Ever wonder what role best fit your play style? Or what play styles help build a solid team? If so, this blog is for you. I’m going to break down the different roles and explain how to play said roles. Finding teammates that compliment your play style and filling those gaps that your play style lacks is crucial to long term success, as well as being able to fill the gaps that your team might need in matchmaking or a pug and being able to adjust to fill those roles that the team is lacking.

IGL- In-game leader

Direction is very important in any version of counter-strike and having a teammate that is constantly analyzing how the enemy team is setting up and playing positions is crucial for victory. The in-game leader also plays a pivotal role in the team's morale when playing from behind. The in-game leader not keeping control of the situation or going on tilt will throw the entire team out of sync. These actions as an in-game leader could cause your team to lose critical gun rounds and destroy the moral or coordination the team would need for success.

The key to successful in-gaming leading is effective communication. Having a good idea of what you are going to call before the start of the round is really helpful. Your ability to communicate the setup in an accurate, timely and non-confusing manner can make this role difficult. Having a deep understanding of the maps you are playing is a must for this role, because you will be paying attention to how the enemy team is running their setups. Your goal will be trying to force the enemy team to play to your teams’ strengths, while attempting to counter and outsmart your opponents. Another important skill as an in-game leader is your ability to identify and understand the current in-game situation like rotations, boost, etc, while making quick on-the-fly calls to your teammates. Working on these basics will help you win games where your team just seems to lack coordination and direction.

Support Role

The primary objectives of the support role varies, but in essence you will be doing a lot of the dirty work for the team. Throwing set smokes and flashes on executes. Since you will be throwing the nades on the execute, support players are typically the second or third player into the site and may also be the bomb carrier. When it comes to playing a support role on the counter-terrorist side, you will be counter flashing and pop flashing for your main fraggers. Timing is everything when it comes to setting up good crossfires and pop flashes. Consistency and execution under pressure should be your main focus. When playing a more passive role, learning default flash and smoke spots are a must with this play style. Just because you’re playing the support role doesn’t mean you will not see your fair share of action. When playing a more passive play style, being the second or third player into sites will mean you will live longer and are more likely to see 1v1 and clutch plays. That requires experience, game knowledge, and positioning with decent aim.

Lurker Role

The lurker role is having someone who can lurk effectively and throw off your opponents’ setups and force them to watch their flank. Being an effective lurker takes amazing game sense and feel for the tempo of the game. The whole goal is to throw your enemy off and keeping them guessing while gaining information for your team by checking areas on the terrorist or counter-terrorist side of the map. This role takes a lot of practice and a little luck, but can turn the balance in your favor if done correctly.

Entry fragger

This role is pretty self-explanatory. Whoever you have entry fragging for your team should be someone with confident and consistent aim. One of the keys to entry fragging is to not hesitate when it comes time to execute. Knowing standard positions and how the counter-terrorist play bombsites will give you a solid edge in attempting to entry frag. Also, trust your teammates to pick up the trades if you get fragged, because you will be the most likely player to die when you are executing on a bomb site.

Awping - Sniper Role

Having a primary awper on your team can really add a dynamic role to your team. Awpers can provide information by holding long angles and, on some maps, being able to hold sites by themselves. Awping has changed a lot over the past few months but can still be played aggressively in the hands of a skilled awper. For example, going for a quick pick middle on de_inferno’s counter-terrorist side is standard, but can give your team solid information at the start of the round and a possible pick. Someone who wants to mainly awp should focus on awping as much as possible; deathmatch and play with a group of players that will let you play the role with confidence. Nothing is more frustrating in low elo matchmaking than watching 3 or 4 players buying an awp. Learning to be comfortable with this gun can take time but is a very satisfying role to play in the game of counter-strike.

Conclusion

I hope the roles I mentioned will help you find a role that you enjoy playing and suits your play style. Becoming efficient in these roles will help you better fill the gaps in your team when playing matchmaking or a pug. Happy fragging! :]