Are pro CSGO games too long? Astralis captain gla1ve thinks so

William Davis Published 16/07/2021

Lukas “gla1ve” Rossander has expressed his belief that pro Counter-Strike: Global Offensive matches take too much time. 

Team Liquid and mousesports’ 106-round marathon match at IEM Cologne has reignited the discussion on CSGO’s pro game length. In an interview published by Polish esports news site Cybersport, Astralis’ in-game leader was asked his opinion on CSGO game length. gla1ve strongly echoed the sentiment that CSGO matches take too long, but he refuses to compromise on player pause time.

“You certainly can’t touch the pause time for players. This is the moment to reset, rethink the current state of the game, and come to a conclusion on what you are doing next. Other gameplay elements can be improved,” gla1ve said, according to translation.

If moments of downtime were taken off the table, other in-game sources of downtime could still be reduced. But reducing buy and post-round time would have a significant impact on gameplay. The amount of time between active play could also be reduced by the tournament organizer but CSGO’s lack of a concrete time limit can lead to additional downtime on stream. 

CSGO vs. Valorant match time sheds light

CSGO is played with a goal of winning 16 rounds per game. Rival tactical shooter Valorant plays to a lower round total. It may seem like a relatively small change, but it has a drastic impact when multiplied over the course of a full tournament. Valorant’s overtime periods also tend to resolve much more quickly than those in CSGO. In Valorant, winning in overtime simply requires getting two rounds ahead of the opponent. In CSGO, full overtime periods are played.

Cutting rounds off would be a nearly unprecedented decision for CSGO’s ruleset. The best-of-three format for tournament play is also close to sacred. Any measures for shortening CSGO matches would have to come from developer Valve. Public pressure and ideas from the community could help nudge CSGO’s creator into action, though it’s never easy to predict when Valve will actually take action.

gla1ve ended the discussion with a final remark on professional CSGO match length.

“I don’t know where we need to start with this, there are several options and the fact is singular: matches are too long. We have to do something about it,” gla1ve said.

Astralis vs Virtus.pro gla1ve interview

Cybersport connected with Astralis to learn about the team’s mindset going into the IEM Cologne playoffs. Gla1ve believes that Astralis’ IEM Cologne playoff match against Virtus.pro “will be an equal clash.” He remarked that Virtus.pro is playing in top form in Cologne. 

“VP hasn’t been doing very well lately, but it looks like his players have an idea of ​​how to play this tournament, and so far it works. This is a team that is always difficult to play against. I have the impression that its players show that they want to prove that they are among the world’s best, and the last few months have been just an accident at work,” gla1ve said.

Lucas “Bubzkji” Andersen was also asked about his LAN debut at IEM Cologne. As Nicolai “dev1ce” Reedtz’ replacement, Bubzkji has put up a respectable .72 damage per round at his first offline event. 

“I didn’t have too many expectations. We had a lot of time to prepare, which we mainly focused on. Our goal was to qualify for the playoffs, which we have already achieved,” Bubzkji said. “Individually, I don’t feel any pressure anymore, and the rest of the guys are extremely experienced, which helps me quite a lot.”

Read Also

Counter-Strike

IEM Cologne Major Stage 3 preview: who’s making it to the playoffs? Owen Harsono The IEM Cologne Major is the biggest tournament of the year, and after two stages of play, it’s finally time to unleash the big boys. Stage 3 will feature the 16 best teams in the world, but only eight can advance to the Playoffs and play on the big stage. Here’s our IEM Cologne Major Stage 3 preview. Before we got to Stage 3, a lot of things happened in ...

Counter-Strike

IEM Cologne Major 2026 CS2 Stage 3 Pick’Em Predictions Owen Harsono It’s that time of the year again, as the next Counter-Strike 2 Major is right around the corner. The IEM Cologne 2026 Major is set to start on June 2, meaning you still have some time to lock in your Pick’Em predictions. The Pick’Em Challenge is one of the most exciting parts of the CS2 Majors, as it allows you to test your knowledge and predict which teams make it ...

Counter-Strike

Team Spirit concede just 10 rounds in Stage 2 of the IEM Cologne Major Owen Harsono It was pretty weird seeing Team Spirit having to start the IEM Cologne Major from Stage 2, but they quickly proved why that was a mistake. With donk shooting on all fronts, the Eastern Europeans speed ran the competition to book their spot in Stage 3. With how they’ve been playing, it’s hard not to wonder whether they can actually win the entire thing. These boys can sometimes be known ...

Counter-Strike

BIG pull off 0-12 comeback to stay alive – IEM Cologne Major Stage 1 recap Owen Harsono We’ve just witnessed arguably the worst choke in Counter-Strike Major history, and we’re only on the first stage of the IEM Cologne Major. If you didn’t tune into the Stage 1 matches, here’s what you need to know heading into Stage 2. Many fans tend to underestimate Stage 1 teams for fair reasons, but some survivors in this tournament look extremely promising. Two Eastern European teams, BetBoom Team and B8, ...

Counter-Strike

Who will win the IEM Cologne Major 2026? Owen Harsono If you’re looking to play it safe and back one team at the Counter-Strike 2 IEM Cologne 2026 Major, traders prediction markets platforms have a clear frontrunner – it’s Team Vitality. But if it’s not meant to be, there are a few other candidates that could lift the trophy. Here’s what traders on Polymarket and Kalshi think. If you haven’t been watching CS2 this year and are only jumping on ...

Counter-Strike

The 10 best CS2 players who have never won a Major Owen Harsono In Counter-Strike, winning a Major immediately puts you into legend status. It’s an achievement that proves you won the game’s biggest trophy. However, there have been some really good players that could never get their hands on the biggest trophy that Counter-Strike esports has to offer. Here is WIN.gg's list of best CS2 players who have never won a Major. ScreaM is one of Counter-Strike's most famous players for one ...

Counter-Strike

IEM Cologne Major 2026: All the teams, favorites, and outright betting odds Owen Harsono Mark your calendars, as the IEM Cologne Major kicks off on June 2, 2026. We’re going to see the best teams in the world compete, but which ones are actually favored to take the title? This will be the first time in 10 years that IEM Cologne will return as a Counter-Strike Major, so the stakes this year are much higher than they’ve been in a decade. In this guide, ...