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Top flashes: the flashbangs that actually blind you

Prefire ranks your CS2 opponent's flashbang lineups by how many enemies they blinded, and replays how each one is thrown, keys included.

· 2 min read · The Prefire team

Prefire's Top flashes view: apEX's three most effective flashbang lineups on Inferno, with his most used flash bursting over the map
apEX's most used flash on Inferno: 6 throws, 13 enemies blinded, 48.6 seconds of blind time. From the public demo of Vitality vs FURIA; the players have no connection to Prefire.

Most players have two or three flashes they throw every half. If you know which one is coming, you turn away. If you don't, you're the one getting blinded.

What it shows

Prefire reads your opponent's last match on the map you're about to play and collects every flashbang they threw. Throws from the same spot that burst in the same place become one lineup.

Then it ranks those lineups by what they actually did: how many enemies they blinded, for how long, and how many kills came from it. Teammates they flashed count against a lineup. Blinds shorter than a second don't count at all, because you can turn away from those.

You get their top three. The lineup they throw most is marked too, even when it isn't one of the best. That's the flash you're most likely to see.

See how it's thrown

Pick a lineup and Prefire replays the throw: from the moment they pulled the flash out to the moment it left their hand.

The path shows whether they were running, walking, crouching or in the air. Below it, the keys light up as they were pressed: W, A, S, D, Shift, Ctrl, Space, and left or right click. Their speed is shown too. A running jump-throw and a crouched right-click lob look nothing alike, and now you can tell which one it is.

mezii's running jump-throw: W and Space held, 216 units per second, in the air as the flash leaves his hand
mezii's running jump-throw, frozen just after the release: W and Space held, 216 u/s, in the air.

How to get the most out of it

  • Most used vs most effective. The most used flash is what you'll see first. The most effective one is what gets you killed. Know both.
  • Listen for the throw. A jump-throw from the same corner every round has a sound. Once you've seen the replay, that sound is your cue to turn.
  • Practise it yourself. Every lineup has a setpos you can copy into an empty server. Throw it a few times and you'll learn exactly where it pops.
  • Mind the sample. It's one match, and the count of throws is always shown. Six throws of the same flash is a habit; one throw is a hint.