Season 4
2026-01-21 – 2026-07-08
The Active Duty pool Valve fielded from 2026-01-21, and the professional-play meta measured while it held.
what changedThe rotation that opened it
2026-01-21Season 4
“Premier Season Four has begun. Added Anubis to the Active Duty Map Pool. Removed Train from the Active Duty Map Pool.”
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 2026-08-02. 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 combined1,046 maps played
53.9% CT · 46.1% T — 3.9pts CT-leaning · +0.9pts since Season 3 (53.0% → 53.9%)
842 picks, 1,900 bans this season
- Ancient139 maps played
52.3% CT · 47.7% T — 2.3pts CT-leaning · +1.9pts since Season 3 (50.5% → 52.3%)
106 picks, 285 bans this season
- Anubis59 maps played
46.4% CT · 53.6% T — 3.6pts T-leaning
48 picks, 384 bans this season
- Dust II224 maps played
51.3% CT · 48.7% T — 1.3pts CT-leaning · −0.2pts since Season 3 (51.6% → 51.3%)
181 picks, 191 bans this season
- Inferno154 maps played
52.6% CT · 47.4% T — 2.6pts CT-leaning · +2.1pts since Season 3 (50.5% → 52.6%)
125 picks, 264 bans this season
- Mirage220 maps played
57.7% CT · 42.3% T — 7.7pts CT-leaning · +4.2pts since Season 3 (53.5% → 57.7%)
182 picks, 175 bans this season
- Nuke146 maps played
57.8% CT · 42.2% T — 7.8pts CT-leaning · +1.9pts since Season 3 (55.8% → 57.8%)
110 picks, 265 bans this season
- Overpass104 maps played
54.8% CT · 45.2% T — 4.8pts CT-leaning · −0.4pts since Season 3 (55.2% → 54.8%)
90 picks, 336 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 4, newest first.
2026-06-02 – 2026-06-21 · 32 teams
- N
- P
- S
- T
Falcons Win the Cologne Major With the Same Scoreline Three Times Over
Falcons closed the IEM Cologne Major 2026 with 13-8 on Mirage, 13-8 on Anubis and 13-8 on Inferno — a 3-0 against FURIA on identical scores. Getting there cost rather more: 6-1 in matches and 13-7 in maps, with their only loss coming before the final. Twenty-two of the Major's forty matches went to a deciding map, more than half of everything played in Cologne.
Champion: Falcons
- BLAST Bounty 2026 Season 12026-01-13 – 2026-01-25
- I
- P
- F
- O
PARIVISION Win the BLAST Bounty Season 1 Finals Without Dropping a Match
PARIVISION went 3-0 through the Malta bracket and lost one map doing it. The grand final against Falcons was close on two of its three maps — 13-9 on Mirage, then 13-11 on both Dust II and Inferno — and never needed a fourth. Three of the event's seven matches went to a deciding map.
Champion: PARIVISION
32 teams · 31 matches · 76 maps played across 2 phases
This tournament straddled a rotation: its opening phase (2026-01-13 – 2026-01-18) fell in Season 3, and was played on that season's Active Duty pool rather than the Season 4 pool the deciding phase used.
- BLAST Bounty 2026 Season 12026-01-13 – 2026-01-18
Eight of Thirty-Two Teams Leave BLAST Bounty Season 1's Online Stage Unbeaten
- ESL Pro League Season 232026-03-01 – 2026-03-15
- P
- N
- S
Natus Vincere Win ESL Pro League Season 23 in Stockholm, 3-0 in Matches
Natus Vincere came through the Stockholm finals without losing a match, though Aurora took Anubis off them 13-11 in the grand final before falling 13-8 on Nuke and 13-9 on Dust II. Eight teams played a straight knockout with nothing else attached, and half of them were out after a single match. Five of the eight matches reached a deciding map.
Champion: Natus Vincere
21 teams · 41 matches · 102 maps played across 2 phases
- Stage 12026-03-01 – 2026-03-05
FUT and Legacy Clear ESL Pro League Season 23's Online Stage 3-0
- IEM Kraków 20262026-01-28 – 2026-02-08
- N
- P
Vitality Win Kraków 5-0, Dropping Only the Grand Final's Opening Map
Vitality went unbeaten through IEM Kraków 2026 and lost exactly one map on the way — the first of the grand final, 13-11 to FURIA on Mirage. They answered with 13-8 on Inferno, 13-2 on Nuke and 13-10 on Overpass. FURIA had come through seven matches to reach it, two more than the champions needed.
Champion: Vitality
24 teams · 50 matches · 122 maps played across 2 phases
- Stage 12026-01-28 – 2026-01-30
Four Teams Come Through Kraków's Opening Stage Without a Loss
Matches, maps, and champion for the events below
- CS Asia Championships 20262026-05-20 – 2026-05-24
30 matches · 64 maps played · champion: Legacy
- IEM Atlanta 20262026-05-11 – 2026-05-17
30 matches · 73 maps played · champion: Natus Vincere
- PGL Astana 20262026-05-09 – 2026-05-17
41 matches · 96 maps played · champion: Spirit
- BLAST Rivals 2026 Season 12026-04-29 – 2026-05-03
13 matches · 32 maps played · champion: Vitality
- IEM Rio 20262026-04-13 – 2026-04-19
30 matches · 70 maps played · champion: Vitality
- PGL Bucharest 20262026-04-04 – 2026-04-11
39 matches · 95 maps played · champion: FUT
- BLAST Open Rotterdam 20262026-03-18 – 2026-03-29
29 matches · 70 maps played · champion: Vitality
- PGL Cluj-Napoca 20262026-02-14 – 2026-02-22
41 matches · 102 maps played · champion: Vitality