One of the biggest changes in the introduction of Counter-Strike 2 is its new Competitive Mode, the Premier Mode, making it the new go-to game mode for players to queue. The new Premier Mode features a handful of changes that have been enjoyed by the Counter-Strike community. In this article, we’ll answer the common question of, “What Is Premier CS2?”
What Is CS2 Premier Mode?
The Premier Mode in CS2 was created to reshape how matchmaking matches were played throughout Valve’s newest iteration of its most popular franchise. Millions of players were complaining that the previous matchmaking system was a mess, with most experienced players preferring to play on third-party servers such as FACEIT instead.
In response to the disappointment in the previous Competitive Mode, Valve has taken some key changes into consideration and implemented them into the newest game mode, the Premier Mode. The Premier Mode was designed to fit the wants of active players, with the goal of performing a complete overhaul of the previous Valve matchmaking system.
In the Premier Mode, the following changes were added, which will be discussed thoroughly throughout the article:
- Map Veto Phase
- Max Round 12 Format and Overtime
- New Rating System
- Friend, Regional, and Global Leaderboards
Map Veto Phase
The most notable and welcomed change to the Premier Mode is the map veto phase, in other words, the banning and picking of maps. Traditionally, players could queue specific maps and only find matches on selected maps.
How CS2 Premier works is players will begin every match with a banning phase. Six maps in the Active Duty Map Pool will be banned, with the remaining map being the battleground for the match.
The order of the veto phase is as follows:
- Team #1 bans two maps.
- Team #2 bans three maps.
- Team #1 bans one of the last two maps, picking the map to play.
- Team #2 chooses which side (T or CT) they are going to start on.
This map veto system is used in professional and FACEIT matches.
CS2 What Is Premier Mode Map Pool
The seven available maps in Premier Mode include:
Every once in a while, players will be forced to play a map they don’t like, putting them outside of their comfort zone and punishing players who can only spam one or two maps.
Max Round 12 Format and Overtime
The introduction of Premier Mode comes with another massive change, this time surrounding the number of rounds in a match.
In CS:GO, matches used the “MR15” format, which stands for Max Round 15. This format meant there was a maximum of 15 rounds per half, and a team would need 16 rounds to win in regulation.
To speed up gameplay and add a little bit of spice, Valve has changed the format to the “MR12” format, which stands for Max Round 12. There are now 12 rounds in a half, and teams require 13 rounds to win instead of 16.
Previously, games would end in a tie at 15-15. In the CS2 Premier Mode, players will be forced to play Overtime during a 12-12 game. The Overtime follows the “MR3” format, meaning a team will need 16 rounds to win. In case another tie occurs in Overtime, the game will end in a draw.
New Rating System
The CS2 Premier Mode has also introduced a new ranking system, abolishing the previous one that featured skill groups like Legendary Eagle and Global Elite. Though these ranks were an iconic part of Counter-Strike, players can agree that the ranking system lost its functionality in CS:GO.
The new ranking system will display raw ratings in the form of a number value. That way, it is easier to tell and compare the ratings of different players and get a rough assessment of their skills.
Like the previous system, players must go through calibration before getting their CS2 Premier rating. During this process, players will have to win ten Premier matches.
At the start of every match, players will be informed of how many rating points they will win or lose from the match. These numbers are fixed. As a result, indicators like performance, round difference, and MVP will not be taken into account.
Refer to this table to understand the different categories of CS2 Premier Mode ranks:
| CS2 Rating Category | CS2 Rating Value |
| Gray | 0 – 4,999 |
| Light Blue | 5,000 – 9,999 |
| Dark Blue | 10,000 – 14,999 |
| Purple | 15,000 – 19,999 |
| Pink | 20,000 – 24,999 |
| Red | 25,000 – 29,999 |
| Gold | 30,000+ |
Here is a rough conversion of CS2 Premier Rating compared to the previous CS:GO skill groups as of February 2024.
| CS2 Premier Rating | CS:GO Rank |
| 0 – 4,999 | Silver I – Silver Elite Master |
| 5,000 – 9,499 | Gold Nova I – Gold Nova Master |
| 9,499 – 12,999 | Master Guardian I – Master Guardian Elite |
| 13,000 – 16,999 | Distinguished Master Guardian – Legendary Eagle Master |
| 17,000 – 19,499 | Supreme Master First Class |
| 19,500+ | The Global Elite |
Friend, Regional, and Global Leaderboards
The last significant and notable change is the leaderboard system following the new rating system. Since everyone with a Premier rank will have a visible rating in the form of numbers, players can be arranged in leaderboards according to their ratings.
There are three types of leaderboards in CS2 Premier Mode:
- Friend Leaderboard (Only players in your Friends List will be displayed)
- Regional (Only players in your region will be displayed)
- Global (All players, regardless of region, will be displayed)
In conclusion, the majority of CS2 players have been enjoying the new concept and changes Premier Mode offers. However, the biggest problem they are facing is the lack of anti-cheat, resulting in hackers appearing in matches often.