Key Takeaways for CS:GO Beginner Map Guide: Mirage
- Mirage is the only map to be included in the map pool of every CS:GO Major.
- Mirage’s ‘mid’ is famous for its sniper duels.
- A graffiti commemorating Marcelo “coldzera” David’s iconic AWP play can be found just below B Apartments.
Table of Contents
A Brief Overview of Mirage
Mirage is one of the numerous maps in CS:GO players can choose to battle on, but it holds a special place in the hearts of many and holds a reputation only matched by Dust 2. It is one of the oldest maps in the game not included in the original release, added in June 2013. It holds the distinction of being the one and only map to have featured and been played at every single Major Championship starting from DreamHack Winter 2013 until BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023.
In matchmaking, Mirage will more often than not have one of the lowest queue times alongside Dust 2 due to its popularity. Being an old map, it’s one most players are familiar with and have a decent amount of strategic prowess on. One of Mirage’s most challenging locations is ‘mid’ which is essentially the middle of the map. It is an open area where sniper duels are prominent at any point of the game, and oftentimes winning mid control leads to securing the round as well.
Mirage’s legacy doesn’t just end there, as it has also been host to some of the most iconic plays in Counter-Strike history. Marcelo “coldzera” David’s iconic jumping AWP to B Apartments was commemorated with a permanent graffiti depicting the sniper rifle bewinged with four skulls on the scope. A more recent example would be Casper “cadiaN” Møller’s exceptional 1vs4 against Gambit on A site to claim the ESL Pro League Season 13 trophy.
This guide will focus heavily on smoke setups, so for a detailed tutorial on how to line them up check out this video from ex-pro Jacob “Pimp” Winneche.
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A Site
Mirage’s A site features a lot of corners and tight spots that can become challenging for both Terrorists and Counter-Terrorists alike. One of the most common yet effective executes on the T side is to smoke off three key areas: CT Spawn, Jungle/Connector, and Stairs depicted on the bottom image as 1, 2, and 3 respectively.
Blocking off these three areas will make entering the site a lot easier as it reduces vision for the CTs and only leaves a few areas left to check. If you’re playing as the defending team, being aware of this setup can allow you to account for the smokes and position deeper into the site to catch the attackers off guard.
Mid Control
Mid is always one of the most highly-contested spots on the entire map, and even on rounds where the strategy does not involve taking control of mid it’s safe to assume that both teams’ snipers will find themselves in a 1vs1 duel for the opening pick. For the T side, one of the most useful smokes is to block off the Window area. A successful Window smoke will block off any player on that end completely, usually the CT AWPer, and make the trip to B Short a lot simpler.
CTs have smokes of their own as well, but they are a bit trickier than others. These are mostly one-way smokes wherein the opposing player cannot see your player model, but you can see them. In any case, mid control will more often than not come down to a straight-up firefight so correct positioning and precise aim will be the keys to winning this part of the map.
B Site
One of the most famous B sites in the entire game is that of Mirage. Featuring a number of blindspots where both Ts and CTs can be punished for overstepping, this site is a favorite during eco rounds and faster-paced gameplay. Even in the higher tier of competitive matchmaking or playing on external sites such as FACEIT, the default attacking strategy is to simply ‘Rush B’.
That being said, executes on B site are still relatively common and are definitely effective in taking the site. A number of smokes can be thrown from the spot right before entering Apartments, be it a group of players or just a single person, can successfully execute a whole setup in no time. The best CT side counter to this is by throwing Incendiary Grenades and counter-smokes of their own to stop any chance of a rush and give themselves time to reach their posts.
