Part 9
Attack
Taking space, gathering information, choosing the site, executing and defending the spike: the attacking round step by step.
On attack, time is against you: you have 100 seconds to plant, and the defense is waiting in prepared positions. The winner is the team that turns those seconds into information and space, and then into a committed execute at the right moment.
This part follows the attacking round through its seven steps: the space you get for free, the default as a question, the lurk, executes (slow, fast, split, pinch, fakes), switching sites, the post-plant and how to play a player up or down.
Chapters
The attacking round in seven steps
A good attacking round has a structure: take the free space, gather information, force the defense to show itself, decide where to hit, exploit the rotation, execute and defend the spike. You do not have to follow it every time, but you need to know it.
Map control and defaults: a question, not a move
A default asks the defense where it is, and map control gains space you can choose from. A default that asks no questions, or pays for the answers with a dead player, is just wasted time.
Lurking
A lurker plays away from the team to gather information, cut off rotations and hit from behind. It is extremely useful when its timing is tied to the team's; it is just one player fewer when it wanders the map on its own.
Executes, splits, pinches and fakes
The execute is the moment the attack goes into the site to plant. It can be slow or fast, from one entrance or several, real or fake. Each kind has its strengths, but they all ask the same thing: go in together, with utility, at the right moment.
Switching sites or committing
Sometimes the attack finds that the site it chose is well held and has to decide whether to switch. Switching costs time and a dangerous path; committing costs hard fights. And not having seen anyone is no reason to abandon the plan.
Post-plant
After the plant, the attack no longer has to get in: it has to stop the defuse. You play it with positions watching the spike from different angles, utility kept in reserve, and time: the defense has 45 seconds, and the defuse takes 7.
5v4 and 4v5 on attack
After the first death, the attack has to decide whether to speed up or wait. With the advantage, it often pays to hit before the defense reorganizes; at a disadvantage, slow down, group up and do not gift another fight.