From basketball to baseball to esports, losing streaks are a reality in any competitive game. Victory depends upon a number of factors ranging anywhere from team contribution to just plain luck. As such, it is not uncommon to find yourself ripping out your hair and uninstalling the game because you just can’t stop losing. Don’t fret. There are always things you can do to get out of that nasty slump and start winning games again.
What is a losing streak?
Everyone’s definition of a losing “streak” might be different, but I’d argue that losing three games in a row is fairly “safe” universal definition. Two lost games isn’t a streak, but once you’ve lost three games in a row, it often marks the beginning of a slippery slope.
I reached out some of my friends to see how they defined a losing streak. Noble Esports’s Head of Communications Nicholas “Karma” Primas-Hailey agrees that three losses start the streak. UK Omen Esports owner Steve “SteveO” Townsend is more optimistic than I and states that he needs to lose five to seven games before it’s truly a losing streak to him.
How do you stop a losing streak in CS:GO?
You don’t have to reinvent the wheel to fix your losing streak. In fact, there’s several ways that you can go about doing this. First things first: stop queuing for games until you’re confident in your abilities. One of the best ways to put a stop to your losing streak is taking a look at your demos and figuring out what went wrong. Maybe you peeked that corner on Dust 2’s A long too wide. Maybe you didn’t check your corners when going out of Apartments on Mirage. Maybe you went to the same place at the same time three rounds in a row and died every time. Maybe your eyes were bigger than your aim, and you went for a hero play in a crucial round.
If you feel like it’s your aim that’s causing your downfall, never fear. There are many ways to improve your aim. Check out my aim training guide, and if you’re still feeling rusty, make sure you get in the habit of practicing at the start of every session.
You might also feel like CS:GO is nothing but a pool of bad players and cheaters and you never want to see or hear of it again! In that case, you might simply need a break. When you’re on a losing streak, desperation often starts to kick in — you keep queuing for games, hoping you’ll get a shot at redemption in the next one. If you’re good at controlling your emotions, you might only need a five minute break after a game to come back refreshed. But if you’re fixated on your losing streak and can’t control your frustration, getting your mind off of CS:GO can work wonders. Take a break from CS:GO for a couple days or weeks and come back when your mindset is in a better place.
What else?
Losing streaks happen, and if you want to start winning again, it takes a bit of dedication, patience, and luck. We all have bad days. Don’t beat yourself up over it or obsess over the fact that you dropped a rank. Just take the time to improve and get back on the grind.