CS:GO meta shakeup confirmed following new weapon usage in BLAST World Finals

As expected, the Nov. 18 update to CS:GO changed the weapon meta significantly.

The patch introduced a major nerf to AWP and M4A1-S. In terms of the latter weapon, the developers weakened its long-range accuracy, which immediately sparked discussion about M4A4’s potential return to pro play. Looking at the stats from BLAST Premier World Final’s group stage, it looks like the weapon is making a comeback. It was used more than the M4A1-S, according to HLTV.

In the group stage, M4A4 inflicted 13.7 percent of total kills, while M4A1-S, which had dominated the CT side meta prior to the tournament, was responsible for just 9.59 percent of kills.

Pro players also shared their perspectives on the differences between M4A1-S and M4A4. FaZe Clan’s rain Håvard “rain” Nygaard explained he still intends to use the former in maps with many long-range battles while switching to the latter in maps with close-quarter areas.

BLAST Premier World Final is the first A-tier tournament to feature the changes shipped in the Nov. 18 update. The other changes reduced the number of bullets in AWP’s magazine to five and also introduced Anubis to the official tournament map pool, which replaced Dust 2. The map has already been played three times during the event.

The tournament continues today with the quarterfinals.