So you want to improve your CT side of Inferno. Inferno is one of the most popular maps in CS:GO. It’s been a part of CS since version 1.1, and has been included in every major CS game since. It has been in the competitive map pool of CS:GO since its release and is currently considered to be the most CT sided map in the game. Due to its popularity that it’s incredibly important to have a strong CT side setup. This includes deciding upon a setup, knowing how to setup your team, how to effectively utilise your grenades, and how to position your AWP player for success. Here are just a few ways of playing and improving at your CT side of Inferno.

Positioning

The most important part about the CT side of Inferno is having a strong positional setup of players. Since Bombsite A is far more difficult to defend and retake due to the number of entrances and hiding places on the site, you’re generally going to want at least 3 players on the A bombsite.

There are 2 common setups which accommodate these needs; one involving 4 players on Bombsite A and 1 player on Bombsite B, the other involving 3 players on Bombsite A, 1 player in CT spawn, and 1 player in Bombsite B.

1. 4A-1B Setup

 
Image 1: the 4A-1B setup (top), CT banana smoke (bottom left) and A-side to banana smoke (bottom right)

This setup may sound crazy at first if you’ve never tried it, since it takes several seconds for players to rotate between bombsites. Bear with me though, as there is method to this madness.

- Beginning of the Round

At the beginning of the round, you send 2-3 players to the top of banana, while one of your other players throws a Smoke Grenade from CT spawn to the bottom of banana (image 1: bottom left). This player should preferably be the player who plans on playing in pit, as he’ll be far away from Bombsite B, and will have a hard time throwing the Smoke Grenade over to the B Bombsite later in the round.

- Taking Control of Banana

Once the 2-3 players reach the top of banana, they will throw 2 Incendiary Grenades to clear out any Terrorists that may have run through the smoke at the bottom of banana. One Incendiary Grenade will land at the bottom of banana, the other one will land at the top of banana, effectively covering all of banana in fire. One of the players will then throw a Flashbang Grenade so that the other player(s) can safely peek down banana and ensure that there are no enemy players there. Once the all clear has been given, one player can be left alone at the top of banana while the other 2 players return to Bombsite A.

- Rotating Back to Bombsite A

As soon as the two players returning to Bombsite A get to CT spawn, the player playing arch side should rotate onto the site. This way there is never a point in time where you have a 3 man stack on the arch side, as the enemy team can easily overrun the player in pit and and smoke off the rest of your team. From here, the players on Bombsite A can throw smokes from Arch side over to the top of banana (image 1: bottom right) to waste time and delay the opponent.

- Mid-Round Setup

The positions your team should play during the mid-round are: 1 player top of banana/Bombsite B, 2 players arch side, 1 player on Bombsite A, and 1 player pit. If the round timer begins to run low, rotate an extra player back to Bombsite B as the enemy team is likely to try a late push into the site. This the most common setup in the top level of professional CS, and you can watch almost any of the top teams using this setup, including: Fnatic, Virtus.Pro, Ex-iBUYPOWER, TSM and more.

3A-1CT-1B Setup

- Beginning of the Round: Dealing with Rushes

At the beginning of the round your team should assume positions that can help them deal with rushes. There should be 2 players at Bombsite B: 1 at Spools, 1 at New Box. There should also be 3 players at Bombsite A: 1 in pit, 1 at motto, and 1 at either archway or library you can also take more aggressive positions, but be sure to use your grenades to gain an advantage.

- Mid-Round Setup

Once you and your team are confident that there won’t be a rush then your team will take positions that will help with crossfires and rotations. The player at spools should move towards CT spawn and wait around Speedway for his teammates to give the call to rotate. The player at motto should move onto the site so that he can set up a crossfire with the player in pit. It’s up to you whether you want to use your smokes to buy time at Bombsite B, or save them to stop the enemy team’s push.

AWP

- Initial Peek

Just like any map, it’s important to keep your AWP player mobile. There are 3 angles that your AWP player can peek each round: banana, middle, and alternate middle.

- Mid-Round Positions

Once your AWP player has taken their initial peek, the best positions for them to play are car and arch side. An AWP player at car can make the 4A-1B setup very effective as they can take a shot on any players pushing up banana then fall back and hold a different angle. This can buy plenty of time for their teammates to rotate into B Bombsite. An AWP player in arch side can be very helpful in a 3A-1CT-1B setup, as they can take a shot on a player pushing arch side, then fall back and ask for help from the player in Speedway.

Now that you know some of the most common CT side setups and AWP positions, you and your friends can work on improving your CT side defence on Inferno. If you feel I’ve left anything important out of this guide feel free to mention it in the comment section below. Now good luck, and have fun.

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