MIRAGE
The most iconic competitive map ever made.
A three-lane bomb defusal map set in a sun-bleached North African town. Mirage is the gold standard of CS map design — balanced, readable, and deeply tactical. Almost every pro has a 100+ game sample on it. The map plays around mid control: take Top Mid, force a Window/Connector duel, then choose A through Palace/Ramp or B through Apartments. Every callout has a smoke, flash and molotov associated with it that has been refined for over a decade.
Overhead callout map for Mirage. Click for fullscreen.
Originally created by Michael "BubkeZ" Hörnquist as de_cpl_strike for CS 1.6 in 2009, the map was rebuilt for Source and renamed de_mirage. Valve adopted it into Operation Phoenix in 2014, then into the Active Duty pool, where it has remained a tournament staple longer than any other map. The CS2 port in 2023 modernized the lighting and rebuilt the iconic minaret skybox with parallax-correct geometry. Despite dozens of small balance tweaks over the years (Connector boost removal, Ticket Booth visibility fix, B Apartments window adjustment), the core sightlines have stayed identical — which is exactly why pros love it.
- ›Mirage has been in the Active Duty pool continuously since 2013.
- ›The "Window" room overlooking mid is the single most fought-over piece of real estate in CS.
- ›CT spawn and T spawn are almost perfectly symmetric — a deliberate balance choice.
- ›The minaret on A site is purely cosmetic but the most photographed skybox in CS.
- ›The original name de_cpl_strike referenced the Cyberathlete Professional League — the first major CS tournament organizer.
- ›BubkeZ is Swedish, but he designed the map after a backpacking trip through Morocco.
- ›"Window" was nearly removed in a 2017 balance patch; pros revolted on Twitter and Valve reverted within 48 hours.
- ›Mirage has been played at every single CS Major since DreamHack Winter 2014 — no other map comes close.
- coldzera jumping AWP double (MLG Columbus 2016)Two mid-air AWP kills against Team Liquid on T side, peeking jungle while jumping. Voted "Play of the Year" by HLTV and replayed in every CS highlight video for the next decade.
- NiKo 1v5 ace vs Liquid (IEM Katowice 2019)Down 14-15 in regulation, NiKo defused under a 1v5 retake from B apartments with a Deagle headshot, USP frag through smoke, and three clutch reads on rotation timings. Sent FaZe to overtime and the GOAT debate exploded the next morning.
- device pistol round AWP triple (Astralis era)Six straight T-side pistol round wins on Mirage in 2018 powered by device picking up the AWP from a fallen teammate and triple-killing through Connector before the smoke landed.
- olofmeister A site retake (ESL One Cologne 2015)A 1v3 with a deagle and 30HP, defusing the bomb behind a one-way smoke he had set up six rounds earlier — the play that codified pre-aiming smoke gaps.
- s1mple no-scope on jungle (BLAST Pro Lisbon 2018)A 200 IQ AWP no-scope through a fading smoke on a stairs peek. Made TL;DR highlights for weeks.