Counter-Strike 2 received a major update on April 25, which implemented Dust 2 into the competitive map pool, replacing Overpass. While a lot of players hated the decision, the latest data shows the map is immensely popular in Premier mode.
After the update went live, a large amount of players immediately jumped into Dust2 in the game. As of May 13, the map has been the most-played one out of all seven ones in the active pool, according to data from Leetify. It has boasted a 35 percent play rate, precisely two times more than the second-placed Mirage, which had 17.5 percent.
When Dust 2 re-entered the CS2 map pool, a massive part of the community was left enraged. They argued that it hasn’t received as many graphical changes as Overpass with the launch of CS2. More importantly, they think the latter has been much more demanding tactically, and when comparing both of them, it’s tough to disagree.
Nevertheless, if data from Leetify is accurate, Valve made the right decision since a lot of players seemingly enjoy it. Having one-third of them all play on Dust 2 is admirable. The map has been arguably the most iconic one in the history of Counter-Strike, so its popularity is more than expected.
Additionally, the latest major update also started handing bans to cheaters. The number of accounts slammed with the ban hammer has been on the rise every day. Therefore, a lot more players could be coming back to the Premier mode, where hackers have been running the most rampant.
We’ve yet to see Dust 2 back for good in the tier-one tournaments. On May 14, BetBoom Dacha Belgrade started, with the map being in the event’s pool. It was picked in a match between MOUZ and BetBoom, with the former claiming a 13-11 victory.
