Counter-Strike: Global Offensive was released by Valve Corporation back in 2012 as the fourth main instalment in their flagship FPS franchise, and has since gone onto establish itself as one of the biggest professional Esports titles in the world. The game places far more emphasis on strategy, positioning and intense bursts of action rather than the all-out action ‘spray and pray’ styles that dominate other franchises such as Call of Duty.
Having a high skill ceiling for the real pros to flex themselves is vital for a wannabe Esport, and CS:GO has one of the highest ceilings of any game out there. Whilst this helps create a truly tactically vibrant and hotly competitive title, it does mean that a decent level of knowledge for the game is important in getting ahead of the competition.
De_Inferno is one of the oldest and most iconic maps the world of Counter-Strike has ever conjured up. According to HLTV’s numbers at the time of writing, the map has been played 14,710 times competitively during the lifetime of Global Offensive alone, making it the second most popular map pick behind only Mirage.
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Here’s the full lowdown on the map, and how you can get ahead of the curve and make it your go-to map going forward.
Background and Overview
Inferno is a map themed around a small picturesque hamlet located somewhere in Europe. The emblems and language make it seem like it could be an Italian village, but it’s certainly the most pretty looking map found in the game. The map is home to some of the most iconic points and positions in the game, with the likes of Banana, Apartments and Balcony becoming some of the most contested and pivotal points in deciding the outcome of a match up. Players such as Flusha and Freiburg have established legendary legacies on the map and in the game thanks to their mastery of these positions, and the latter was even rewarded by Valve by having a homage to him plastered on the map.
According to HLTV, win percentages between the Terrorist (Ts) and Counter-Terrorists (CTs) is only split 50.2%/49.8%, making Inferno one of the most balanced maps in the game and always a hard pick for the CS:GO odds at Esports bookmakers such as Unikrn.com. The balance on either side and reasonably linear layout compared to other maps such as Overpass, Nuke or Vertigo make it a popular pick as a compromise map pick or decider in a best of three or five series.
Know Your Utility
As established above, Inferno houses some of the most hotly contested map points in all of CS:GO, and knowing all the utility for these positions is an absolute essential. CS:GO is all about mastering points and really becoming a specialist in one position, rather than trying to spread yourself out and becoming the best in the world in as many places as possible.
Pick a spot out of Banana on the B side or Apartments on the A side and really begin focusing on placing these hotly contested points. Work on understanding the sounds these positions bring with them and how you can use that to your advantage by reading rounds and plays, develop the right callouts so that you’re as proactive on the map as you are reactive and, finally, educate yourself on the various types of throws for your smokes, molotovs and frag grenades in each position.
Pacing
Inferno is a map whose pace is always a bit muddled to try and pin down. Every single round should open with at least two players racing either up or down Banana depending on their team, but after that, the map is one that allows itself to be played at whatever pace a team would like. Keeping things varied is obviously important for successful sides, so being able to rotate between points quickly or stealthily stalk your way through a specific round are two traits that are handy to know.
The map is made up from a variety of long tight straights, so a semi-competent understanding of how to handle sniper weapons or ones with a scope such as the AWP or AUG can often prove to be the factor that swings certain rounds and delivers those clutch scenarios needed to become a true legend.
