Anubis, the latest map added to CS:GO‘s official map pool, has gone from the least-popular pick in pro play ahead of the BLAST Paris Major to a solid pick by many teams during the last CS:GO Major ever. And according to an interview today, at least one superstar has a good idea as to why that is.
Anubis was only played 8.2 percent of the time in tier-one events during the past three months, but is rising in popularity during the BLAST Paris Major. 100 maps have been played in the French Major thus far, and Anubis’s pick rate sits at 13 percent. For FaZe Clan’s in-game leader and veteran player karrigan, the rising popularity of the map is mostly related to tier-one teams feeling more comfortable on it.
“A lot of pro teams have been looking at tier two, I watch a lot of tier two demos because they play the map frequently, every single day, and in tier one you don’t get to play too many tournaments so risking Anubis is dangerous,” karrigan said in an interview with HLTV on May 16. “I’m watching a lot of demos and starting to get a good feeling. It allows very aggressive moves, but you also have to respect the late round of the Ts. Plus, if they get mid you have to re-fight areas. It’s definitely a very interesting map and I like how it’s developing right now. At the beginning it was very T-sided, I remember winning 14-1 against Vitality and then losing 1-14 after, but nowadays I feel like it’s more CT-sided as people understand how to play the map.”
Related: BLAST Paris CS:GO Major: Scores, standings, and results
Anubis also delivered the best map of the BLAST Paris Major thus far. FaZe and Natus Vincere decided their fate on Anubis on May 16, and the former won the series after an epic double-overtime.
FaZe recovered from a 9-15 disadvantage in the second half and clawed their way back into the game thanks to a resilient CT side. Almost one million viewers followed the action from home and helped the BLAST Paris Major set a new peak.
The question now is if Anubis will keep being played in the playoffs between May 18 to 21, where the stakes will be higher than ever.
