Season 2
2025-01-28 – 2025-07-15
The Active Duty pool Valve fielded from 2025-01-28, and the professional-play meta measured while it held.
what changedThe rotation that opened it
2025-01-28Season 2
the pool that seasonThe seven maps it fielded
the meta that seasonWhat the sides did on them
Scope, method, and per-row pick/ban counts
Measured across Tier 1 events — HLTV Majors and international LAN events with a prize pool between $600,000 and $2,000,000, from matches played between 2023-10-16 and 2026-08-23. Regulation rounds only — overtime alternates sides in short halves and can't be attributed to CT or T, so it's excluded here. Sample sizes are per row below.
- All maps combined861 maps played
49.0% CT · 51.0% T — 1.0pts T-leaning · −0.7pts since Season 1b (49.7% → 49.0%)
672 picks, 1,662 bans this season
- Ancient119 maps played
48.3% CT · 51.7% T — 1.7pts T-leaning · −0.3pts since Season 1b (48.5% → 48.3%)
85 picks, 234 bans this season
- Anubis99 maps played
43.5% CT · 56.5% T — 6.5pts T-leaning · −1.7pts since Season 1b (45.2% → 43.5%)
84 picks, 264 bans this season
- Dust II151 maps played
46.9% CT · 53.1% T — 3.1pts T-leaning · −2.8pts since Season 1b (49.7% → 46.9%)
120 picks, 208 bans this season
- Inferno155 maps played
49.9% CT · 50.1% T — 0.1pts T-leaning · +2.3pts since Season 1b (47.6% → 49.9%)
116 picks, 198 bans this season
- Mirage136 maps played
49.7% CT · 50.3% T — 0.3pts T-leaning · −2.6pts since Season 1b (52.3% → 49.7%)
113 picks, 226 bans this season
- Nuke134 maps played
53.9% CT · 46.1% T — 3.9pts CT-leaning · +0.5pts since Season 1b (53.4% → 53.9%)
97 picks, 225 bans this season
- Train67 maps played
50.3% CT · 49.7% T — 0.3pts CT-leaning
57 picks, 307 bans this season
tournaments this seasonThe Tier 1 events played on this pool
Every Tier 1 event in this snapshot whose matches fell inside Season 2, newest first.
2025-06-03 – 2025-06-22 · 32 teams
- P
- O
- N
Vitality Win the Austin Major 2-1 After The MongolZ Take the Opening Map 13-5
The MongolZ opened the Austin Major final 13-5 on Mirage, and Vitality answered 13-4 on Dust II and 13-6 on Inferno. Vitality finished the Major 6-1, ten maps to three. The MongolZ had played eight matches to reach that final, more than anyone else in Austin. Train was banned first in fourteen of the forty matches and reached a server in only six.
Champion: Vitality
- ESL Pro League Season 212025-03-01 – 2025-03-16
- E
- P
- N
- H
Vitality Win ESL Pro League Season 21 Without Losing a Match
Vitality took the Stockholm finals 3-0 over MOUZ — 13-9 on Dust II, 13-4 on Nuke, 13-5 on Inferno — to finish the season 6-0 with two maps lost in fifteen. MOUZ had come through five wins to reach that final. Rounds across the event went to the T side at 45.9 percent CT, the second-lowest figure of any event played on this pool.
Champion: Vitality
24 teams · 73 matches · 177 maps played across 2 phases
- Stage 12025-03-01 – 2025-03-05
GamerLegion and SAW Clear ESL Pro League Season 21's Opening Stage 3-0
Matches, maps, and champion for the events below
- IEM Dallas 20252025-05-19 – 2025-05-25
29 matches · 71 maps played · champion: Vitality
- PGL Astana 20252025-05-10 – 2025-05-18
41 matches · 102 maps played · champion: Spirit
- IEM Melbourne 20252025-04-21 – 2025-04-27
29 matches · 71 maps played · champion: Vitality
- PGL Bucharest 20252025-04-06 – 2025-04-13
41 matches · 97 maps played · champion: Falcons
- PGL Cluj-Napoca 20252025-02-14 – 2025-02-23
41 matches · 100 maps played · champion: MOUZ
- IEM Katowice 20252025-02-01 – 2025-02-09
29 matches · 69 maps played · champion: Vitality