Before I run through numerous set-ups to hold mid control on Cache, I want to go through the importance of it and why middle is vital to the Counter-Terrorists. As soon as the Terrorists gain the middle part of the map, it opens so many ways for them to attack each bomb site just by going through it. Additionally, as a Counter-Terrorist, it is very hard to hold as you have to be careful of too many angles, including a potential backstab. Now if we isolate mid and focus on it alone, you can also see it cuts off a lot of rotations unless the Counter-Terrorists rotate through their own spawn. So as soon as a push or an execute begins, the Counter-Terrorists have fewer ways to rotate to the bomb-site and they also lose a lot of map control. Losing middle means losing the most important part of Cache, which is why you must keep control of it and if you can't, regain control of it instead.

Triple Mid Hold

This set-up is pretty much the simplest one of them all. All it is is three players holding middle, but each player's position has a specific purpose. You have to place on player at whitebox, one in Z connector and one in vents. Now while this does not establish crossfires, it instead gives you a solid hold because you'll notice no matter what way a Terrorist does go middle. The purpose of having the guy in vents is to watch the left side of the middle garage/main and help the guy on B if needed. The one at whitebox watches the right, while the person in connector will usually have an AWP and watch the boost and molly it. This set-up allows you to spot each angle and allows fast rotates to either site. If a Terrorist also walks off boost and the person in connector has to fall off, the person in vents, if they need to, can peek the person boost and kill him/her. You can even double peek boost with the guy on whitebox. If a Terrorist tries to push vents while the person in vents is helping B, the person whitebox kills him/her. The only flaw to this set-up is that it can easily be neutralised by cross smokes on mid. Those isolate the two Counter-Terrorists on Z and whitebox, meaning the person in vents has to battle alone. Other than that, this set-up is perfect if you keep losing mid-control and it is losing you rounds.

Playing Close

This set-up requires two people. It can work better with three but it is not necessary. This set-up is designed to stop any pressure before it actually begins. By playing close to the middle area of Cache, you can gain a lot of information on how the Terrorists are playing. You can hear their rotations and see how they are reacting after an attempt to hit a bombsite and you generally know what their gameplan is. What this middle setup also does, however, is establish an effective crossfire to stop any Terrorists pushing out in small groups of two or three. It also counters the cross smokes on middle as these smokes have no effect because you are playing close. You can choose to put either two players on either side of middle. That being one under boost and one on the slope to vents. One watches the right side of mid garage whilst the other watches the boost. The reason why three is more effective is because you can focus two players on the mid garage and have someone else watching boost. This set-up can also work as an adjustment to keep three mid but just to counter the cross smokes if the other team is doing it consistently.

What if this still doesn't work?

If you guys are still getting outplayed in middle and still losing it then you might need to play more random and be a bit more surprising. The two simplest ways you can do this is by boosting your team or yourself in middle and hoping to catch any Terrorists caught unaware. However, don't do this often. Only do it once or twice, as the enemy team will start expecting it and you'll lose any advantage. Another thing you can do is smoke middle and push inside the smoke and lurk around the smoke in mid main and gain information on rotations or kill any Terrorist that runs past without looking at you. These two methods can easily give you a kill or two and will allow you to fall back and keep the advantage. Another tip is just to make sure you learn the molly for the boost so it stops any early boost plays from the Terrorists. The video below shows a simple way to molly boost. You can do this while running, but make sure you learn both ways so you can be more fast and efficient!

So to conclude, these set-ups encourage you to utilize numbers and crossfires in order to hold middle. Remember, middle is important as it allows your team to rotate and gives a lot of information to the Terrorists about your set-ups. If you still struggle to hold middle, remember to be a bit more random and throw your nades early to deny any early aggression! I hope these set-ups will strengthen your mid-control. Good luck!

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