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Diamond Becomes a Myth: Pick’Em Coin Statistics from CS2 Majors Spark a Wave of Criticism

News
Dec 16
64 views 4 mins read

The analytical platform Leetify has published detailed statistics on the rarity of Pick’Em Coins from the last five Counter-Strike Majors, and the data immediately triggered heated discussions within the community. In 2025, a reward that was once considered difficult but achievable has become almost unattainable even for the most experienced fans of the scene. The strongest reaction was sparked by the figures from StarLadder Budapest Major 2025 and BLAST Austin Major 2025, where the Diamond coin has shifted from a symbol of mastery into a statistical anomaly.

StarLadder Budapest Major 2025: 0.03% and Only 12 People

According to Leetify, based on public inventories connected to the service in December 2025, the distribution for the Budapest Major looks as follows:

  • Diamond — 0.03%
  • Gold — 26.72%
  • Silver — 64.46%
  • Bronze — 8.79%

At first glance, the 0.03% figure may seem abstract, but Leetify quickly clarified it in replies on X (Twitter). The sample included around 40,450 visible coins, of which only 12 had Diamond status. This means that even among tens of thousands of active and engaged players, Diamond was achieved by a microscopic number of people — fewer than the number of players in a top-16 Major lineup.

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Austin Major 2025: Even Harsher Than Budapest

If Budapest looked unforgiving, BLAST Austin Major 2025 went even further:

  • Diamond — 0.01%
  • Gold — 28.29%
  • Silver — 63.65%
  • Bronze — 8.04%

In practical terms, this equals one Diamond per 10,000 participants, making Austin the rarest Pick’Em Diamond in Counter-Strike history. For many fans, this became the point where the system stopped being perceived as a reward for analysis and understanding of the scene.

A Stark Contrast with Previous Majors

The contrast with earlier tournaments is especially striking:

  • Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024 — Diamond: 0.6%
  • PGL Major Copenhagen 2024 — Diamond: 0.1%
  • BLAST Paris Major 2023 — Diamond: 0.3%

Even Copenhagen, which was considered difficult due to unstable favorites and a chaotic Stage 3, appears far more “forgiving” compared to the 2025 Majors. Meanwhile, Shanghai with its 0.6% Diamond rate now feels like an era of relative accessibility.

Community Reaction: From Surprise to Open Criticism

Leetify’s post triggered a chain reaction on X. Users demanded not just percentages, but real numbers — and when those numbers appeared, the shock only intensified. Analyst Mauisnake summed up the situation bluntly:

12 Diamond Coins across 40,000 inventories. Yeah, maybe this is a bit too hard.

Other users went even further, calling the current Pick’Em format “almost impossible” or claiming that it punishes even perfect predictions. Comparisons were also made to the CS:GO era, where Diamond was rare, but not absurdly unreachable.

A separate wave of criticism was directed straight at Valve. Players argue that the current Diamond thresholds no longer reflect the real difficulty of modern Majors, with their unpredictability, frequent upsets, and unstable form among top teams.

Pick’Em as a Lottery?

The core complaint from the community is not that Diamond should be common. The issue is different: in 2025, Diamond Pick’Em has stopped being a marker of expertise.

Even perfect reads of the map pool, team form, and bracket structure cannot protect against chains of upsets that instantly ruin any prediction. As a result, Diamond increasingly looks less like a reward for CS knowledge and more like a mix of analysis and luck — with luck beginning to dominate.

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Will Valve Change the Format?

After Budapest and Austin, calls for changes are growing louder:

  • lowering the Diamond threshold;
  • making Diamond achievable for at least 1–5% of participants;
  • or revisiting the scoring system in the later stages of a Major.

So far, Valve have not commented on Leetify’s statistics. But one thing is clear: if the trend continues, Diamond Pick’Em risks losing its meaning for the vast majority of players. And instead of being every CS fan’s dream, it may finally become a legend that most will never see in their own inventory.

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