

Nuke

Released back in 1999, Nuke has seen its share of changes. Firstly, graphics were updated and then, Valve decided to alter things a bit to make defending on this map a bit harder, as this map was heavily favouring the defenders.

From the betting side of things, it is important for you to know that Nuke is one of the most one-sided maps in the entire CS:GO history. Defending sides win almost 59% of the rounds, which is definitely something you should consider when placing live bets on this map.

Ancient

Created by Valve in late 2020 and replacing Train in the process, Ancient is the youngest map in the active pool. However, most teams are still trying to find a way to adjust, as the attacking force makes things particularly challenging.

According to the stats, 60% of all rounds on this map are won on the defending side, which is an insane number and one that should be addressed by Valve. We strongly suggest that you keep this in mind when placing wagers.

Inferno

There is no denying that Inferno is a fan-favourite. Announced back in 1999, it has also seen major overhauls as the skybox has changed, alongside other graphic updates and changes.

To this date, Inferno has been a coinflip and there are not many teams that can brag about winning most of their matches on this map. Overall, it is a super balanced map where teams compete to control mid, banana, and apartments, which makes things even better for stream viewers. However, there are a lot of tight angles to hold, and it only takes one bad decision to lead to a round loss.

Overpass

This has been the most exploited map in CS:GO. If you are new to Counter-Strike, you should definitely check out “olof boost” on Overpass, as this was one of the most epic DreamHack moments ever.

Even though all of the exploits were patched in no time, we believe that this map feels a bit outdated and in our opinion, could use an update to make things even more competitive.

Anubis

Anubis is the newest map to reach the ‘Active Duty Group’, added to the active map roster on November 18th and replacing fan and player-favourite map Dust II. The latter had been a part of the active map roster for a long time, but Valve thought it was time for a change.

This move has also helped put community creators in the spotlight again, seeing how Anubis was created by Roald, jakuza, and jd40 – three CS:GO community members. The other map that was community-made and added to the active map roster was Cache.

The map is relatively new, having been released in 2020, but it has improved over the years. The layout is relatively maze-like, with two distinct bomb sites that can be accessed from 3 (Bombsite A) and 4 (Bombsite B) directions. This allows for very versatile play.

Maps Removed From the Official CS:GO Map Pool

With the introduction of “new” maps such as Ancient, Vertigo, and Anubis, certain maps had to be eliminated from the active duty pool to make way. Even though most of the community did not agree with this back then, as time went on, the new maps are becoming more and more popular.

Train

Among the four maps that got removed from the official CS:GO map pool, Train is the map that surprised us the most. Not so long ago, this map got a complete graphic overhaul and many other updates, so it is still baffling to us as to why this decision was made.

Why go through the effort of updating textures and making the map more competitive just to drop it in favor of Vertigo or Ancient? It was a weird decision by Valve, but it is also likely that Train will make a return to competitive CS:GO soon. Let's keep our fingers crossed.

Cache

Before the rework, Cache was one of the most-played maps in esports tournaments. However, after the latest update, things got a bit tricky as green agent skins were hard to notice because of the map colour. They would blend in perfectly, hence giving an advantage to the players using green models.

On top of that, it seemed like the attacking side struggled hard to break into sites, as these could be defended from even more spots than in the old version of Cache. All in all, this led to Valve putting this map on hold while things are patched out.

Cobblestone

Cobblestone did not see much competitive play. Because this is an insanely big map, it is hard for defenders to cover the choke points. Although developers acknowledged this, they were not able to come up with a solution.

Eventually, they cut the map entirely and added it to those played in Wingman mode(2v2). To summarise, it is unlikely that Cobblestone will ever again be played on the big stage as there are better maps in line.

Dust II

Dust II has been around ever since CS:GO was launched. However, back in late 2017, this map was pulled out of the competitive map pool to get a visual update. It is also important to mention that this was the first-ever map in Counter-Strike that got a major update.

Being one of the most popular maps in numerous esports countries and one with a rich legacy, many fans and players believed that Dust II could never be replaced but – it has happened. Anubis was added to the active map roster in place of Dust II, much to the dismay of esports fans. However, it is still available for casual players.

The website Leetify conducts bi-yearly research to determine which maps were picked the most in professional play (including esports, pro tournaments for hobby players, and more). Seeing how we still haven’t reached the conclusion of 2022 and Leetify hasn’t yet analysed the second half of the year, we’ll provide you with data for the first half below:

  1. Mirage – 29.6% (1,539,000 matches)
  2. Inferno – 20.7% (1,076,000 matches)
  3. Dust II – 20.5% (1,066,000 matches)
  4. Nuke – 8.1% (421,000 matches)
  5. Overpass – 6.8% (354,000 matches)
  6. Cache – 5.7% (296,000 matches)
  7. Vertigo – 4.9% (255,000 matches)
  8. Ancient – 2.1% (109,000 matches)
  9. Train – 1.6% (40,000 matches)

Additional CS:GO Maps

Having already discussed all the CS:GO maps used in the competitive environment, it is time for us to point you in the right direction regarding two other types of CS:GO maps: surf maps and training maps.

If you want to improve your overall skillset or you simply want to learn how to surf in CS:GO, do not miss out on this section!

Best CS:GO Surf Maps

Surfing in CS:GO is one of the best ways to have fun while playing. However, if you are still new to surfing, please keep in mind that you have to practice a lot, so do not stress out when you fall off constantly at first!

What you want to do while surfing is to gain speed by targeting certain angles. Once you gain enough speed, you can move from one platform to another and break time records. On paper, it would seem like you are not getting much, but your coordination and movement will massively improve, and you will even get an edge over your opponents.

Below, you can find the best CS:GO surf maps at the time of writing:

  • surf_utopia
  • surf_mesa
  • surf_rookie

Training Maps

The competitive mode in CS:GO is played by the entire community; however, in order to be the best, you can’t just hop onto the server and start blasting.

Like with everything in life, training and practice will lead to perfection, and this applies to CS:GO and other esports games as well. Luckily for us, CS:GO's current map pool is modded enough to provide quite a few practice guides. We will talk about our three favorite maps down below.

1. Crashz’s Crosshair Generator v3

The most important thing when it comes to aiming is your crosshair – you need to find something that fits you best. Luckily for you, this map sums up a list of professional players’ crosshairs that you can use.

However, if you want to use something else, they also put in place a solid builder for your crosshair, which will allow you to skip entering commands and build it yourself from the scratch.

Interested? Download crashz' Crosshair Generator v3 from the Steam Community site.

2. Aim Botz – Training

Our favorite warmup routine is to head over to aim_botz and start hitting heads for 15 minutes. This will bring your hand-to-eye coordination to a high level, preparing you for duels right from the get-go.

Keep in mind that you want to use your reflexes for this one and not just slowly aim for the heads and practise like that. This is pointless and a waste of time. Push yourself to the limit and see how fast and how many heads in the row you can hit.

The map itself is highly editable with various backgrounds you can use. It is also important to mention that you can use any weapon that happens to be in the game currently and practise with that.

Head over to Steam Community to download the Aim Botz Training Map.

3. Training_aim_csgo2

This is yet another excellent map for practice. However, we would not advise you to use it for warmup before the match. Give this map more time, at least 30-45 minutes per day. Trust us when we say that if you head over to training_aim_csgo2 for a week for 45 minutes a session, you will significantly increase your K/D ratio, which will eventually lead to a better win rate.

The map itself has a lot of contrast – brighter colors will help you spot the markers relatively easily, and you can also shuffle through the distance you are hitting the targets from. Bear in mind that you can also use all of the weapons.

Once again, you can download the training_aim_csgo2 map from Steam Community.

Summary

Counter-Strike maps have a lot of history behind them, with most being remade for CS:GO. Fan-favourites include those such as as Dust II and Mirage, while new maps like Cache and the most recent one, Anubis, are also available.

Valve puts a lot of thought into the maps they create, and the active map roster for professional play reflects that. They also value high-quality ones created by the community, so it’s nice to see a new one being added to esports.

For more, be sure to check out our complete guide to CS:GO betting, along with our article on the best esports bonuses out there!

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FAQ

CS:GO Maps FAQs

Dust II is an iconic map not only in CS:GO, but in Counter-Strike in general, with plenty of graphics and even art created around it. Unfortunately, though, Dusy II has been removed from the professional play map roster, which is a huge blow to fans.

There are seven official maps in CS:GO at the time of writing: Inferno, Mirage, Nuke, Vertigo, Ancient, Overpass, and Anubis.

Surf maps are easy to get. Navigate to the “Community Server Browser” in CS:GO and add the “Surf” tag. You will get a list of servers where you can join and start surfing.

At the time of writing, there are a total of seven maps being played in the competitive CS:GO esports scene.

If you want to remove bots from the workshop map, you must open the console and type the command “bot_kick”.

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