The heart of Counter-Strike, since its inception, is that it is a team-based game. Sure, some outstanding players may receive more praise than their teammates for big plays or overall consistency, but the foundation for every player is made solely through teamwork and cooperation. The best team in the world is a stone wall on defense, and a cleaving axe as offense. Five fingers to the same hand, and one overall goal: to win. Teams use player roles to help define what a certain person's job is during a round. It could be leading the charge into a site, or staying behind and eliminating rotating enemies. Everyone has a job, and these roles can be the difference between a successful round and a failed waste of time. Let's talk about some of the most prominent roles that can be utilized in any scenario, and what makes them difficult to master. Note that some players can have more than one role in any given round; for instance, one player could take the Support role and then be a Lurker for the remainder of the round. Notable pro players who mainly compete in these roles will be mentioned at the bottom of each description.

Entry Fragger (Terrorist): The first ones in, and usually the last ones out. These guys bleed confidence. As the Entry Fragger, your job is to be the first member of your team to breach a bombsite, and pick up as many kills as you can and lead the charge for everyone else. You have to be quick to react to interchanging enemy movements, and be able to pick up kills on the fly. Quick eliminations are crucial; the longer it takes to get into a site, the longer the defenders have to rotate and backup their own teammates. Speed and precision are your most valuable attributes.

Notable Pro Players: fREAKAZOID, k1oshima

Second Entry (Terrorist): Let's face it; not every site breach is perfect. Sometimes, Entry Fraggers can't always get the job done. Think of the Second Entry role as the team maid; this player cleans up what's left over from the Entry's initial fights. If the Entry goes down, it's up to Second Entry to finish his work and get the rest of the team onto the site for the bomb plant.

Notable Pro Players: shroud, friberg

Lurker (Both Sides): If you look up the definition of "wild card," you'll probably find something close to this. This player has so many jobs to do in a single round, and arguably requires the most experience and knowledge of game sense to fulfill. Your job as a Lurker is to gain information of the enemy's whereabouts away from your team, and to assist on site takes/retakes by taking the enemy flank. Imagine you're a Counter-Terrorist on Mirage, and the Terrorists take B site. You, as a lurker, might move through Underpass into B Halls to take their flank and attack from an angle they may not expect. This role requires communication and the ability to keep calm under pressure, as the stakes are rise dramatically by leaving your teammates alone to find fights elsewhere and hope the timing works out in your favor.

Notable Pro Players: GeT_RiGhT, Hiko

Lurking is especially challenging to newer players, without a prolonged and seasoned insight into game sense.

Main AWPer (Both Sides): This role requires the perfect balance between speed and patience at all times. Different from a main rifler, this can be classified as a role considering that usually only one player holds an AWP on either team. As a Main AWPer, your job would be to find long-range opening picks. Sounds simple enough, until you discover you have to fight your way through an implanted meta full of options and playstyles developed specifically to avoid such a dangerous weapon as the AWP. It also doesn't help that elsewhere on the map, odds are that there's another enemy with the same intentions as you. AWPers are always attempting to move against the natural flow and attempt increasingly outrageous or improvised shots to help with defending or attacking. This role requires precision and the ingenuity in the best and worst of scenarios.

Notable Pro Players: GuardiaN, JW

Support/Anchor (Both Sides): These two roles usually go hand-in-hand; players can switch between each on either side. As the unsung heroes of attacking and defending a site, Support players set up smokes and timed flashes for their teammates to entry/retake with. While it isn't one of the most difficult or respected positions, its importance cannot be denied. Likewise, the Anchor role is important for stopping overrotation on the Counter-Terrorist side. Imagine the Terrorists performing an execute on A site of Cache, and you're over on B. Your fellow sitemate rotates to help defend, but it's your job to stay and keep defending B site in case the Terrorists pull a fake and attack B. You wouldn't rotate until the bomb is either planted or down in a safe and recoverable area. Both roles are equally important to the stability and success of any team. (Likewise, a "Rotate" player would move in between sites at the sight of an enemy, feeling out the round and deciding where defense will most likely be needed most.)

Notable Pro Players: KRiMZ, n0thing

In-Game Leader (Both Sides): Arguably the most intellectual of all roles, this player is the brains of the organization. As an IGL, your job is to essentially decide what your team does every round. You coordinate site takes, flashes, smokes, and overall strategies that your team will use to win the round. Your job starts right from the get-go; you need to decide how best to counter the enemy's setups and use your teammates to poke and prod at their defenses. The best IGL's in the world never start a round by calling a strategy; the goal is to find the weak points and exploit it. Rounds usually consist of waiting for an opening pick, then calling a pre-set strategy. This role requires intelligent, multi-stage thinking, all while having the ability to frag and carry your weight on the scoreboard.

Notable Pro Players: MSL, flusha

These are a collection of roles used frequently by professional teams around the world, and each is equally as important as the next. Debates can be held on which supplies players with the most visibility, but no one can deny that each is crucial to the overall success and well-being of any competitive Counter-Strike team. As the underlying meta of the game changes, so will the roles, but these have stood the test of time as crucial above all else.

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