Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is one of the biggest games in the competitive Esports industry, with a stacked competitive calendar, a high skill ceiling and increasingly lucrative sponsorship and partnership deals being made with huge multinational companies right around the world.
However, plenty of fans and pundits have started bemoaning the stale meta that has come from the lack of rotation in the map pool. With plenty of maps in the game that are popular with fans but currently out of the competitive circuit, we thought we would take a look at some of the maps that could come into the Esports scene and shake things up a bit better.
Cache
“Surgical precision and tactical prowess are crucial to securing a hidden weapons cache beneath Chernobyl.”
Having been a competitive Counter-Strike map for nearly seven years, Cache has had plenty of experience on the big stages of tournaments and events. Set in the middle of Chernoybl, it has been played competitively nearly 9,000 times with a win distribution of 51%/49%, making it one of the few T sided maps in the game currently.
Having been removed from the competitive pool in March 2019, Cache underwent a huge visual renovation and was released back into the game for casual play in September 2019. The visual improvements have given the map a new level of vibrancy, and it would make a sensible choice as a new map in the pool with this upgraded look coupling up nicely with the previous standing it had within the pro circuit. Players, fans and pundits are already familiar with Cache, it’s a tried and tested map on the big stage and its new renovations would still lend a unique and fresh take from a viewing experience point of view.
Canals
Introduced in March 2017, Canals is one of the most unique defusal maps in the game and enjoys plenty of playtime in CS:GO’s casual modes. It is set in the heart of Venice in the real world location of the Piazza San Marco, it has a noticeably smaller and more congested feel to it than other maps in the pool, with tight corridors and just one large open space to scope in and AWP on.
It would definitely be a gamble to throw in a map like Canals in the competitive circuit however. Whilst it would obviously be a thrilling experience watching two teams of five try to work out a way of playing the map at a high skill level, it would be hugely volatile in CS:GO odds for the map and exceptionally hard for pundits and experts to really explain the nuances behind what was going on when more casual fans tuned in to watch.
Anubis
A fan made map that was only introduced in the game as late as March 2020 with Chlorine, Anubis is an Egyptian-themed pick that has already established itself as one of the most popular casual go-tos within the community. Stacked full of promise and potential for more hardcore strategies and tactics to develop going forward, Anubis has won plenty of plaudits from pro players and pundits and looks every inch a competitive map in the making.
With the likes of Vertigo being examples of even the most volatile of picks making the leap from casual to competitive play, there’s every chance Anubis will find its way into the pro circuit before too long.
