Team player Nicolai "device" Reedtz noted in a recent interview with esports.gg that finding worthy sparring partners for training on Vertigo is becoming increasingly difficult.
Team Alienation to Vertigo and Map Changes
The latest changes to Vertigo, introduced in May this year, especially in the bombsite A area, have had the opposite effect — instead of attracting teams, they have become even less likely to include this map in their pool. The complexity of the new changes is so great that many teams have abandoned regular training on Vertigo, leaving Astralis and Complexity practically the only ones on the scene continuing to focus on the map. Some tournaments have even recorded a complete absence of Vertigo in matches.
Astralis has a history of playing on Vertigo, dating back to the period when Alexander "br0" Bro was in the team. Despite the difficulty in finding training partners, the team continues to hone its skills on the map. As device noted, Astralis is persistently practicing Vertigo because they consider it their "comfort" scenario, providing the team with a strategic edge in matches against teams not practicing this map.
Importance of Vertigo for the Esports Scene
Vertigo has been part of the competitive map pool since 2019, replacing Cache. Since then, the map has sparked considerable debate among players and viewers, and its possible exclusion could affect the strategic balance of many teams. The situation with Vertigo highlights how crucial it is for the community to maintain a balance between innovations and the playability of competitive maps.
