CS2 Fundamentals: T Side Pistol Round Strategy

Pistol rounds are the closest a game ever gets to a true 50/50 for either team, barring how good individual players are, of course. For T-side players, there are a whole lot of ways the opening round of each half can be executed to increase your chances of winning.

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Positives of the T-Side Pistol Round

The main obvious difference between T and CT-side pistol rounds is which starting firearms each side gets. T’s get the Glock-18, which is far superior in gunfights that are contested in close range and last for an extended amount of time. It has 20 rounds in a magazine and a 120-round capacity, making it the best to just start shooting with without worrying about running out of shots.

There’s also a bigger cushion for Ts players when it comes to the team’s economy after the pistol round. Weapons are generally cheaper, and in most cases, an AK-47 would be available for purchase the very next round. Not buying anything for the pistol round and dying straight away still rewards you with $2,700 upon respawn, the exact amount needed for the AK.

Tactics-wise, there’s more incentive for T players to push all together and overwhelm the opponents on one site. Unlike CTs, who cannot afford to stack their entire team in one location, the most common strategy, especially for a group of newer players during the pistol round, is to rush either A or B site.

Keys To Success for the T-Side Pistol Round

Confidence is a huge factor that T-side players need to have when fighting the CTs during pistol rounds. Fast rushes and unlimited firing are the two things that attacking players have going for them, which can easily overwhelm the defenders.

CTs need to look after their bullets due to the USP-S’s limited magazine and reload capacity. This gives a significant advantage to T-side players, especially during site rushes where there are only two or three defenders at a time.

The bomb is also at its strongest during pistol rounds since not everyone will prioritize buying a defuse kit or utility over saving money, which makes a bomb plant all the more rewarding.

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