CT Side Isolation: Getting Out of a Pinch...

Bullets rain in from each direction, the thundering pounding of footsteps grow ever-closer from both sides. You are met with a myriad of options – none of which seem correct. With seemingly no other choice for you to take, you look one direction, hope for the best, and hold down mouse1… Too bad it was your teammate, merely eager to help you defend against the oncoming rush, shouting “Entering B, entering B!”           

While the above situation has clearly been dramatized, site splits can be one of the hardest things to deal with as a Counter-Terrorist in Counter-Strike. Their strength lies in dividing focus amongst those defending the site, which forces them to acknowledge many different angles of attack, and from the limitations this imposes upon the defenders – it’s difficult to aim from target to target when enemies are pouring in from multiple angles at once. Site splits exchange the brute-force strength of overwhelming CTs with a large clump of Terrorists in favor of a more tactical “swarm from all sides” approach. How can you, as a CT, defend against a push like this?

One effective method to deal with an attack such as this is “isolation,” a technique that exploits a site split’s main weakness: the fact that, if one angle of attack can be cut off or somehow neutralized, leaving fewer or only one point of entry for the Terrorists, there will be fewer Terrorists attacking the site at once. These Terrorists can be focused on at first, and the remaining Terrorists can be dealt with later. Accomplishing this is no small feat, however. It relies heavily on map knowledge, good timing, and the circumstances that the current round presents. There are a few possible options to choose from, but they are not easy to master.

One such method is to aggress into one of the angles of attack. While, at first glance, this may appear to be a risky approach, consider the fact that you would otherwise be pincered from all sides by a swarm of ravenous Terrorists. Such passivity leads to you becoming a sitting duck in a split push, while purposeful aggression towards either end of the attack can turn a previously bleak situation into one that has far higher chance of success. Also, due to the nature of a split, you aren’t going to be taking on an entire team of Terrorists if you push into one area as around half of them are approaching from other places on the map. As a CT pushing into one of the split’s routes of attack, or “isolating” that area, you are hoping to at least get a kill or, at best, to completely clear out that section of the map and play for a retake. With this extra map control, the Counter Terrorists’ retake is made far easier due to the fact that the CTs now have another entrance into the site that they know is clear of Terrorists, allowing them to be able to rotate quickly to retake without the need to check corners slowly and methodically.

A brute force method of aggressive CT isolation that doesn’t utilize grenades as it is difficult to throw a proper flash into B Tunnels without peeking to throw it. Teams such as EnvyUs often push into B Tunnels for information in a similar fashion, with two teammates close by to support each other and trade frags if need be.

There is no “better” route to take when choosing between isolating multiple routes of attack – it entirely depends on the timing that you realize a split push is coming, the amount of utility you have (that being grenades that you can use to cut off different entrances to the site), and how many Terrorists are pushing from either side. Oftentimes your teammates will have a general idea of how many Terrorists are going towards one route, although this isn’t always the case. If your teammate calls out how many are coming from one angle, you can figure out (likely) how many Terrorists are coming from the other by subtracting that number from the amount of Terrorists alive. This will allow you to make a better-informed decision as to which area of the map you, and any teammates playing on the site with you, want to isolate. Although this rule does not apply to every situation, and it will be up to your discretion as to which option is the safer one.

An example of isolating CT Mid during a B Split. Flashbangs can prove crucial in these circumstances, and aggressive isolation is far more difficult without them.

During these situations, keep in mind that your utility can be used to your advantage – if you’re isolating an area, it is often a smart decision to throw a flash you can peek with to even out the odds of your survival even more, a coordinated push with a teammate who is playing the site with you, if one is available, is far stronger than aggressing alone against (likely) multiple enemies.
 

Although on the Terrorist side, the same concept of “soft-neutralizing” an angle is applied by Freddy “KrimZ” Johansson in his site hold at ESL Cologne 2015, with many entrances to the site being smoked off. He is positioned in a way that exposes him to as few angles as possible. Paired with impressive aim, he is able to win a near impossible round.

This aggressive stance to isolation isn’t always feasible, though. If you are playing the site by yourself, or if you are informed of the split push late and don’t have enough time to isolate an area of the map because the Terrorists have already taken full control of it, perhaps your best option is to “soft-neutralize” an entrance to the site. Utilize your grenades, whether they are incendiaries or smokes, on an entrance to delay the Terrorists’ approach from that portion of the map, leaving you more free to focus upon any other relevant angles. If at all possible to do so safely, try to make your way to a position that is exposed from as few of the angles of attack as possible, further allowing you to concentrate on other areas being contested.

If you are left without a teammate or utility at the point a split is being staged, your chance of success is bleak – aggressive isolation is far more difficult without a flash or teammate to help you, and you don’t have any smokes or incendiaries left to “soft-neutralize” an area. In this scenario, you are presented with a host of bleak options, of which you must choose the best that will allow you the highest chance of success.

Are you into fantasy leagues? Then check out AlphaDraft and put together your allstar lineup!