We have seen how dominant Astralis can be in the world’s most important CS:GO tournament. In the StarLadder Berlin Major 2019, Astralis has demonstrated supreme power over any team in the world including the #1 Team Liquid. How are they so good with CS:GO? What lies behind their success?
Contrary to popular belief
Most people would often recommend holding your crosshair right on the head level for quick headshots. That applies for both pro and casual players as we know how powerful headshots can be. A quick tap on the unarmored head can land an instant kill even with pistols. Crisp headshots are oddly satisfying.
However, is it the most effective way to play CS:GO? When people look into how Astralis played CS:GO, they realized the other way. Contrary to popular belief, Astralis players tend to hold the crosshair to the chest level. And yes, Astralis members can land great headshots but they never try too hard to make a headshot frag movie. There are tons of reason why they would hold on to such strategies.
You don't have to be an insane headshot hunter like Russel 'Twistzz' Van Dulken to be good at CS:GO
1) Higher chance to land shots, to deal damage
Obviously, aiming at chest level can ensure you a better chance to land any bullet. You are aiming at a larger hitbox and have a good opportunity to deal damage to an opponent. When compared to the tiny hitbox of a head, a chest is much larger and easier to hit. That will secure a kill of an injured enemy in situation you have to do the job. Astralis is exceptionally good with finishing the job and not letting the opponent pull off a clutch in crucial rounds.
Moreover, landing shots will slow down your opponent and disturb the aim capacity of the opponent. The enemy you are facing will have a harder time to land a headshot as their accuracy is lowered. With more time in hand, you can finish off the opponent with either a headshot or more bullets to the chest.
2) Easier trade for kills
In the worst case where you can’t win the duel, your teammates can trade kill against an injured enemy. While they panic with low heath, a decent HE grenade or more bullets to other parts of the body can do the job. Astralis is well renowned for their inventive use of utilities especially HE grenades. They would rarely let the opponent get a kill for free.
3) Better spamming through smoke
Astralis was once named king of utility. Their game sense and use of utilities are exceptionally good, especially on Inferno. They also do so well with smoke grenades and often get free kills by spamming bullets through it.
In a dark blanket of smoke, finding a headshot is impossible. With blocked vision, the only thing you can hope when spamming through smoke is hitting some free shots. With that in mind, Astralis players often hold their crosshair on the chest level to deal the highest possible damage to enemies.
Moreover, in the worst case when the enemy decides to rush through smoke, a shot in the chest will slow them down before they even see anything or hit anything. With decreased accuracy, a rush won’t be successful so easily.
4) Multiple kills are more likely
Andreas “Xyp9x” Højsleth and Lukas “gla1ve” Rossander are notorious for getting multiple kills while holding bombsites as CT. However, they don’t often get multi-headshots but multiple spayed down kills instead. Astralis tends to go for efficiency rather than beautiful headshots. With crosshair on the chest level, they can spray more effectively and deal the highest amount of damage one can do. With a bit of luck, Xyp9x can spray multiple enemies down while holding a bombsite.
All in all, going for headshots is great if you are on your lucky day. However, hold your crosshair on the chest level for best efficiency.
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