In the newest iteration of the popular Counter-Strike franchise, Counter-Strike 2, there are a few different modes, even when it comes to the competitive side of things.

In this article, we’ll be going over the key differences between Competitive vs Premier in CS2.



CS2 Competitive vs Premier explained

CS2 home screen
Screenshot by Steven Cropley/ONE Esports

We’ll start things off by explaining the new Premier system before going over how the Competitive mode works. Before that, though, the basic idea is that Premier gives you a CS Rating while Competitive gives you ranks per map based on the previous CSGO rank system.


CS2 Premier

CS2 ranking system based on CS Rating, earning new CS2 rank colors
Screenshot by Steven Cropley/ONE Esports

When you first jump into CS2, you won’t have any sort of rank or rating. To get your first CS Rating, you’ll need to win at least 10 CS2 Premier matches.

This is the start of the CS rating system. These placement matches will help sort you out into the appropriate CS Rating based on how you do in your matches, whether you win or lose, and the rating of your opponents.

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If you are playing against players with a rating of 20,000, for instance, and you’re winning those matches, you will start with a higher rating than if you were losing to 12,000 rating players during your placement matches.

Once you win your 10 matches, the game will give you your very first CS Rating. From there, the system will try to place you into appropriate matches for your skill level.

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Wins will earn you points, while losses will lose you points in your rating. It’s important to note that ties will potentially lose or gain you points depending on whether or not the system thinks you were supposed to win.

If you’re on the underdog team, you may still gain rating for tying the match, so don’t stress too much over a tie.

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In Premier, teams will go through a majority rules based pick and ban system for maps, another key difference in Competitive vs. Premier in CS2.


CS2 Competitive

Competitive vs Premier in CS2
Screenshot by Steven Cropley/ONE Esports

The Competitive mode should be much more familiar to CSGO players. This version works essentially just like the ranked mode in the previous version of Counter-Strike.

Players will individually pick which maps they wish to queue for, rather than going through a pick ban process and then competing for the same ranks as CSGO. That means you can strive to become a member of the Global Elite club once again.

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There is a major change, however.

In Counter-Strike 2, the ranks are map-specific. This means you can play Mirage until you hit Global Elite and still be unranked or Legendary Eagle on Vertigo, for instance. This will allow you to prove just how good you are on all the maps in the pool should you choose to.

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