5 Most Important CS:GO Matchmaking Tips for Beginners

Chances are, if you are reading this article, you are most likely relatively new to the CSGO matchmaking scene. You may be ranked in the silvers or novas, or you may not even have a rank yet at all.

Maybe you are stuck at a level and can't seem to make that extra push to the next tier, hopefully these tips will help.

While I am by no means a professional, I have played a lot of competitive matches and made it to eagle as a solo player (which was a very frustrating path to say the least!), so these tips are what I consider to be the most important things to know to succeed in competitive counter strike matchmaking.

One more thing, while making these adjustments will certainly help you win, it wont be overnight! Progress takes time, and if you spend the time now to build these basics then you will reap the rewards at higher levels.

Hands down, without exception, the thing that separates a winning team and a losing team is how they communicate with each other.

I never really understood how important it was to have a quality gaming headset until I finally spent the money and got one for myself. It was like a whole new experience, I can hear enemy footsteps from halfway across the map, providing me and my team valuable information as to where they are and what they are planning.

This is important for all levels, but is even more prevalent at the lower levels as so few players shift walk, opting instead to run around like noisy elephants to the delight of everyone with a headset.

A headset is also vital as it usually comes with an attached microphone, so you can talk to your team during the match. Why is this so important? So you can keep each other informed as to whats happening, if you need help, where the enemy is, and so on. If you are defending B site and suddenly get rushed by the other team, saying something like "3 B, Help" tells your team how many players are attacking you and what to expect...it also tells them that somewhere else there are potentially two other players they need to be careful of.

Try and keep in match communication short and clear, while you may want to scream into the microphone because someone one tapped you on a pistol round, its best not to clog the communication channels venting your anger and risk distracting your team.

If you are unlucky enough to have a player on your team who wont be quiet, or who is streaming music and it is damaging your ability to hear whats going on, block him! Simply hold tab, and right click his name, which should give you the option to block communication with the player. This can be a life saver when faced with an annoying or toxic team member.

If I had to choose one specific tip that can give you the most immediate results, this is it. Learning how to move while always keeping the cross hair where you anticipate the enemy to be is what separates the silvers from the higher levels.

It should be at head level at all times, and pointed where you expect the next enemy to appear on your screen. If you are turning a corner, the crosshair follows the edge of the corner all the way around. Having your cross hair at head level and in the right spot saves precious seconds wasted trying to aim at the enemy, and if you always keep it at head level you will see your head shot percentage go through the roof.

This is one tip that may seem like a challenge at first, but stick with it and it will become instinctive very quickly. Ever had a moment where it seems like the guy kills you as soon as he turns the corner? Chances are, he had excellent crosshair placement.

Ever had those moments where you are holding down the trigger point blank and still don't hit anything? That's because you have no spray control.

Counter Strike is a computer program, and as such, while the gun spray may seem random, each weapon actually has a very specific, repeating pattern when you hold down the trigger. Learning the pattern of how a gun sprays is critical for winning those heated exchanges at close to medium range. Again, this is something that can be challenging at first, but quickly becomes second nature with practice.

Don't waste time learning the sprays of every gun, focus on the three most commonly used guns, the P90, the AK47, and the M4. These are the bread and butter of counter strike, and are the most commonly used guns by noobs and pros alike.

As the AK is arguably the best and most utilized gun in the game, that's the spray pattern you want to learn first. The M4 is very similar so its easy to learn after, and the P90 is....well, its the P90.

There are two possible objectives in competitive Counter Strike, rescue the hostage, or plant the bomb.

So do them. It's that simple, nothing is more frustrating than having a team member who doesn't attempt to play the objective in a match. It's how you win, and that's why you're in competitive right?

As a terrorist, when the bomb is planted, stay on the site and protect it! Resist the urge to run off and look for enemy players, let them come to you! I'll repeat that...DO NOT LEAVE THE BOMB SITE! PROTECT THE BOMB! Your only job is to protect that bomb from a potential defuse. If its a hostage map, don't push. just hang back and protect the hostages. If the counter terrorists don't come to defuse it, great! you still win.

As a counter terrorist, you're primary objective is to prevent the terrorists from planting the bomb. The easiest way to do that is to find a good spot on or near the plant area and wait for the terrorists to come to you. At the early levels, resist the urge to push up and try and surprise the other team, more often than not they will kill you, resulting in an under-protected bomb site for your team to defend.

If you kill the bomb carrier somewhere on the map, tell your team "Bomb Down" and stay on it! the other team will have to come to you to retrieve the bomb, giving you a great opportunity to pick them off one by one.

Millions of rounds are lost because someone forgot to play the actual objective, don't let it happen because of you!

Remember those spray patterns we spoke about earlier? Well, if you plan on running and shooting, you might as well throw any hope of hitting your opponent out the window. Yea, you may get a lucky head shot here and there, but 99% of the time you will hit nothing.

When you see an enemy, stop moving for a second, and shoot him as he runs around trying to hit you. Then smile at your kill and get ready for the next guy.

You have a little more accuracy when moving with a pistol or an SMG, but if you are using a rifle then you better stop for a moment to aim and shoot.

While it may seem like a lot to take in at first, master these 5 things and watch your game improve at light speed. Even at the Master Guardian level, i constantly ran into players who didn't understand these fundamental concepts. Stay tuned for more tips and tricks for competitive CS:GO, including tips for winning matches at the higher levels!

Please feel free to comment below with your thoughts on the importance of these 5 tips, if you think I missed something key, let me know!