In the highly competitive realm of Counter-Strike 2, a new milestone was reached in the ESL Pro League Season 20, when M80 and Fnatic, two extremely tough teams, tested the limits of endurance in a battle that will go down in history. The game, which took place on the Anubis map, went on for an incredible 71 rounds, shattering the previous record for the longest map in CS2. In the end, M80 prevailed in this thrilling eight-overtime match to book their first-ever spot in the ESL Pro League playoffs. Fans and commentators alike have taken notice of this remarkable accomplishment since the sequence of events in the Counter-Strike esports arena is nothing short of historic.
In what has now become a legendary match in CS2, M80 and Fnatic squared off in a grueling battle on Anubis, one of the more complex and tactical maps in the current pool. As the dust settled, the match had gone 71 rounds, breaking the record of 64 rounds that Rhyno and Zero Tenacity had set at the Elisa Invitational Fall 2024 on Vertigo.
There were eight overtime periods in the game, and neither team gave up. After 2.5 hours of back-and-forth action, M80 was able to secure the victory, making it the longest map ever played on CS2, a record they won’t soon relinquish. The two teams’ intense rivalry was evident on the map, as they each strove to move up in the competition and maintain their positions.
The previous record for the longest CS2 map stood at 64 rounds, set just two weeks earlier by Rhyno and Zero Tenacity during an online Elisa Invitational Fall match on Vertigo. That match, while intense, paled in comparison to the marathon clash on Anubis between M80 and Fnatic. Prior to that, the longest match at a LAN event was 54 rounds, played between TYLOO and The MongolZ during the eXTREMESLAND 2023 tournament on Inferno.
The LAN environment adds spectacular significance to this recent accomplishment. Players and coaches are under additional strain when they perform in front of a live audience with high stakes. Online matches, on the other hand, frequently lack the same passion. This emphasizes how amazing M80’s victory is, since they were able to stay focused and perform when it counted most.
The bathroom break that was inserted at round sixty was one of the match’s more unusual parts. Breaks occur frequently in lengthier series, such best-of-fives (Bo5), but they are infrequent in between maps. The fact that both teams paused for a time before resuming their lengthy attack on Anubis contributed to the match’s intensity.
For Fnatic, the road ahead will be difficult, but their performance in this historic match proves they are still a force to be reckoned with. Both teams have shown that they have what it takes to compete at the highest level, and fans will undoubtedly be eager to see how they fare in the remainder of the tournament.
