Counter-Strike 2 Premier Explained
What's the difference between Premier and Competitive?
Wondering what Premier is in Counter-Strike 2? Counter-Strike 2 is finally here, and it brings a few notable changes to everybody’s beloved Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. Some of these biggest changes affect CS2’s Premier mode, which doesn’t completely flip the Counter-Strike we know on its head, but it does have a few differences from Competitive (and its CS:GO counterpart) that we’ve outlined below.
Here’s everything you’ll need to know about Premier mode in Counter-Strike 2, including what it is, how it compares to Competitive, and how its new ranking system works.
CS2 Premier vs Competitive
Below we'll go over how CS2's Premier mode works in more detail. But first, here are the major differences between the Premier and Competitive modes in Counter-Strike 2, so you can tell at a glance which game mode is the one for you:
| Category | Premier | Competitive |
|---|---|---|
| Map Selection | Pick/ban phase | Queue for specific maps |
| Ranking | CS Rating | Standard Counter-Strike ranks |
| Console Damage Reports | Disabled | Enabled |
| Leaderboards | Available (regional, global, and friends) | Unavailable |
What is Premier in Counter-Strike 2?
At its core, Premier is a shinier, fancier alternative to the main Competitive queue mode in Counter-Strike 2 that's theoretically for more serious players. It’s worth noting that you’ll need to play other modes and purchase Prime Status (or have already purchased the full-priced version of CS:GO) to play Premier.
Similar to how it worked in CS:GO, Premier begins with a pick/ban phase instead of Competitive’s map selection. During this phase, one team selects two Active Duty maps to ban and the remaining team gets to choose three maps to ban. After this, the first team to ban maps gets to select that match’s map out of the two remaining maps.
Premier also has an MR12 (or Max Rounds 12) rule, meaning each half of a Premier match will have a maximum of 12 rounds, with the first team to win a 13th round winning the match. If teams are tied after 24 rounds, the match will go into Overtime. Overtime is six rounds long, and the first team to win a 16th round wins the match (but it’s possible to draw if the Overtime score ends up being 3-3).
Finally, console damage reports are disabled in Premier, meaning players won’t be able to use the console to check how much damage they’ve done like in CS:GO.
How does Premier rank work?
Premier uses Counter-Strike 2’s new CS Rating system, which displays a player’s elo from 0 to 35,000, instead of the usual ranks. Unlike in Competitive, players can also access different leaderboards, which show ratings, number of wins, win percentage, and rank percentage, in Premier. The leaderboards are as follows:
- Friends
- World (top 1,000 players)
- Africa
- Asia
- Australia
- China
- Europe
- North America
- South America
That's all the information we've got on Premier mode in Counter-Strike 2! If you're looking for ways to improve your skills while hopping into Premier (or any other mode), we've got you covered with our settings guide, our list of console commands, and our collection of best crosshair codes. Or, if you're yearning for CS2's predecessor, find out how to play CS:GO here — it's still possible!