Valve released a significant update that coincides with the beginning of Premier Season Three. Overpass is back in the competitive map rotation instead of Anubis. Other than the map change, adjustments have been made to the CT side concerning the economy, the MP9, and incendiary grenades.
Contents
Official Announcement
Overpass Reinstated
This update marks the initial alteration to the competitive map pool since the start of the year, when Valve replaced Vertigo with a revamped version of Train in preparation for the 2025 season.
Overpass, which was once a key map in the CS:GO rotation, has returned to Active Duty in CS2 after being replaced by Dust2 in April 2024. Anubis was a part of the competitive map pool since its debut in November 2022; it is now leaving Active Duty for the first time.
Current Competitive Map Pool
- Ancient
- Dust II
- Inferno
- Mirage
- Nuke
- Overpass
- Train
Other Changes
Along with the alterations to the map pool, Valve revealed modifications to the CT-side economy, implementing a “shared team award” that grants players “$50 for every T eliminated in a round.” This additional cash incentive is granted regardless of the CT’s round outcome.
Further adjustments have been implemented to the weapons available to the CT side. The CT incendiary grenade has been enhanced to “disperse flames more quickly,” somewhat offsetting a prior reduction in effectiveness, while the MP9 will now experience “greater recoil intensity and significantly decreased accuracy while jumping.”
Valve has introduced a new feature enabling users to “cancel all Counter-Strike item trades from the past week” as a measure against scammers.
Patch Notes
Premier Season Three
- Premier Season Three is now open for business
- Added Overpass to the Active Duty Map Pool
- Removed Anubis from the Active Duty Map Pool
GAMEPLAY
- Incendiary Grenade – incendiary grenade fire spreads more rapidly
- MP9 – increased recoil magnitude and substantially reduced jumping accuracy
- In Competitive modes, Counter-Terrorists now receive a $50 team award for each Terrorist eliminated in a round
How Will It Affect Teams?
First of all, let’s look at the top 10 teams in the world, according to Valve Regional Standings, who had Anubis as their main map:
| Team Rank | Team Name | Anubis Winrate past 3 months |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vitality | 100.0% |
| 2 | MOUZ | Permaban |
| 3 | Spirit | 100.0% |
| 4 | TheMongolZ | 44.4% |
| 5 | Falcons | Permaban |
| 6 | Aurora | 57.1% |
| 7 | FaZe | 66.7% |
| 8 | Natus Vincere | 0.0% |
| 9 | FURIA | 55.6% |
| 10 | G2 | 100.0% |
After such an update with a map pool change, these teams will have to learn the new map; otherwise, they will be at a disadvantage in best-of-three or best-of-five matches.
As you can see, we have 3 teams with a 100.0% win ratio on the Anubis, and they will be most disadvantaged in this situation. On the other hand, teams like Natus Vincere, which has not won on the map in the past 3 months, and Falcons and MOUZ, which had this map as a permaban, will have a chance to gain a big advantage if they find the new map comfortable for them.
What’s Next
The first tournament with the updated map pool will be IEM Cologne 2025, which starts on July 23 and will have all the top teams attend. With only a week to prepare for Overpass, the CS2 meta is in flux. Expect bold plays, early missteps, and a new pecking order to emerge in Cologne.
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