Mirage in CS2: Callouts, Layout and How Pros Play It

Updated Oct 8, 2026 · 2 min read

Mirage at a glance

In the competitive pool: since 2013, never rotated out
Origin: Valve remake of the community map de_cpl_strike by Michael "BubkeZ" Hüll
Setting: a Middle Eastern town: apartments, a palace, a market
Side lean: close to balanced, slight CT edge
Known for: mid control, A executes, AWP duels from Window

The layout

Mirage follows the classic Counter-Strike shape: two bombsites, two main T entrances, and a mid that connects everything.

A site sits close to CT spawn. Ts reach it through A ramp or Palace, or through mid via Connector.
Mid is the heart of the map. The T side fights for Top mid, while CTs watch from Window and Short.
B site is reached through B apartments (Apps) from the T side, or from mid through Short. CTs rotate to B through Market and Kitchen.

Key callouts

Area	Callouts
A site	A ramp, Palace, Tetris, Firebox, Triple box, Jungle, Stairs, Connector, Ticket booth, CT
Mid	Top mid, Window, Short (Catwalk), Underpass, Ladder room
B site	Apartments (Apps), Bench, Van, Market, Kitchen, Short
Spawns	T spawn, CT spawn

How pros play Mirage

T side. Most rounds start with a fight for mid control. Taking Top mid and Connector lets the Ts split A from three sides at once (Ramp, Palace and Connector), which is the classic Mirage execute. Teams also use mid to fake an A attack before hitting B through Apartments and Short.

CT side. CTs usually play one or two players on A, one in Window or Jungle watching mid, and two around B. The Window player is often an AWPer, because the long mid angles reward sniping. When mid falls, CTs lose rotation time, so many rounds are decided by who wins the first mid duel.

What to watch: the first 20 seconds of a round. If the Ts take mid for free, an A split is coming. If CTs win the mid fight, the Ts usually commit to one site early.

Why Mirage matters in the veto

Because Mirage is balanced and every team practices it, it is rarely a big surprise. Teams with strong mid players pick it; teams that want to avoid a coin-flip map ban it. In a BO3 it often ends up as the decider when neither team wants to give it away. See Map Veto in CS2.

Upcoming matches

All current maps are listed in the CS2 Map Pool guide.

FAQ

Is Mirage CT or T sided?

Mirage is close to balanced, with a slight edge for the CT side in pro play. It is one of the fairest maps in the pool, which is part of why teams pick it so often.

Has Mirage ever been removed from the map pool?

No. Mirage has been in the competitive pool since 2013 and is the only map that has never been rotated out.

What are the most important callouts on Mirage?

Palace, A ramp, Connector, Jungle and Stairs around A; Top mid, Window and Short in the middle; Apartments, Market and Kitchen around B.

Related guides

CS2 Map Pool: Current Active Duty Maps and Every ChangeThe current CS2 Active Duty pool: Ancient, Anubis, Cache, Dust2, Inferno, Mirage and Nuke. Cache replaced Overpass in July 2026. Every change since launch.
Map Veto in CS2 Explained: How Teams Pick and Ban MapsBefore a CS2 series, teams remove and pick maps from the 7-map pool. How the veto works in BO1 and BO3, what a decider is and who chooses sides.
CT Side vs T Side: How Sides and Halftime Work in CS2In CS2, Terrorists attack and Counter-Terrorists defend. How each side wins a round, when teams switch at halftime and which maps favor CT or T side.
Veto (map veto)The veto is the pick and ban process before a CS2 series: teams remove and choose maps from the 7-map pool. Bans, picks and the decider in a few lines.
Lurk (lurker)To lurk in CS2 is to play alone, away from your team, usually on the T side, to catch rotating defenders or hold a flank. What a lurker does and why.
RetakeA retake in CS2 is when CTs move back into a bombsite after the bomb is planted, kill the defenders and defuse within 40 seconds. How retakes work.

Sources

Reviewed by the R1GG team