Who the CS2 Teams Are
The rosters change too often for a written list to stay true. The live answer is on the lineups page. This page is about what to look for once you are there.
Where the teams live
Every team we cover is on the lineups page: the current five, each player's role, and a dated log of every change. That page is kept current because the model runs on it, so when a roster moves, it moves there first. A team described here in prose would be wrong within weeks. So this page does not describe teams. It tells you how to read one.
Team context changes how to read a player projection. A player on a 70 percent favorite against a weak opponent is in a fundamentally different situation from the same player in a dead-even series. Knowing the team is the layer underneath the numbers, and the numbers are on CARNAGE.
Deep or top-heavy
The most useful thing to know about a roster is how its kill volume is distributed. A top-heavy team runs most of its fragging through one player. When that player is having a good game, they can be the best pick on the slate. When they are not, the rest of the roster tends not to make up the difference.
A deep team distributes kill volume across three or four legitimate fraggers. In a close competitive series, those teams produce reliable total output even if no single player dominates. That structure affects how you build stacks, how you read a player's number relative to their teammates, and where you look for value in a given matchup.
CARNAGE shows this directly. Sort a team's five by rating and look at the gap between first and third. A wide gap is a top-heavy roster: the star's number is where the action is and the fourth and fifth players are under candidates. A narrow gap is a deep roster: the total is more predictable than any individual number, and the second and third players are often where the price is soft.
A star on a top-heavy team carries the team's result in their own number. Same star on a deep team, same rating, and the number can be quieter because the kills have four other places to go. Read the roster before you read the number.
What to check before a pick
Is the roster you have in mind the roster that is playing? Stand-ins and recent changes are on the lineups page with the date. The market does not always price a stand-in correctly, especially on short notice.
Who holds the AWP, who is calling, who goes in first. The same kill number means something different by role. The roles guide covers what each one does to a number.
Where each player sits on CARNAGE right now, not where the team sat at its last big result. A side that looked elite three weeks ago can be in real trouble today.
- Rosters live on the lineups page. Not here, not in your head. Check it before every pick.
- Top-heavy or deep decides the pick. Wide rating gap means the star's number. Narrow gap means the total, and softer prices underneath.
- Form beats reputation. CARNAGE is now. The ranking is then.
Team context is the layer under the numbers. The GOS tools are where it turns into picks: current rosters with roles, live prices as they move, player ratings and form, fair value against the market, and the shape behind every game on the slate.