Gla1ve & Pimp call on CSGO devs to copy Valorant’s round format

Andrew Amos

Astralis CS:GO star Lukas ‘gla1ve’ Rossander and caster Jacob ‘Pimp’ Winneche have led a chorus of pros calling on Valve to copy Valorant’s “MR12” round format to cut down game length and make the economy more balanced.

Some of Counter-Strike’s most historic matches have been built on long, arduous battles. Games going down to the final round of regulation, or even overtime, just for one team to mount a comeback.

One could argue that those games are the spirit of CS:GO. However, some pros have called on Valve to change the system to make games shorter.

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Currently, CS:GO games run with MR15. “MR15” stands for max rounds 15, outlining the maximum rounds in a half.

CS:GO has evolved over the years where rounds have gotten longer, but the number has stayed consistent. Bomb timers, freeze time, and round times themselves have gone up over the years, adding 20 seconds to every round.

XENEX vs exceL, the longest pro CS:GO match in history, went for almost three hours on one map.

While this seems insignificant, over the course of 30 rounds, this adds another 10 minutes to play. That’s not even accounting for MR6 overtimes, which can see some maps extend for hours on end.

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“With the economy system at it is right now we see a lot of close games, which is of course great, but also makes the games very long,” Astralis star Gla1ve said on Twitter.

He’s one of many people in the professional CS:GO community calling on Valve to copy Valorant’s MR12 format. Riot’s FPS title, a direct competitor to CS, uses shorter halves and only one round overtimes to keep game times consistent.

One game of Valorant will usually cap out at around 45 minutes. This is a drastic cut on some CS:GO games, where a professional best of three can last for more than five hours.

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“The more I watch professional Counter Strike, the more convinced I get that mr12 is more than enough to determine the better team,” said caster Pimp. “MR15 with the current money system ain’t needed.”

While some pros are skeptical, like Epitacio ‘TACO’ de Melo bringing up the point of pistol rounds being OP, most players have heralded the calls of gla1ve.

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MR15 is something that hasn’t been touched in the 20 year history of Counter-Strike, and purists might argue that it’s against the spirit of the game.

However, it’s clear that some members of the community want some change, and it’s up to Valve to look at implementing it.

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About The Author

Hailing from Perth, Andrew was formerly Dexerto's Australian Managing Editor. They love telling stories across all games and esports, but they have a soft spot for League of Legends and Rainbow Six. Oh, and they're also fascinated by the rise of VTubers.