Counter-Strike 2‘s metagame is constantly evolving depending on Valve’s updates and pro strategies. In an example of the latter, NA pro EliGE has been using an underrated SMG lately and explained why in a podcast discussion.
The Complexity star has been competing in ESL Pro League Season 19 in the past few weeks. On May 9, the team qualified for the semifinals of the event by beating Virtus.pro. During the tournament, EliGE participated in Talking Counter podcast, where he explained why he’s using UMP-45, contrary to the majority of the players.
“The spray control is really easy. You really just pull down, and everything is going to go straight. Really easy recoil,” EliGE said. From his perspective, enemies “just melt” if they don’t have armor, which is the standard for eco rounds, where you usually buy SMGs like UMP. But even in full buy rounds, EliGE feels like “they die really, really fast.”
Those who have watched Complexity’s recent CS2 matches are aware the North American pro isn’t buying UMP-45 on every occasion. “MP9 and MAC-10 are better,” he admitted but maintained that he’s still going to further experiment with the UMP and see where it goes.
As it stands, most pros and casual players go for MAC-10 and MP9s since they have a faster rate of fire. Reload speed and magazine size are also minimally better in the case of these two.
However, UMP-45 excels in raw damage and armor penetration, so if you master its “easy recoil,” like EliGE, it might actually be a better option—especially since its price is almost identical to the other two. But MAC-10 and MP9, on paper, seem like better options to run and spray, which is often the tactic against eco rounds. The experiments will have to continue.
