Monte’s kRaSnaL explains why the AWP nerf in CS2 is healthy for the scene

Counter-Strike 2 has fully replaced CS:GO following its late September release and is now the version played in professional tournaments. During ESL Challenger Jönköping 2023, Monte’s Szymon “kRaSnaL” Mrozek explained why one of the biggest changes in CS2 is actually good for the scene.

A few weeks back, players realized CS2 nerfed the AWP quite significantly. In CS:GO, if a player took damage while zooming in with their scope, their aim would remain steady and they could still fire an accurate shot. Things are different in CS2, as if you shoot a player while they’re using their scope, their aim becomes inaccurate. Many players felt this was too big a nerf to the game’s greatest weapon, but kRaSnaL is actually fond of the changes, as he explained in an interview with Dot Esports at DreamHack Winter 2023 with travel expenses provided by Monster.

After reaching the tournament’s semifinals, kRaSnaL talked about the AWP change. As a rifler, he very much enjoys it, and thinks it gives more players room to shine after living in AWPers’ shadows in CS:GO.

“I enjoy the fact the AWP has been nerfed, because it was just unfair. AWPers were constantly at the top, and now rifles have a much bigger chance to make a name for themselves, and ropz is a perfect example of that. I think he can easily go for the number one spot,” kRaSnaL said. He does have a point. Despite CS2 being fairly young, with only a handful tournaments completed so far, the Estonian rifler already boasted two HLTV MVPs, at Thunderpick World Championship, and CS Asia Championships.

On top of this, throughout CS:GO history, it was truly mostly snipers who conquered the individual rankings, like s1mple, ZywOo, and dev1ce, to name a few. But there were also exceptions like coldzera and olofmeister a few years back.

The AWP nerf isn’t the only change that sparked discussion among the community since CS2’s release. Numerous players and personalities in the scene called on Valve to fix the economy, which they believe is in a poor state, especially on the CT side. KRaSnaL agrees with many others in that matter in terms of the best fix.

“If I were to change it, I would delete the $1,400 loss bonus, and make the teams start their loss bonuses from $1,900. It would make the gameplay way smoother and easier,” KRaSnaL said. But, at the same time, he predicted there “won’t be any pivotal changes to the economy until the Major,” which takes place in Copenhagen in March.

Meanwhile, ESL Challenger Jönköping continues during DreamHack Winter 2023, with teams fighting for playoffs on Saturday.