How does the new CS2 ranks & rating system work?

Whether you’ve been playing Valve’s latest shooter since its launch or are considering jumping in for the first time, you’ll want to learn how the new CS2 ranks and rating system works. Since Counter-Strike 2 replaced CSGO around two years ago, some players have been asking for a more streamlined experience regarding the game’s competitive side, and now Valve has finally obliged. 

Your CS2 rating is now split across two forms of ranked play in the game, Competitive and Premier, where your rank depends on how well you do in the respective game modes. The former lets you choose whichever map you like and then queue for it, giving you a standardised progression system similar to how things worked in CSGO. However, CS2 Premier is stricter, with a ban system in place for the maps, forfeiting, and less choice by comparison. 

We’re explaining the new CS2 ranks in order and how they differ from ratings so you’re fully aware of the changes implemented in Counter-Strike 2. This will include the highest rank possible in CS2, how to get there, how to maintain it, and the differences between the two game modes in full. 

How does CS2 ranking work?

There are a total of 18 competitive CS2 ranks available in the game’s Competitive mode in 2025, going from Silver up to Global Elite. 

Higher rankings are earned by doing well in matches, with subsequent wins resulting in higher ranks. 

While things are similar to the previous game, CS2 ranks compared to CSGO ranks have some differences. 

The 18 ranks are separated into six tiers: Silver, Gold Nova, Guardian, Eagle, Supreme Master First Class, and Global Elite. Your rank will improve as you continuously win games, support your teammates, and increase your frequency of kills and how well you play against others of a similar (or higher) rank than you. 

The lowest rank in CS2 is Silver 1, and you’ll be able to rank up in the game by doing well. Depending on your performance, you may be able to climb out of the Silver ranks if you can consistently win 10 or more matches in a row, which could boost you into the next tier. 

The CS2 highest rank is Global Elite – the maximum level a CS2 player can reach. 

The new CS2 rating equivalents to rankings will depend on how well you’re performing in the game. The full range goes from 1,000 up to 20,000+ and are color-coded with Gray at the Lowest and Dark Purple at the highest level. 

To get a higher CS rating, you’ll need to play well, as the overall rating number and color will correspond to your rank. 

Now, let’s view the detailed CS2 rank comparison with ratings.

Learning how CS2’s Premier ranks work is quite straightforward once you understand the ranks and how they correspond to your rating. 

Premier Mode forces maps and modes for each game, with the ability to ban a map. The current active map pool comprises seven playable areas: Train, Mirage, Nuke, Ancient, Anubis, Inferno, and Dust 2. 

Rotations change with each CS2 season, which usually happens every few months, giving players the ability to intimately learn the Counter-Strike 2 maps. If people get sick of the likes of Dust 2 or Nuke, bans mean you can take them off the roster, so you aren’t forced into a stage you don’t want to play. After 10 winning matches, you’ll be given a CS rating, which will determine your place on the leaderboard. 

You can keep tabs on the CS2 leaderboard with dedicated websites such as CS Stats, which tracks players’ wins, current rank, best-ever rank, and their last match played. This source estimates that less than 1% of players are in the rank of Global Elite (with a CS2 rating of above 20,000). 

To aspire to be at their level, you need to play a ton of Counter-Strike 2 and practice extensively. 

There’s no silver bullet solution for how to rank up in CS2 other than improving your fundamental skills, and you can only get better by consistently playing and practicing often. 

Everyone starts at Silver 1 once they’ve played enough games to earn a rating, and to move up into the major leagues, there are a couple of things you need to do. 

It’s not flashy advice, but the most important way to improve in CS2 is to put some serious hours in. Counter-Strike 2 has an incredibly high skill ceiling, which will become immediately notable when going from casual to ranked play. 

Mastering the precise aiming mechanics on the shooting range is the first thing you must do before even thinking of climbing out of the Silver ranks. There are some good Steam Workshop maps that you can download to heighten your skills, including Aim Botz, Fast Aim/Reflex Training, and Recoil Master – Spray Training. 

There are a total of 53 CS2 guns available at present, including 10 pistols, 11 rifles, seven SMGs, and a myriad of different melee options. Each firearm performs differently, with its own spread, recoil, and damage output at different distances to be wary of. While you may have a preference for pistols, rifles, shotguns, or heavy firepower, you’ll need to have a fundamental understanding of how they all function on the range before playing competitively, as each gun will best suit different maps and situations. 

CS2 movement is unlike many other FPS games as you won’t be running and jumping around like in Apex Legends, Doom, or Fortnite. Instead, it’s a much slower and deliberate game, which means you must get used to crouch-firing in short and controlled bursts instead of running and gunning. 

Your character will move faster with a knife out than lugging around an LMG or rifle, so mastering quickly swapping between these weapons with the mouse scroll (or the number keys) can help keep you as nimble as possible. 

Another way to get better at CS2 is to learn the layouts of the maps. The CS2 Premier maps rotate with each season, with seven in active play at any one time, and it’s similar for CS2’s Competitive map pool. 

As a result, it’s recommended that you load into these maps (either playing solo in practice or in unranked casual) so you can become familiar with the corners, chokepoints, and notable locations. Popular maps like Dust 2 will have been figured out more thoroughly than Ancient or Nuke, for instance. 

Every CS2 weapon costs something to unlock at the start of the round, and not all firearms are made equally. It’s believed that the AK-47, M4A4, AWP, Desert Eagle, and TEC-9 are superior options to the Nova, Dual Berettas, Bizon, R8, and Sawed-Off in some metas. 

Take the price of the AK47, for instance; it costs $2,700, compared to the M4A4 at $3,100. Both teams start the game with $800, with the winners of each round getting $3,250 and the losers only receiving $1,400. In Competitive and Premier, you also need to buy gear like Vests ($650), Helmets ($350), and grenades. 

The CS2 ranking system and ratings are initially quite intimidating, but now you’ll understand what they are, all the ranks available, and how to improve in the game. 

Counter-Strike 2 can be challenging to play beyond a casual level, and breaking onto the Silver 1 board could be part of a process that could take weeks, months (or even years) to aspire to Global Elite. If you’re prepared to put the time in, you could one day be among the best CS2 players on the planet.