s1mple blasts Valve over Ancient map balance at Antwerp Major

While professional CSGO star Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev acknowledges Ancient as a playable map, his primary frustration lies with Valve’s ongoing management approach to the newest addition to the active duty roster. The legendary player’s concerns highlight deeper issues with competitive map design philosophy.

Following Natus Vincere’s impressive 3-0 sweep through the PGL Antwerp Major Legends Stage, which included a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Ninjas in Pyjamas, the team secured their Champions Stage playoff berth with at least a top-eight finish guaranteed. Despite this professional success, s1mple expressed significant dissatisfaction with CSGO’s current state during his analyst desk appearance.

“Beginning rounds on the CT side feels overwhelmingly straightforward,” s1mple emphasized when analyzing Ancient’s structural problems.

When questioned further about his comments, the superstar delivered pointed criticism toward Valve’s development team regarding their handling of the map’s pronounced balance issues.

“Valve appears uncertain about resolving this map’s fundamental problems. Their response has been largely inactive. Recall that they implemented approximately five separate adjustments within several months, yet consistently avoided meaningful modifications to the A bombsite,” s1mple stated. “While minor tweaks occurred around Ancient’s A site perimeter, the overall impression suggests insufficient developer attention to this problematic arena.”

Fresh from a notable social media controversy, s1mple focused specifically on the terrorist side’s bomb planting difficulties. He detailed how counter-terrorists benefit from multiple advantageous sightlines to defend sites, combined with exceptionally effective smoke grenade placements. These factors create substantial obstacles for executing A site captures and complicate post-plant scenarios significantly.

Is Ancient T-sided or CT-sided?

Current competitive analysis confirms Ancient stands as arguably the most CT-favored map throughout CSGO’s entire map pool.

During the PGL Antwerp Major tournament period, statistical tracking revealed CT sides secured victory in 56% of rounds played on Ancient compared to just 44% success for terrorist squads. These Major championship figures don’t represent statistical anomalies either. Comprehensive data aggregation demonstrates Ancient maintains a persistent 56.7% CT win rate versus 43.3% for T sides across all professional matches.

Contextualizing these numbers reveals their significance—the win rate disparity between factions actually surpasses lifetime performance metrics from both Train and Nuke, two arenas historically recognized as heavily CT-oriented within CSGO’s competitive landscape.

Unquestionably, Ancient currently represents CSGO’s most imbalanced competitive environment. However, the crucial question remains whether this asymmetry inherently damages the competitive experience. From both gameplay variety and dramatic tension perspectives, certain benefits emerge from including maps with distinct faction advantages. Valve’s central challenge involves maintaining arena designs that support diverse, viable strategic approaches for both attacking and defending teams.

The CT side’s defensive superiority stems from multiple structural advantages. Defenders benefit from extended sightlines approaching both bomb sites, particularly on A site where multiple elevated positions provide overlapping fields of fire. The map’s choke point design favors holding angles rather than executing coordinated attacks, creating natural disadvantages for terrorist squads attempting site penetration.

Successful T-side play demands meticulous utility usage and precise timing coordination. Teams must master specific smoke placements to block CT sightlines and utilize flashbangs to create temporary entry opportunities. Understanding these class-specific strategies becomes essential for overcoming the inherent balance issues.

For teams struggling on Ancient’s T-side, several advanced techniques can improve performance. Focus on executing fast hits with coordinated utility rather than slow defaults, as the map’s sightlines favor defenders in extended engagements. Master the specific smoke placements that block key CT positions, particularly the A site heaven and temple angles that provide defenders with overwhelming advantages.

A common mistake involves attempting solo plays or fragmented attacks. Ancient heavily punishes uncoordinated efforts, requiring teams to execute synchronized pushes with complementary utility usage. The weapon selection also plays a crucial role, with rifles outperforming SMGs in most engagements due to longer sightlines.

Professional teams typically dedicate 15-20 hours specifically to Ancient strategy development before major tournaments. This specialized preparation includes creating custom set plays for specific round situations and developing team-specific adaptations to the map’s unique challenges.

The ongoing debate about Ancient’s place in competitive CSGO continues, with many arguing that while imbalance exists, it creates unique strategic challenges that test teams’ adaptability. For comprehensive competitive gaming guidance, players must adapt their approach to accommodate the map’s distinctive characteristics rather than expecting traditional balanced gameplay.

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