Maps start a lot of arguments in Counter-Strike. The record is clearer than the arguments. Valve's Majors have used a specific pool of maps every time, and Wikipedia lists that pool for all 24 Majors from Jönköping 2013 to Cologne 2026.
The counts below are my own tally from that table. They count the Majors where each map was in the Active Duty pool, and I have left out the three upcoming Majors.
The Full Count
- Mirage: 24 of 24
- Inferno: 22
- Nuke: 21
- Dust II: 20
- Overpass: 20
- Train: 14
- Cache: 12
- Cobblestone: 10
- Ancient: 9
- Vertigo: 7
- Anubis: 5
Mirage is the only map that has never missed one. It was added to Active Duty on June 6, 2013, months before the first Valve Major, and has stayed in every pool since.
The Maps That Came Back
Dust II has the most dramatic route to its total of 20. Valve removed it from the pool in February 2017, brought it back in April 2018 in place of Cobblestone, removed it again in November 2022 in favor of Anubis, and returned it in April 2024, replacing Overpass. It missed four Majors in that time: Kraków 2017, Boston 2018, Paris 2023, and Copenhagen 2024.
Inferno left the pool in April 2016 for an update, which cost it Cologne 2016. It returned in February 2017, replacing Dust II, but it had also missed Atlanta 2017, because that Major came before the return. That makes two misses in total, and Inferno has been in every pool since Kraków 2017.
Nuke missed three Majors in a row: Cologne 2015, Cluj-Napoca 2015, and Columbus 2016. It came back in April 2016 after a revamp, and has been in every pool for 16 straight Majors since Cologne 2016.
The Core of the Modern Pool
One pattern stands out. Since Stockholm 2021, four maps have been in every Major pool: Mirage, Inferno, Nuke, and Ancient. That is nine Majors in a row. Ancient is the youngest of the group. Valve added it on May 3, 2021, and it has appeared at all nine Majors since.
The Short Stays
Several maps had brief runs. Anubis was added on November 18, 2022 and appeared at five Majors. It missed only Budapest 2025, where Overpass took its place. Vertigo was added on March 19, 2019 and played seven Majors, from Berlin 2019 to Shanghai 2024.
Cobblestone and Cache are older stories. Both joined the pool on July 1, 2014. Cobblestone appeared at ten Majors, from Cologne 2014 to Boston 2018, and Dust II replaced it in April 2018. Cache appeared at twelve, from Cologne 2014 to Katowice 2019. Valve pulled it for renovations before Berlin 2019, and it did not play another Major.
Overpass has the most in-and-out record among the long-serving maps. It played 18 straight Majors, missed Shanghai 2024 and Austin 2025, returned for Budapest 2025 and Cologne 2026, and left Active Duty again in July 2026.
Train, an original map, has the most scattered history. It missed a run of Majors from Cologne 2014 through Katowice 2015, then returned, then missed Stockholm 2021 through Shanghai 2024. Valve brought it back in January 2025 for Austin and Budapest, and replaced it with Anubis for Cologne 2026.
What Singapore May Bring Back
This is the part that looks forward. In early July 2026, Cache returned to Active Duty and replaced Overpass. Liquipedia's current list for the Majors map pool is Ancient, Anubis, Cache, Dust II, Inferno, Mirage, and Nuke.
If Valve keeps that pool for the PGL Major Singapore, which starts in late November, it would be Cache's first Major since Katowice 2019, a gap of more than seven years. It would also mean Overpass misses three of the last five Majors. Valve has not announced a separate pool for the event, so treat that as a likely outcome and not a confirmed one.
What the Numbers Suggest
This is interpretation, not a statement from Valve. Valve has usually swapped one map at a time. Mirage has sat outside every change, and Inferno and Nuke have been close behind. The maps at the edge, such as Overpass, Train, and Dust II, have moved in and out several times.
It is also worth remembering that the pool size changed. The first two Majors used five maps, and every Major since Cologne 2014 has used seven.
Keep Learning the Maps
Knowing the history of the pool makes every veto and every map pick easier to understand. The mini games on CS Guess test your knowledge of Counter-Strike, covering skins, cases, music kits, and the history behind this game, with free perks for playing well.
Head over to CS Guess and see how much of this game you know.
