The CS:GO competitive scene has been around since the game’s release and has exploded into a worldwide recognized competitive game. Competitions and tournaments include third-party organizational and Valve hosted tournaments. Major events have a higher prize pool and are regarded as the top level of competitive play. Prize pools for Majors have steadily increased from their original $250,000 pot and now grow to well over $1,000,000.
The competitive CS:GO community has proved over and over that they are one of the most dedicated scenes in esports. They not only support the growth of the scene but also support improving the game. CS:GO is arguably the most popular FPS game around the world and millions of players hop on each day. This list of CS:GO key terms below will give you an introduction to CS:GO that include some common terms you will hear.
CS:GO Key Terms:
Ace: When one player eliminates the entire enemy team.
AWPer: A position where a player dedicates the round to using the AWP sniper rifle.
Bomb: The terrorist team is tasked with planting the bomb and trying to make sure that the 40-second countdown expires or denotates. The bomb can be placed on one of two bomb sites. Any player on the counter-terrorist team can purchase a bomb defusal kit that halves the 10 second defuse time to five seconds.
Boost: The act of jumping on an ally’s back in order to gain a height advantage. With the assistance of the ally, the player can then get to higher places that were inaccessible before.
Buy Out: When a player purchases as many items and weapons as possible. A buy out typically occurs at halftime or the end of the game.
Caller: The player on a team that takes the lead in communication and play commands. Other teammates will follow these commands to avoid communication disarray.
Carry: A player on a team that has considerably more kills than their teammates.
Callout: A common term in competitive gaming referring to communication between teammates. Throughout each map, there are specific landmarks that are common engagement points. Teammates will often call out the number of enemies they have visual on, health, active engagements, and more.
Camping: The act of staying in one area for an extended period of time.
Clutch: A situation where the last man standing, or underdog, wins against multiple enemies.
Collateral: A description used when a player kills two or more enemy players with a single bullet. A collateral is achieved through the AWP sniper rifle or Desert Eagle pistol.
CS:GO: An abbreviation of Counter Strike: Global Offensive that is used instead of the long form of the games’ title.
Deagle: Abbreviation for the Desert Eagle pistol. The Deagle is the most expensive pistol available, however, it uses powerful .50 caliber rounds. If a player lands a headshot with a Deagle it is an instant kill, regardless of the enemy wearing a helmet.
Eco Round: A round where players buy low-cost weapons like pistols and grenades, or nothing at all in order to save money for higher cost weapons like shotguns and SMGs.
HP: Abbreviation for hit points. Every player has 100 health and once their health hits 0, they die for the round.
Incendiary: An abbreviation for an incendiary grenade. Just as the counter-terrorists have exclusivity to the Molotov, the terrorists can purchase an incendiary grenade. Any player will be affected by the flames once an incendiary explodes and will take 40 damage per second spread across single hits of eight damage. The fire from the incendiary will extinguish after 8 seconds. If multiple incendiary grenades are thrown, the damage from the flames will stack and double.
Flick: A swift reaction shot on an enemy that has just appeared, or is slightly out of visual range.
Flash: An abbreviation for a flashbang. A flashbang is a non-lethal grenade that temporarily blinds players within its concussive discharge range, including the player who threw it and allies. When a player is affected by the blast, their entire screen will be obstructed by whiteness, and then will fade back to normal as it shows a frozen image of the player’s last view before being affected by the flashbang. The effect of a flashbang on a player is determined by a player’s distance relative to the explosion.
Frag: A common term used across the shooter genre. A frag is another explanation for a kill.
KD: Kill to death ratio.
Lit: Lit is a short-hand way of calling out that a player has taken damage or was hit. A player will commonly call out the amount of damage they have taken as well. For example, “Hit for 70”.
Molly (aka Molotov): A grenade that is only available to players on the counter-terrorist team. Molotov grenades are a home-made incendiary weapon that consists of a glass bottle, a propellant, and a lit rag as an ignition source. Molotov grenades are used as an offensive and defensive strategy. A Molotov will explode once broken and its flames will spread once it collides with a walkable surface. Any player can be affected by the flames and will take 40 damage per second spread across single hits of eight damage once the Molotov explodes.
Nade: An abbreviation for “grenade.” The abbreviation can also refer to any type of grenade, like flashbangs and Molotov’s.
Ninja: The strategy of a player on the counter-terrorist team defusing the bomb by stealthily avoiding enemies. If a player is on the terrorist team, a ninja would be when a player reaches a bomb site and plants the bomb without alerting or making contact with any enemies.
No-Scope: A no-scope is when a player kills an enemy without zooming in a rifle. This means that the rifle was hip-fired. No-scope shots are much more inaccurate but if they land, they almost always result in a snowball for the enemy team. No-scope shots can be used as a tactic to throw off the enemy team or as a way for a player to “hype” the crowd in live events.
Pistol round: The first round of the match or half where all players have default money. With players having low cash, this leads to players purchasing pistols. Some players may also choose to treat the round as an eco.
Quad: When one player kills 4 enemies in a 5v5 match.
Stacking: Stacking is when an entire team is placed in one area.
Rotate: When a player leaves an area they are attacking or defending to go to another.
Rush: To Rush is when one team attacks the enemy team’s position in a coordinated attack. The act of rushing will take over the targeted area as the other team will be overwhelmed by the swift attack.
Save: To save is when a player purposely runs out the round timer by running or hiding. Their goal is to save their weapons and equipment for the next round.
Wallbang: When one player shoots another player through a penetrable surface like wood or glass.
