Season 3
2025-07-15 – 2026-01-21
The Active Duty pool Valve fielded from 2025-07-15, and the professional-play meta measured while it held.
what changedThe rotation that opened it
2025-07-15Season 3
Added Overpass. Removed Anubis.
“With the new season comes an update to the Active Duty Map Pool: Overpass is back in, and Anubis is out.”
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 combined978 maps played
53.2% CT · 46.8% T — 3.2pts CT-leaning · +4.1pts since Season 2 (49.0% → 53.2%)
756 picks, 1,860 bans this season
- Ancient136 maps played
50.9% CT · 49.1% T — 0.9pts CT-leaning · +2.6pts since Season 2 (48.3% → 50.9%)
99 picks, 269 bans this season
- Dust II149 maps played
51.9% CT · 48.1% T — 1.9pts CT-leaning · +5.1pts since Season 2 (46.9% → 51.9%)
108 picks, 256 bans this season
- Inferno180 maps played
50.6% CT · 49.4% T — 0.6pts CT-leaning · +0.6pts since Season 2 (49.9% → 50.6%)
148 picks, 224 bans this season
- Mirage164 maps played
53.3% CT · 46.7% T — 3.3pts CT-leaning · +3.6pts since Season 2 (49.7% → 53.3%)
133 picks, 233 bans this season
- Nuke159 maps played
56.3% CT · 43.7% T — 6.3pts CT-leaning · +2.4pts since Season 2 (53.9% → 56.3%)
121 picks, 238 bans this season
- Overpass94 maps played
55.1% CT · 44.9% T — 5.1pts CT-leaning
77 picks, 318 bans this season
- Train92 maps played
56.5% CT · 43.5% T — 6.5pts CT-leaning · +6.2pts since Season 2 (50.3% → 56.5%)
66 picks, 302 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 3, newest first.
2025-11-24 – 2025-12-14 · 32 teams
- N
- P
- T
Vitality Win the Budapest Major After Dropping the Grand Final's Opening Map
FaZe took Nuke 13-6 to open the Budapest Major final and then lost three straight — 13-3 on Dust II, 13-9 on Inferno, 13-2 on Overpass. Vitality finished the Major 6-1, two maps lost in thirteen. FaZe had played eight matches to reach that final, more than anyone else in Budapest. The Major itself opened on Bo1 Swiss, which is why thirty-three of its forty matches ended without the loser taking a map.
Champion: Vitality
- ESL Pro League Season 222025-09-28 – 2025-10-12
- I
- N
Vitality Win ESL Pro League Season 22 With a 3-0 Over Falcons in Stockholm
Vitality closed ESL Pro League Season 22 3-0 against Falcons — 13-10 on Inferno, 13-9 on Train, 13-5 on Dust II — after a run that cost them one match and four maps. Falcons reached the final at 5-1, the best record of anyone who did not win it. Twenty-eight of the forty matches played here ended without the losing side taking a map.
Champion: Vitality
24 teams · 73 matches · 176 maps played across 2 phases
- Stage 12025-09-28 – 2025-10-02
HOTU and Inner Circle Clear ESL Pro League Season 22's Opening Stage 3-0
- IEM Cologne 20252025-07-23 – 2025-08-03
- P
Spirit Win IEM Cologne 2025 Unbeaten, Closing the Final 3-0 Against MOUZ
Spirit went through Cologne without losing a match and took the Bo5 final 3-0 against MOUZ — 13-7 on Mirage, 13-11 on Ancient, 13-6 on Nuke. Five wins, eleven maps to two. MOUZ and Natus Vincere were the only other sides to win four matches here. Twenty-two of the twenty-nine matches ended without the losing side taking a map.
Champion: Spirit
24 teams · 49 matches · 114 maps played across 2 phases
- Stage 12025-07-23 – 2025-07-25
Four Teams Clear IEM Cologne's Opening Stage, and One Map Runs to 22-20
Matches, maps, and champion for the events below
- BLAST Rivals 2025 Season 22025-11-12 – 2025-11-16
13 matches · 34 maps played · champion: FURIA
- IEM Chengdu 20252025-11-03 – 2025-11-09
30 matches · 76 maps played · champion: FURIA
- PGL Masters Bucharest 20252025-10-26 – 2025-11-01
41 matches · 104 maps played · champion: Aurora
- CS Asia Championships 20252025-10-14 – 2025-10-19
30 matches · 68 maps played · champion: Legacy
- Thunderpick World Championship 20252025-10-15 – 2025-10-19
14 matches · 38 maps played · champion: FURIA
- FISSURE Playground 22025-09-12 – 2025-09-21
40 matches · 99 maps played · champion: FURIA
- Esports World Cup 20252025-08-20 – 2025-08-24
16 matches · 42 maps played · champion: The MongolZ