How to pop-flash in CS2

Knowing how to blind your enemies with flashbangs can be a decisive factor in winning a round in CS2. There are multiple ways to throw flashes, but learning how to pop-flash in CS2 is arguably the most important.

Pop flashes are the most effective flashbangs in the game because they explode right when the enemy sees them, which gives them no time to turn away and avoid getting blinded. You can use pop flashes to create a play for yourself or, better yet, set up your teammates for success.

This might sound too fancy if you’re still a relative newcomer to Counter-Strike, but trust me, the sooner you learn pop flashes the better because players in lower ranks rarely play anti-flash positions. Learning one or two great pop flashes per map could be enough for you to start climbing the ranks or the Premier leaderboard.

Without further ado, here’s how to pop-flash in CS2.

How to pop-flash for yourself in CS2

Pop flashes can be used in various situations, but one of the most effective ways to pop-flash is close to a choke point like Mirage’s A Main or Dust II’s Double Doors.

To pop-flash, all you need to do is hold a flashbang, aim upwards, and throw it with MOUSE2 (right-click). If you nail the timing, the flashbang will explode right in front of the enemy or enemies, allowing you to kill them while they’re blind as you can see in the video below.

In this video in particular, the flashbang made a sound cue as it bounced on the ground. Although it was effective, in some cases, you want to avoid that as skilled opponents would be able to still turn their vision away if they heard the sound cue.

How to pop-flash for teammates in CS2

CS2 is a team game and to succeed in the long run, you’ll need to support your teammates. One of the best ways to do that is by learning a few pop-flashes for them to gain space or, even better, kill enemies while they’re blinded.

This is slightly tricky because your teammates need to do their part, which is trusting your flash and peeking when the time is right. We all know how random players behave sometimes, but there’s no harm in trying to make a play at least once. To throw a pop flash for your teammates, you need to calculate the distance at which your flashbang will pop. And remember to communicate the whole process with them so they know at which time they should peek.

Though there are common spots for this kind of play such as Overpass’ Monster, Inferno’s Banana, and Mirage’s A Main, you can throw a pop flash for your teammates basically in any position if you calculate the distance correctly.