The competitive platform FACEIT, which is very well-known, has followed the same way as the game by officially taking away the map Train from the matchmaking pool of Counter-Strike 2 through its Active Duty map list. The decision was announced on the FACEIT Twitter account and immediately elicited mixed reactions from the player community. Players using the service will have fewer maps to choose from for their ranked and competitive modes.
Let us stop to consider this for a minute. FACEIT, okay? It’s like the top-tier arena for CS2 players who wish to be competitive, or at least make noise while they argue. And they have just announced the death of the de_train map like it was a sports-like announcement. The map is off the list. The tweet from the platform merely states that it is “in accordance with the Active Duty Map Pool,” which is Valve’s official list of pro maps. So, it would appear that FACEIT is trying to keep in sync with the rest of the gaming world by making things standard. But the replies turned into Twitter madness. The haves and the have-nots of the winners were present. Some were cheering as if they had just won a tournament, others were typing their grief out very literally.
One user, @s5cko, said “boomer map finally gone bless up” which can be considered a…a take, maybe. It is undeniable that calling Train a boomer map is going to hurt quite a few sensitive feelings. However, @The25Unknown was just saying “Good bye Train😭😭😭😭” and adding a lot of crying emojis to the sad message. That is the split in vibes from above. Either side hated Train with all the hatred, or one was very deeply, emotionally connected to being killed from Ivy. No middle ground.
But the real drama, the good stuff, is in the replies asking WHY. Like, @hellcasecom, the skin site, even joined in with “Why? It was our favorite map. 👀” and a gif of a sad person. Even corporate accounts are mourning! And @ChazCS2 asked the really important question: “Do you have to stay in line with the competitive pool, like are you under contract to do so… I can understand for ESL & challengers, but having more maps is refreshing for general pugs.” That’s definitely a good point, right? Why can’t FACEIT, as a third-party service, just have its own larger map pool for fun? Keep the pro maps for the ranked ladder, but throw in some wild cards for the rest of us? Apparently, the answer is no.
And then, just like that, the conversation shifted immediately to which maps should be next to be added to the pool. This is when gamers really come into their own. @arlindbetta was very clear and demanding “- INFERNO + VERTIGO.” A daring decision. @michunho went on to ask “add the best map in cs history: VERTIGO.” Meanwhile, a whole French side-conversation popped up in a war of words between @993remi and @ALNEUH as they discussed the pros of Tuscan, Cobblestone, Cache, or assault as the map to be added. It’s like everybody who witnessed the departure of Train started shouting their own wishlist into the void. @baguette94 made perhaps the most chaotic proposal of all: “Hell no just -Mirage +Cache.” What? Removing MIRAGE? Now, that’s a hot topic. It would trigger a riot even bigger than this one.
It was not only about maps, though. Some replies mirrored the… er, current mood of FACEIT players. @Saldoggyy commented “nice, now balance the teams more and dont put me with 3 players on a 4 game loss streak against 4 on a 5 game win streak…” which can be dubbed as mood. The statement is pure mood. Besides, there was a long, detailed comment from @FrizzerCS that didn’t even mention Train! It was a whole essay lamenting about smurfs, undetectable-cheaters with hardware, account buyers, and even premium queue match-fixing. It seems like the outcry over the Train removal was just the tip of the iceberg for players that are frustrated with the platform. One incident is enough to set them off and they release several months of built-up gamer anger.
So, what now? Ultimately, establishing that FACEIT and the official Active Duty map pool is a match made in heaven for competitive integrity. If the top players are practicing on that specific set, then the aspiring top players on FACEIT should be too. However, it also indicates how passionate and possessive gamers can be with the maps they love most. A map isn’t merely a layout it’s, and this passion extends to other platforms like PlayStation and Xbox.
