Playing Large: The Secret to Successful Solo Queuing

Counterstrike is the epitome of team based tactical gaming. Five players working together to achieve victory at the expense of their opponents. This teamwork is exemplified by the many professional teams such as Team Dignitas that often seem to be communicating almost telepathically with each other. Pop flashes ring in at the exact moment the entry-fragger peeks, crossfires are set up with little communication, every player knows their defined role and acts within it like a well oiled machine. As exhilarating as it is watching these strategies play out many of us don't have the luxury of being a part of a cohesive team. This guide will give you tips on how to bring order out of chaos and win without being part of a team.

While all of the character models are the same size the same cannot be said for the ego of the players controlling them. As someone playing in solo queue you need to rise above the matchmaking muck and be the bigger player. What do I mean by this?

First and most importantly is communication. You're a great player at your rank and you get matched up with a few people who have no interest in working as a team. Whatever the issue is it is vitally important that you keep your cool and continue to communicate! Make call outs, if you're dead stay quiet except for vital calls. Ignore any flaming coming from the toxic player(s) and continue to morally support your team especially the players who are performing poorly. 

The worst thing that can happen to a team, even a pug one, is for players to give up. In counterstrike comebacks are nearly always possible if you stay focused and the other team gets complacent. Force a couple of economy rounds and suddenly you have strung six wins in a row and are right back in the game.

Second you must be able to play in every role and change your role multiple times per game. “Hold on!” You say. “I am an Awper, I called it therefore I am playing it!” To which I respond by asking do you want to be an Awper or do you want to win! If you want to win in solo queue you need to be able to adapt to your teammates.

Let's use an example: It is a Terrorist buy round on Cache you have been Awping with success all game; however you died last round along with the rest of your team. The score is now 7-7 and the lead going into the half is at stake. The buy timer starts and the bottom fragger to your right buys an Awp...what do you do? Someone being petty will buy an Awp anyway and jeopardize the round, and potentially the game, by running a double Awp T-side setup. The bigger player will man-up, rifle-up and play for the team. 

Another example: You are a terrorist on Mirage and the Awper spawned with the C4. You have been entry fragging all game with great success. The Awper proceeds to toss the bomb near the entrance to Apartments on his way to mid. The rest of the team runs right by it or tosses it away and your 'A' spawn leaves you last in line with no choice but to pick up the bomb. Someone playing for themselves will entry frag anyway and either drop the bomb on site or leave it behind in apartments. The bigger player will actually play the bomb and work off of their teammates picks in order to gain entry.

Finally let's talk about support. On professional teams the support role is the most unappreciated role on the team. Apart from the IGL(In Game Leader) the support role will usually have a lower score than the rest of the team and rarely make flashy plays. In solo queue supports are even less thanked and tragically under utilized. If you want to win you are probably going to have to play support for your team and perform that task without an IGL to coordinate it.

This means laying down smokes where no one else is and not being the first one to choose a location to smoke. Maybe you know the stairs from T-spawn smoke on Mirage but stop to consider if that is the only smoke your teammates know. Maybe this game you are going to be forced to smoke CT instead. This also means buying flashes when no one else has and using them to get your teammates kills, maybe even at the expense of your own.

Most importantly it means keeping complete track of your teams economy and dropping weapons for your team even when they don't ask you to. At the start of every round you need to survey the situation and make the tough calls on what to buy both for yourself and for your teammates and when the time comes that someone keeps force buying every round you need to keep your team in line and decide whether to buy along with them or to save and risk running a man short on buy rounds.

In short: In order to have matchmaking success as a solo queue player you have to do what your teammates are not doing at any given time. You need to be able to play every role depending on the whims of four people you have never met and will never interact with again. In a game where all too often players play selfishly you, as the bigger player, need to play selflessly.

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