CS2’s ranking system has been overhauled from CS:GO, now using a new rating in Premier mode to determine skill levels. Here’s everything you need to know about the rating system in CS2, and how it compares to CS:GO ranks.
CS:GO featured ranks for matchmaking ranging from Silver to Global Elite. However, it was never clear how close you were to ranking up or down.
While ranks are still included in CS2, they’re not used in Premier Mode, and in regular competitive mode, they’re now per map, which means you will have a different rank on each map. In Premier Mode, it’s all about rating.
The ‘CS Rating’ number is now the main rank in the sequel: it’s a visible Elo number that changes based on a player’s wins and losses. So, here’s everything you need to know about ratings in Counter-Strike 2.
CS Rating explained in CS2
First, you will need to win 10 games to receive your placement rating. Ratings begin at 1,000, and go all the way to over 40,000, based on the highest-ranked player currently. Each 5000 elo is represented by a different color, and we’ve added rough CS:GO rank estimates too.
| Rating | Color | CS:GO rank equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| 1,000-4,999 | Grey | Silver |
| 5,000-9,999 | Light Blue | Gold Nova |
| 10,000-14,999 | Blue | MG – MGE |
| 15,000-19,999 | Purple | LE – LEM |
| 20,000-24,999 | Pink | Supreme – Global Elit |
| 25,000-29,999 | Red | Global Elite |
| 30,000+ | Red | Global Elite |
In this way, you can think of the color of your rating as your ‘rank’. This system is likely modeled on FACEIT, the third-party service used by many CS:GO players, which features a number rating system and levels similar to the new CS rating.
You can see that once you reach 15,000 elo or higher, you are in the upper echelon of players. Based on data from Leetify, as of November 30, 2023, less than 5% of players are above this number. Only 0.2% of players are above 20,000.
You can also think of these ranks compared to the existing matchmaking ranks. For example, the yellow category is like Global Elite, and the grey category is like Silver. However, the percentage of players in each rank is skewed a lot lower in CS2, so far.
You may recognize this color system as it is also used on skin rarities, with Red ‘Covert’ skins better than Blue ‘Mil-Spec’ skins.
How to improve CS Rating in Counter-Strike 2
To get a higher rating, and rank up in CS2’s Premier Mode, you need to win games. Once you have a rating, your performances, like kills, deaths, etc. are not important. You will see at the start of a match exactly how many rating points you will earn or lose, depending on the outcome.
However, these are not always the same. It appears that going on a loss streak will compound the elo loss. So you may start off losing 100 or so points for a loss, but after your third or fourth loss in a row, you may drop over 500 points for a single loss.
On the other hand, if you find yourself on a win streak, your winning bonus will become larger. All of this is designed to get you to the most appropriate rank for your skill level faster.
It’s also likely that the overall rating of your opponents, and possibly your teammates, will impact how much elo you gain or lose. However, this hasn’t been confirmed by Valve, who have kept the math behind the elo system fairly concealed.
In an October 10 update, Valve made some significant changes to the rating system:
- Relegation and Promotion matches will only occur at color boundaries, i.e. every 5,000 CS Rating points.
- Increased possible CS Rating win/loss amounts to move players faster after calibration.
When you reach a round figure at every 5,000 points, you will have a promotion/relegation match. Say you reach 15,000: If you lose this game, you will fall back into the 14,000s, and if you win, you will move up/remain in the 15,000s.
It’s unclear if the amount of elo you will gain or lose is impacted by the elo of the enemies or your teammates.
CS2 Rating Reset
Your rating is not permanent, and will sometimes be reset. Ratings will be reset for two reasons.
The first reason is if you don’t play for a while. It’s not clear exactly how much time needs to pass, but if you don’t play any competitve matches for a couple weeks or so, you will notice that your rating will return to blank.
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To get your rating back, you’ll need to win one match of Premier.
Ratings will also be reset at the start of a new season. We’re still in the first season currently, and it’s not known exactly when the next season will begin, but Valve may tie it into the CS2 Majors.
The first CS2 Major, in Copenhagen, will conclude in March 2023.
How Premier mode matches work
Pick & Ban maps
Premier mode in CS2 is different from regular competitive matches. First, you cannot choose the map or maps you want to play. Instead, a pick/ban phase is used.
The first team must ban two maps, then the other team gets to ban three maps. From the two maps left, the first team chooses which to play. This means you must be prepared to play maps you are less familiar with (we’re looking at you, Mirage 24/7 players).
In regular Competitive, you can still choose which maps you want to play, so you can practice getting better at the maps there, if you want to be prepared for Premier.
MR12 and Overtime
MR12 simply stands for Max Rounds 12. This is the max rounds that can be played in a half. So, the first half might finish with scores such as 8-4, 9-3, or 12-0. After switching sides, the first team to reach 13 rounds will win.
If both teams reach 12 rounds, then Overtime will commence. In Overtime, the first team to reach 16 rounds will win, with three round halves. If the match goes 15-15, it ends as a draw.
Matches can be surrendered if one player leaves your team, and it now requires a majority of players to vote for the surrender for it to pass.
Counter-Strike 2 leaderboards
To see how you stack up against your friends and players around the world, Counter-Strike 2 has leaderboards.
Leaderboards show rating, wins, and win percentage, as well as what % of players you rank among.
Leaderboards are starting to populate in Counter-Strike 2! See who's the best on your friends list, in your region, and around the World. In North America, you'll see clear differences in skill between players like @JosiahCSGO and aging gamers like @fl0mtv. pic.twitter.com/Ge4O49lrEk
— CS2 (@CounterStrike) September 1, 2023
You can filter by friends, the world’s top 1000, or specific regions: Africa, Asia, Australia, China, Europe, North America, South America. Your leaderboard region is simply determined by where you play most of your matches.
If you are among the very top ranks in your region, you will also be required to select a name for the leaderboard, and submit it for approval. Also, once created, your name cannot be changed for the ongoing season – so pick wisely!
Season One is currently underway, and it is not yet known how long exactly it will last.
Note that you must have Prime Status to be eligible for the leaderboards.
Check out more CS2 guides, including the best settings and more:
Best CS2 settings | CS2 Commands you need to know | How to jump throw in CS2 | Can you play left hand in Counter-Strike 2? | All smoke changes in Counter-Strike 2 | Can you play Counter-Strike 2 on Linux or macOS? | Can banned CS:GO players play Counter-Strike 2? | What will happen to my CSGO skins? | Will Counter-Strike 2 come to Steam Deck?
