Counter-Strike: Global Offensive spectator guide

  1. A quick note about terminology
  2. What to expect when you're spectating
    1. Before your first match
    2. Spectator 101
    3. The newsletter subscription
    4. Advanced spec strats
  3. Appendices
    1. How long things take
    2. Rules variations
      1. Overtime
      2. Coaching
    3. Common weapons
    4. Post-loss cash bonus
    5. Player roles
    6. Map callouts
      1. Cache
      2. Cobblestone
      3. Inferno
      4. Mirage
      5. Nuke
      6. Overpass
      7. Train
    7. Types of buys
  4. Glossary
    1. Terms
    2. Phrasing, decoded
  5. Suggestions for new spectator features
    1. Stream
    2. In-game
    3. Tournament
    4. Replays (demos)
  6. Other stuff
  7. Browser enhancements
  8. Recommended sites
    1. Viewing live matches
    2. Viewing VODs

I'm going to divide this guide into multiple sections, designed to give a progressively more in-depth understanding of the game. There's two main reasons for this: first of all, since there's a ton of terminology it allows newbies to focus on what's important without getting buried by a bunch of next-level meta that's almost never relevant, and secondly it gives someone who's got their first game in front of them right now the chance to skim something over quickly before the action starts.

Just to clarify, this guide is designed for people who are spectating professional CSGO matches from major tournaments. I'm aware there are rule differences between these matches and more casual play, but I won't be covering them to avoid confusion.

A quick note about terminology

As with anything, getting the terminology down is by far the hardest part of the learning process. The "Before your first match" section deliberately uses no game-specific terminology, and "Spectator 101" tries to keep it to an absolute minimum. After that, I'd recommend looking up terms individually as you encounter them (either while reading later sections, or watching gameplay) rather than trying to read/memorize the entire glossary at once; otherwise, you're just going to get buried in terms and be overwhelmed.

On the other hand, you could read it through once (with the understanding that you won't retain most of it) just so the terms might seem a little more familiar when you encounter them later, if you like. Just be advised there are a lot of terms, most of which you'll rarely encounter.

What to expect when you're spectating

These are the target audiences for each section of the guide. We start from literally no prior knowledge for the first section, through advanced tactics and subtle nuances in the last one.

Before Your First Match
If you don't know anything about CSGO at all, start here. If you care enough to be reading a guide, I'd say also read "Spectator 101" before you watch the match if possible; if you don't have time for that before the match starts, though, this section will at least give you a basic foothold so you're not completely bewildered.
Spectator 101
This tier of info is for new fans who want a basic idea of the strategy involved in the gameplay, as opposed to just enjoying the tactical execution. Veterans will scoff at this tier as I gleefully omit tons of info that clearly adds to the experience, but at this level accessibility is paramount.
The Newsletter Subscription
This is where you're intrigued enough to want to really learn what's going on, and committed enough to spend some time doing it. There's quite a bit of info here, but on the plus side you won't have to learn it a tidbit at a time just watching matches.
Advanced Spec Strats
In these sections, I dump the rest of what I've picked up, which is stuff that rarely comes up but is nice to know. True veterans will probably still notice things missing, because I'm not a true veteran myself; I just went through this learning process and I'm excited enough about the game to want to make it accessible to others. Patches welcome, as they say!

Before Your First Match

I'm about to sit down to my first "Counter-Strike: Global Offensive" match and I know absolutely nothing; what can you tell me in a couple of minutes?

The most important info is in the first paragraph and they go down from there, so read in order until the match starts.

CSGO is a team game (five players per side). One side plays a group of terrorists (usually called "the Ts" or "the T side" and represented by a yellow/gold color) whose goal is to detonate a bomb at one of two pre-determined sites on the map. The other side plays a counter-terrorist squad (usually called "the CTs" or "the CT side" and represented by a blue color) whose goal is to prevent that detonation.

You can essentially break each round up into two phases: the first phase is where the blue guys are trying to keep the yellow guys out of the two bomb site areas (they're always called "A" and "B"). If the bomb never gets planted, that's the only phase you get. If the yellow guys do get the bomb planted, then you have the second phase where they try to keep the blue guys from getting in to defuse it.

These are the ways the terrorist team can win a round:

  1. Eliminate all counter-terrorists before time runs out
  2. Plant the bomb, then defend it from defusal until it explodes

These are the ways the counter-terrorist team can win a round:

  1. Eliminate all terrorists before time runs out
  2. Defuse the bomb after it's been planted (it can't be "re-planted")
  3. Prevent planting of the bomb before time runs out

Each player starts with a basic pistol and then uses in-game currency to buy armor, grenades, and weapon upgrades at the beginning of each round. Managing this money is a huge part of the game that we're not getting into right now; just be aware that each team's "economy" is important and is affected by how well they do during each round (getting frags, winning the round, etc.). Sometimes a player will do something that seems counter-productive in order to have a better start in the next round (because they have more money).

Each map in CSGO is a "best of 30"; the first team to win 16 rounds is the victor. If the 30 rounds end in a 15-15 tie, "best of six" overtimes are played until one team wins four rounds in a single overtime.

Spectator 101

A round where both sides are able to buy everything (or nearly everything) they want is typically called a "gun round". Any round where one side is purchasing cheaper equipment in order to save money is expected to favor the opposing team (the greater the spending disparity, the greater the advantage).

Phases of a round

Each round begins with freeze time (typically 15 seconds) where players cannot move, and can buy equipment. Then the main round timer starts (typically 1:50). This timer counts down to zero and the round ends as a counter-terrorist victory, unless the bomb is planted. If the bomb is planted, any time on the main timer is disregarded and a 40-second invisible timer counts down to zero and the round ends as a terrorist victory, unless the bomb is defused (a defusal is an immediate counter-terrorist victory).

The Newsletter Subscription

Advanced Spec Strats

Appendices

How long things take

Freeze time
15 seconds
Round time
1 minute, 50 seconds
Bomb plant
4 seconds
Bomb countdown
40 seconds
Bomb defusal (without defuse kit)
10 seconds
Bomb defusal (with defuse kit)
5 seconds
Full blindness from a flashbang you're staring at
1.88 seconds (4.87 seconds total to fully recover)
Molotov/incendiary grenade burn time
7 seconds

Rules variations

Overtime

For example, "MR3/16K" means that four rounds are required to win ("best of six"), and each team starts with $16,000 per player. Players still accrue money as normal and the amounts reset at the beginning of each overtime (e.g. if the game goes to OT2, OT3, etc.).

Coaching

I don't know what "Valve rules" are, but I heard an ESL caster use the term. There are different rules for when coaches can talk. For example, at DreamHack coaches are allowed to talk during freeze time (Valve rules: only at halftime?).

The rules dictate when a coach may talk to the players; these are the different "phases" that different rules will allow/deny:

Common weapons

Post-loss cash bonus

First loss
$1400
Second loss
$1900
Third loss
$2400
Fourth loss
$2900
Fifth loss
$3400

Player roles

IGL / In-Game Leader
AWPer (primary/secondary)
Entry Fragger

Map callouts

Cache

Cobblestone

Inferno

Mirage

Nuke

Overpass

Train

Types of buys

Glossary

Terms

200 IQ
A phrase to describe something (usually a play) that shows extraordinary anticipation and/or situational awareness.
3K
A situation where a player frags three members of the enemy team.
4K
A situation where a player frags four members of the enemy team.
5K
See "ace"
ace
A situation where a player frags all five members of the enemy team.
aggressive spot
A place on the map considered higher risk/higher reward. The idea is that placing yourself in a more dangerous spot (fewer exits, less cover) makes your presence there unexpected, giving you an edge in split-second reaction situations.
aggro
The attention of the enemy team. Usually used in the phrase "draw aggro", e.g. when someone "draws aggro" they've captured the other team's attention (when done deliberately, it's usually intended as a diversion).
aim punch
Something to do with some weapons' ability to kill an opponent with a single head shot if they're not wearing a helmet.
angle
A particular sight line. Usually used as "hold an angle", referring to the act of keeping a weapon trained down a sight line in anticipation of enemy activity.
anti-eco
An "anti-eco strategy" is a strategy designed to exploit the weaknesses of an opposing team that has weaker weapons and/or less utility, while also minimizing the chance of unnecessary casualties (especially since .
armor
Collectively refers to the helmet and Kevlar body armor.
assist
To do damage to an opponent that a teammate ultimately frags.
bait out
To engage in a strategy that causes the opponent to perform a desired action. For example, making the opponent throw a grenade is typically called "baiting out utility". Peeking around corners of the map to attract sniper fire can be "baiting out the AWP", and making a bomb site look undefended is a way to "bait out a terrorist push". Also "draw out".
blind
Unable to see (usually because of a flashbang grenade).
bomb down
Sometimes refers to a bomb plant (in that case, it's usually phrased as "get the bomb down"), but usually refers to a situation where the bomb has been inadvertently dropped (e.g. the player carrying it was fragged).
boost
A tactic where a player will stand on a teammate's shoulders, in order to get a better view or to jump over a tall obstacle.
broken
Usually refers to a situation where a team doesn't have enough money to avoid taking an eco round.
buy time
See freeze time.
clean frag
A frag accomplished with minimal damage taken.
clutch
A play/situation where a player succeeds against the odds. Usually used when the last remaining player wins the round against multiple opponents, e.g. a "1v3 clutch". As a verb: "clutching it out".
contact play
An aggressive play relying on execution skill.
deathmatch
A reference to a more traditional type of first-person shooter game; used to describe situations where the gameplay seems to ignore the overall Counter-Strike objectives about the bomb planting/defusal and just focuses on winning by eliminating the other team.
default pistols
The pistols the players start each round with when they don't bring any weapons through from the previous round.
default plant
The most common location to plant the bomb at a given bomb site.
defuse kit
A piece of equipment a counter-terrorist player can buy that reduces the time required for bomb defusal from the default 10 seconds to five seconds. Also "kit".
demo
A gameplay recording that plays back in the game engine itself. Contrast with a VOD, which is a traditional media file.
dink
A non-fatal head shot (usually due to a player's helmet).
dm
See "deathmatch".
eco round
Short for "economy round". Refers to a round where equipment purchases are minimized, so as to save money for use in subsequent rounds.
economy damage
In addition to the more obvious benefits of eliminating an opponent, an opponent who is fragged will have to buy new weapons/armor/utility the next round. Forcing this extra expenditure can be called "damaging the economy" of the opposing team.
entry frag
A frag at the beginning of a tactical execution, usually (but not always) as the first frag of a round. Sometimes "entry".
execution
An implementation of a strategy/tactic. "They've got a B rush strat, starting the execution now..." Also "exec".
exit frag
A frag performed while leaving an area against opponents entering that area; usually refers to frags from terrorists leaving the bomb site against the counter-terrorists coming to defuse the bomb. Sometimes shortened to "exit".
fake defuse
A tactic where a counter-terrorist player starts a defusal and immediately stops. When defusal starts, a specific sound is made; during defusal, the player is defenseless so a fake defusal can be used to draw out opponents for an ambush.
flashbang grenade
A grenade that does minimal damage, but temporarily impairs vision and hearing. If you're looking directly at the explosion, your view will be completely blocked for a couple of seconds (the spectator POV view never goes fully opaque, but will indicate when the player's actual view is completely occluded). Also "flash", "flashbang".
flash in
The act of using a flashbang to assist with a teammate's (or your own) entrance into an area.
flick shot
A shot requiring very fast (almost instantaneous) mouse movement.
force buy
A situation where a player/team doesn't have enough money to buy all the desired equipment (a "full buy"), but buys some equipment anyway to make a victory more likely. This is as opposed to an "eco round" where almost no money is spent so that a full buy is possible on the following round. Often shortened to "force", as in "the counter-terrorists are going to force this round".
frag
Also "kill". Also "find", as in "good find by <player>".
freeze time
The period at the beginning of the round when players can buy equipment; so named because movement is disabled. Also "buy time".
full commit
A situation where all players are sent to a particular bomb site.
full defuse
A defusal done without a defuse kit, taking 10 seconds (with a defuse kit, a defusal takes five seconds).
glass cannon
A player using the AWP with no armor.
gun round
A round where both teams have a reasonable/full buy. Also sometimes called a "rifle round".
ham
A situation where a player does a lot of things in rapid succession (usually frags). Usually used in the phrase "so-and-so is went ham". Implies that the overall result was successful.
hard read
A situation where one team has successfully anticipated the opposing team's strategy. For example, "the counter-terrorists have a hard read on the terrorists right now".
head shot
A shot that hits an opponent's head, doing extra damage.
heads-up
A style of play that emphasizes aggression and technical skill over strategy and tactics. Usually in the phrase "heads-up CS".
health
The primary metric of survival; taking damage from weapons and environment hazards reduces your health. Armor causes your health to drop more slowly as you take damage.
helmet
An armor upgrade that prevents one-hit kills from head shots (from most weapons). Also "head armor".
high explosive grenade
A grenade that simply explodes to do damage, with no further tactical or strategic value. Commonly "HE".
HP
Short for "hit points"; see "health".
incendiary grenade
Also referred to as "molotov"/"molly" since the effects are the same. See "Molotov Cocktail".
investment
The money spent on equipment during freeze time.
knife round
An "extra" round played before the match, to determine which team gets to choose which side to play first. Other than this choice, the knife round has no bearing or effect on the match. Sometimes shortened to "knife", as in "they won the knife so they get to pick their starting side".
leg
As a verb: to shoot someone in the leg. European slang uses "leg it" to mean "hurry", as in "I guess he can make it back in time to defuse, but he'll really have to leg it".
lit
A player is "lit" if they've taken a lot of damage.
map control
Describes a player/team's advantage in a particular area due to established position. Also "area control".
missed smoke
A smoke grenade that detonated away from its intended placement, usually with the result that it doesn't perform its intended function.
Molotov Cocktail
A grenade that explodes and deals area damage for an extended period of time. Primarily used to deny access to an area/passageway or to flush out a hiding player, but occasionally also for direct damage. Terrorist teams will sometimes throw a Molotov Cocktail on top of a planted bomb, to postpone defusal by the counter-terrorists. The flame visual effect does obscure vision, although only to a minor degree. Also "molly".
no-scope
A un-zoomed shot with the AWP sniper rifle. These shots are particularly difficult because the weapon only hits on a single pixel, and has no crosshair when un-zoomed.
observer
A behind-the-scenes "virtual camera operator" who controls in real time the spectator view. Skilled observers are vital to the fan experience, since they know how to keep the view in a place where exciting things are likely to happen.
open bomb site
A bomb site with no opponents present. Also "open site".
peek
As the word suggests, a quick look around a corner. Common variants are shoulder peek ("peeking" out just enough to show your shoulder...usually you don't actually see around the corner), jiggle peek (rapidly mini-strafing back and forth for repeated glimpses, usually/often combined with pre-fire), re-peek (to peek again, after a short delay), and slow peek (taking a longer - but still a quick -- look).
pick
A frag made outside of a major team engagement. Also: "early pick", "entry pick" (sometimes just called an "entry"). This last goes hand in hand with "entry frag".
pistol round
The first round of each half, when neither team has enough money to buy any non-pistol guns (although they will sometimes buy better, non-default pistols). Often shortened to "pistol", as in "they won the pistol so they're in good shape".
pixel shot
A shot landed when very little of the opponent was visible (e.g. because they were behind cover). The name refers to a hypothetical shot where only a single pixel of the opponent is visible but the shot still lands.
plant
See "bomb plant".
pocket weapon
Usually "pocket AK"; refers to a weapon (usually the CZ75) that can be as effective as the AK-47 in the right hands.
pop flash
A flashbang grenade thrown in such a way that the opponent has almost no time to react (look away).
post-plant phase
Refers to the part of the round following a successful bomb plant. Often shortened to "post-plant". "If they use up all their grenades, they're going to be in trouble in the post-plant." Also as an adjective: "this is our post-plant strategy".
pre-fire
Firing your weapon without actually looking for a target first. Usually used in combination with peeking, where you strafe out from beind a corner and immediately fire at an expected opponent position without waiting to see if the opponent is actually there.
PUG
Acronym for "pick-up group" or "pick-up game". Refers to casual play with random teammates.
push
An advance. "Looks like the terrorists are going to push A." "It's time to do a B push."
re-take
The counter-terrorist team's attempt to regaining control of a bomb site after the bomb is planted.
reset
A round result that leaves a team's money reserves much lower than they previously were. A "full reset" is a result that forces a team into an eco round.
rotation
A tactical repositioning; usually refers to a switch in focus between bomb sites.
rush
To quickly go somewhere, usually with a lowered regard for safety. More common in early-round strategies, when there are parts of the map that cannot yet be controlled by the opposing team.
save round
See "eco round".
save
Activity performed at the end of a round to avoid having to re-buy equipment. "The counter-terrorists are heading away from the bomb site; they know they can't defuse the bomb so they're going to save."
scoped in
To be using the scope on a weapon that has one; usually used in reference to the AWP sniper rifle.
smoke grenade
A tactical grenade that does no damage, but visually obscures an area. Typically used for safe passage across enemy weapon sight lines, as well as "walling off" an area to prevent long-range weapon damage (for example when planting a bomb). It's fairly usual to see both sides use smoke grenades in a bomb plant situation to obscure their position while planting or defusing, since both actions leave the player unable to attack. Also "smoke".
splash damage
Damage dealt by a weapon beyond what's caused by a direct hit. In CSGO, this only comes up in reference to grenades.
spray
Shooting multiple bullets in quick succession, usually in full auto mode. The amount of each spray is limited by the individual weapon's magazine size.
spray transfer
The act of moving from one target to another without stopping a rapid fire burst.
stack
A situation where multiple teammates are together. "They're hitting the A site with a three-man stack", etc. Note that despite the normal meaning of the word, this does not imply that the players are vertically stacked (on each other's shoulders): the term for that is "boost".
strat
Short for "strategy". A noun describing a particular strategy, usually in terms of its applicability ("this is our best re-take strat here"). Common usages are "default strat" to describe a tried and true basic execution for a given map/situation, and "scrimmy strat" to describe something too unreliable to use in a serious game (although on occasion those strats do work well as a surprise). A common strat-related term is "full execute", which describes an execution with full weapons and utility.
tactical pause
Another term for a time out. Time outs typically last 30 seconds, and can only be taken during freeze time. In most tournaments, the other team is not allowed to communicate during the time out. In most tournaments, this is the only opportunity the players have to talk with their coach (the notable exception is DreamHack tournaments, where coaches can also talk during freeze time).
tap
Usually refers to a single shot. More generally, shooting a weapon without holding the fire button.
team ace
A round in which each team member frags one opponent.
team flash
The act of affecting your own teammates with a flashbang.
technical pause
A pause initiated by event staff due to equipment issues. While these pauses are usually shown as "attached" to a team based on the player that reported the problem, that's not a useful distinction since the technical issues are a function of the venue and not of either team.
tilt
To "be tilted" indicates frustration. To "tilt someone" means to do something that makes them frustrated.
TK
See "team kill".
smoke out
To "smoke someone out" means to use a smoke grenade to block off their view of a particular area.
team kill
Usually "TK". A frag resulting from "friendly fire" damage from a teammate.
telegraph
To make something obvious to the opponent. Usually in the form "the play was telegraphed", referring to a tactic that's easy for the opponent to anticipate due to clues given inadvertently.
trade
A follow-up frag of an opponent who just fragged a teammate. A trade frag is usually easier due to having a much better idea of the opponent's position, as well as the fact that the opponent no longer has a full magazine.
trigger discipline
The ability to delay taking a shot at an opponent when that delay allows the player to observe more details about the opposing team's strategy.
utility
Non-weapon purchases (usually armor and grenades). When a player/team is carrying all the desired utility items, they are said to have "full utility".
wallbang
Shooting at an opponent through a wall.
wide swing
Taking a corner wider than usual to throw off the opponent's reaction (due to your being in an unexpected position).
wrap around
The act of taking a long route around a map in order to attack the opponent from an unexpected place. Sometimes just "wrap".
XvY
As "1v1", "1v2", "3v4", etc. Refers to the number of players remaining on each side.

Phrasing, decoded

For the stuff in this section, it's assumed that you already know what the individual words mean, but the usage is strange enough that it still doesn't quite make sense or is ambiguous. Below are some phrases I've heard casters use that I thought a newbie might have trouble with.

Players are sometimes referred to by an item they carry. For example, you'll hear phrases like "The bomb is headed toward A.", "The AWP is repositioning to a better angle.", or "The rifles are sneaking around while the pistol makes some noise to distract the CTs."

Last but not least, here's a random grab-bag of phrases that I've encountered "in the wild" that seemed like good candidates for translation:

"get some guns down on exit"
Perform exit frags to damage opponent's economy

Suggestions for new spectator features

This section actually has nothing to do with the guide, it's just a place for me to collect my spectator-experience improvement ideas. Stuff in the "Stream" section are things I'd imagine a broadcaster (such as ESL) could do pretty easily with stream overlays. If I think it's not reasonable to do it that way and requires actual cooperation from the game client, I put it in the "In-game" section. Then we've got the "Tournament" section which probably aren't gamecast UI suggestions at all, but things in the real meatspace world.

Stream

Would love to see a "deep dive" where you take a game (possibly just a VOD of an existing match) and do an in-depth analysis after each individual round where you go through and dissect each round to discuss what the players were (probably) thinking at any given moment.

How about a series of VODs for each map to outline decent tactics that a new player can execute? This relates to spectating in the sense that knowing what good players tend to do at the beginning (i.e. before the specifics of the game in progress have to be accounted for) helps understanding of the different sets of tactics.

In-game

Tournament

Replays (demos)

Other stuff

Browser enhancements

Stylus style to hide Twitch player spoilers

IMO the best site to watch CSGO VODs is Eventvods; they put a lot of effort into making sure you can watch all the matches in a tournament without spoilers. Obviously you still have to watch the matches in order, in case the casters discuss previous match results in conversation (you'll find this happens a lot).

There is one place where spoilers can creep into the Eventvods experience, and that's in the actual VOD player UI itself (e.g. the Twitch/YouTube embedded player's UI). Both players show the video's total time and a horizontal slider that shows progress; normally you want those but knowing how much time is left in the VOD can be a spoiler. Imagine it's 15-14 in the second map of a Bo3 match, and you know there's only two minutes left in the VOD; it's pretty obvious who's going to win at that point. I'm not sure if this is something Eventvods can fix on their end, but either way, here's a userstyle for the Stylus userstyle manager that hides those UI elements in the embedded Twitch player. Note that this will hide them in all Twitch players, so it's up to you how/when/if you want to use it.

Viewing live matches

Viewing VODs