The new map selection system in Premier was supposed to change the usual ban process, but the first reaction from part of the community turned out to be sharply negative. Players complain that instead of greater variety, they are even more often ending up on Mirage, Dust2, and Inferno, while the ability to control the upcoming map has become much lower.
A new system instead of the usual bans
After the update, teams no longer go through the classic process of banning maps one by one. Now each side chooses two maps, after which one of the four proposed maps is randomly selected as the match map.
It is the random final choice that became the main complaint. Previously, a team could remove an uncomfortable map for themselves or a strong map for the opponent, but now both sides effectively add their most comfortable options to the pool and then depend on a random result.
Mirage, Dust2, and Inferno have not gone anywhere
The author of one popular discussion said that after the update, he constantly plays Mirage, Dust2, and Inferno. According to him, once he got five Inferno matches in a row, so he suggested bringing back at least the ability for each team to block one map.
I played five Infernos in a row. Everyone constantly picks Mirage, Inferno, and Dust2, and the random choice does not feel random at all.
Similar stories appeared in the replies as well. One user talked about four Mirages in a row even before the system change, while after the update other players began noting that the most popular maps still remain in the pool in almost every match.
Players lack the ability to remove at least one map
One of the most repeated suggestions is to allow each team to make at least one guaranteed ban. This would make it possible to remove a map that a stack fundamentally does not want to play, while still preserving the new selection mechanic among the rest of the pool.
Previously, you looked at which maps the opponent played well and banned them to get a more balanced map. Now both teams choose their favorite maps, and then a coin flip decides whose map we play on.
User VanessaRainXoXoX also pointed out that the new format removes part of the strategic element of Premier. In her opinion, teams now do not look for a compromise map, but effectively put forward two opposite sets of comfortable picks.
A “coin flip” instead of veto
Players also separately criticize the very principle of randomly determining the map. If both teams regularly choose Mirage and Dust2, these maps almost always remain among the four candidates, so part of the community has not yet felt the expected variety.
In almost 100% of cases, Mirage and Dust remain in the random selection, so on average you have about a 50% chance of getting one of them.
Another user said that his stack previously constantly banned Mirage, Dust2, and Inferno, but now avoiding these maps is practically impossible. Because of this, in his view, matches have turned into a random decision of which team gets the more comfortable pick for itself.
Negative reaction prevails
In the presented selection of 46 comments, 36 were negative toward the new system, eight defended the changes, and a few replies were jokes. This is not a representative survey of the entire CS2 audience, but it clearly shows the main complaints active players have about the new Premier format.
For now, the main demand sounds quite simple: keep the new system, but give each team back at least one guaranteed ban. This would allow some randomness to remain, while at the same time giving players minimal control over which map they definitely do not want to play.
