CS2 Roles Explained: Playstyles, Best Maps, and How to Choose Roles

CS2 roles define each player's responsibilities during a match, and they must communicate and perform tasks based on their bit part. Starting from taking aggressive control of areas to helping the team with utilities, specific roles such as Entry Fragger, Support, AWPer, and more have their fair share of contributions during matches.

Understanding which team roles in CS2 suit you will definitely help you give the best possible output for your team to win matches. That said, this article will explain all CS2 roles along with the current best esports players to follow for that particular role. Apart from that, we'll also include some pros and cons a player might face while fulfilling that role during the match.

All CS2 Roles Explained

As discussed earlier, there are a variety of roles in CS2 you can try out. Based on your natural playstyle, however, we recommend that you pick one or more roles, as it'll help you provide the best outcome for your team during different scenarios. Unlike CS:GO, there's no such stapled meta that you must play one single role in every round. CS2 is a bit different, as you can switch between your roles according to the situation.

Suppose you've acquired a certain position as an Entry player, but your teammates have secured a kill on the other side. In such a moment, you can play as a Lurk to catch rotating players off-guard. Therefore, it's beneficial to understand the responsibilities associated with each role. That being said, here's a list of some team roles in CS2 that play a vital role during a round:

Now that you've got a slight idea about all the different CS2 roles, let's get a detailed look at what the role is about and who the current best professional CS2 players are, so you can mimic their playstyle to win Premier/Competitive matches in Counter-Strike 2. You can learn more about them in our detailed Counter-Strike 2 Guide.

Entry Fragger

Entry Fragger is one of the key roles in the CS2 Terrorist side. Usually, players who like to go aggressive, or are among the big risk takers on the team, can opt for this role. Usually, entry players are expected to create space for their team each round. Players with impeccable aim or who have great muscle memory generally go for this role. The primary objective of an entry player is to get the first blood of the enemy to provide a man advantage to their team. Team Spirit's D0nk is currently one of the best entry fraggers in the CS2 competitive scene.

Anchor

Anchor is one of the crucial CS2 roles, especially on the Counter-Terrorist side. The primary objective of an anchor is to control the bomb site spaces and deny early arrivals of the entry fraggers or star riflers of the opponent. There are different approaches in this role depending on the size of the bomb sites. For the bigger site anchors (Mirage A site, Inferno A site, Ancient A site, Overpass B site, and more), they must initially use their utilities to deny or delay the enemy's entry on the site. They should play in safe spaces and should leave the site for a retake if things go south.

Things are a little bit different for smaller site Anchors (Mirage B site, Overpass A site, Inferno B site, and more). Even though they must utilise incendiary grenades and smokes to delay entries, their primary objective is to play on cheeky angles and get as many frags as possible to give their team a man advantage. NAVI's B1t is one of the best Anchor players in the CS2 competitive scene. He was named the best anchor player at the HLTV 2024 award ceremony. You can check out his CS2 pro settings on our website.

In-Game Leader (IGL)

In-Game Leader, or mostly known as IGL, is one of the most crucial CS2 roles in a team. They are the brain of the team, and mostly make the real-time strategic decisions to guide their team to ultimate victory. Basically, the IGL is equivalent to what a captain does in any sports team. Starting from making the strategies to make calls depending on certain scenarios, they make the initial calls in the team. Which players should do what? Which player will hold which angle, should the team go for rush or perform default gameplay, everything should be decided by the IGL themselves.

They also have to ensure the team communication is perfect and everyone is gathering their bit of information for them to perfectly assess the round. Currently, Vitality's apEX is one of the most successful and dominant IGLs in the CS2 competitive scene. They're currently the number one team based on HLTV World Rankings.

Lurk

Lurk is one of the toughest CS2 roles. Their primary task is to play on the opposite side where the team is expecting to make their move. Initially, they gather information based on sound and the opponent's utility usage. Moreover, they are also the ones who create chaos on the opposite bomb site to distract enemies from gathering for a retake on the executed area.

Players can either go aggressive and catch enemies off-guard to secure a man advantage for their teams, or play passively and kill site anchors or rotating players in the middle of a site execution. Vitality's ropz is one such aggressive Lurk player in CS2, best known for his aggression and timing. This type of role requires a lot of timing sense and situational awareness to kill or divert the opponents from their assigned job.

AWPer

AWP is the powerful sniper, featuring the ability to one-shot enemies from a long distance. An AWPer in a team is the one who knows how to utilize this long-range weapon regardless of distance and role. AWPer is one of the few roles that features no standard gameplay style. One can be an aggressive player and go for a first pick on the opponent to create free spaces in certain areas, such as most mid portions of the maps (Inferno, Mirage, Ancient, and more).

On the other hand, some players can hold a particular side and act as anchors to kill the incoming horde of enemies. Team Vitality's ZywOo and Team Falcon's m0NESY are currently considered the best AWPing talents in the CS2 competitive scene. You can also check out his CS2 crosshair code on our website.

Secondary Roles

Apart from the aforementioned traditional roles in CS2, some other crucial roles play a crucial part during mid rounds. For example, a Star Rifler plays a pivotal role as they're the one with mechanically gifted aim and who tends to take the trade kill if the team's Entry Fragger gets picked off mid-round. Meanwhile, a Lurk player can also be a Star Rifler if they're in a prime position on any map. On the other hand, there are Support players, who are the masters of utilities. Their main job is to provide flash and make the enemies blind so that entry players can catch those opponents off guard.

Apart from that, there are CT-sided rotating players who don't have a specific spot they play. Their primary job is to rotate between places and provide utility or take trade kills of the site's Anchor players. Another role that we must highlight is secondary IGL. If the team's main IGL gets killed or plays a passive role depending on the situation, the second or secondary IGL's job is to make the final decisions on what the team should do to secure their win for that round. They often make the T-side or CT-side rotation calls or make plans for after-plant situations.

How to Choose a Role in CS2?

Choosing among all the roles in CS2 is quite an easy task. To choose among all:

• You must assess your playstyle, skills, and how you naturally approach the game.
• If you're one of those players who likes to take risks and have immense confidence in their crisp, clean aim, you're probably suitable for an Entry Fragger role.
• If you like to implement discipline and are a great connoisseur of different strategies to outplay your opponents, you can be a perfect fit for either the Anchor or the IGL role.
• If you're likely to take fewer risks and sneak up on enemies by catching them off guard, along with having a great map and timing sense, you should be the ideal candidate to fulfil a Lurk role.

Regardless of what role suits you, it all comes down to your game sense and your situational awareness during the match. If you're able to assess any situation at any given moment to win rounds for your teammates, there's no coming back. That's all regarding the team roles in CS2.