An Unusual Strategy in CSGO: Purposely Dying to Molotov Grenades
There is a new strategy gaining popularity in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive halfway through 2017. It involves intentionally dying to molotov grenades.
This unique tactic was recently seen in a match between Team Liquid and Natus Vincere at ESL Cologne. Instead of avoiding a molotov thrown by Peter “stanislaw” Jarguz, Na’Vi decided to burn to death on purpose. G2 Esports first showcased this strategy against North during the ESL Pro League Season 5 Finals in June.
The goal of this strategy is to hinder the opposing team’s financial gain. When a team loses the opening pistol round, they often want to save money for their first buy round. By dying to molotov grenades, Na’Vi, for example, minimized the enemy team’s economy buildup while conserving their own resources.
Na’Vi made this decision based on their understanding of the game. They knew that Liquid, being on the Counter-Terrorist side, would likely buy sub-machine guns and FAMAS rifles to defend against their next push. Na’Vi wanted to force Liquid to waste their opening round grenades before executing their strategy. Instead of buying Tec-9 pistols, Na’Vi saved all their money and only equipped themselves with Glock-18s and no grenades.
When pushing middle map to A site, Na’Vi knew they would face SMGs. They took advantage of a molotov and allowed stanislaw to get multiple kills with it, disrupting Liquid’s economy. The bonus from a molotov/incendiary grenade is $300, while the bonus from using SMGs is $600. By dying to stanislaw’s molotov, Na’Vi restricted the economic benefit to stanislaw alone and prevented Liquid from setting up a double-AWP defense in the next round.
If Na’Vi had died to Liquid’s SMGs without any kills, they would have given Liquid enough money to purchase defensive AWPs. Na’Vi recognized the dangers of attacking against a double-AWP setup and prioritized game economy on Inferno.
This strategic use of molotov grenades, now known as the “Suicide Squad” strategy, could have a significant impact on the meta of Counter-Strike.
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