The Most Important Round in Esports...

[@RaventhortheWarrior]

"Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong" - Murphy's Law "The simple answer is usually the correct one" - slant of Occam's Razor "...you must start each half, with a pistol round" - S1mple's Certainty Principle

[@makot0]

"You not buy awp you no good" -kennyS deduction of weapon law

[@endvine9951]

“deagle shots will be missed” - Niko’s law of aim

[@Strgazer]

"Awp is flash" - S1mple's dust2 uncertainty principle

[@tr1gger810]

"if a game has custom maps, then there IS a dust2" WarOwl's third law of counter strike

[@killjoyer]

@@DarkDragonSlayer “we have money, we go all AWP” - ZF clan

[@WhoAreYouAndWhoAmMe]

Valorant Eco sometimes is just agents going "WAtcH tHis" or "yOu WanNA PlaY lEtS pLAY"

[@artshop8732]

YOUR DUTY IS NOT OVER

[@wdymgaming]

REVEALING AREA to see who tf asked

[@aidxchaoo]

PREPARE FOR HELLFIRE

[@winterz1290]

you forgot the Darth Sidious lightning hands. oY, iM pIsSeD

[@airellevan9684]

I AM THE HUNTER

[@hemmoau]

Pistol rounds tend to be more aim based, while the rest of the game is more heavily impacted by utility

[@yeon723]

not if i buy nade at the start

[@aidxchaoo]

@@yeon723 boom

[@velocitygaming7037]

@@yeon723 even better buying a decoy for no reason

[@GoldenRice01]

@@velocitygaming7037 You menace to society

[@derpie]

hahaha classic alt fire go brrrrrrrr

[@lotrdude13]

I can never get over Snax's reaction to that insane clutch - he's straight faced, gives high fives to his teammates and doesn't look fazed while the rest of his team are bewildered - it's awesome haha

[@enterderpmode3934]

And the commentary call was perfect as well!

[@girldm]

ty for watching my stream mr zoltan

[@TheOnlyZoltan]

Big fan >.< Thanks for watching our video.

[@jimgu2578]

That was such a pleasant surprise!

[@brandee8828]

Pistol is definitely more important in cs , lose pistol round BUY ARES - valorant

[@Fishy-gc2yy]

It has a lot more impact in Valo tho, cause the 1-2 rounds you win just after mean more in Valo than in cs

[@Burpingtogheter]

Never played val?

[@novato5106]

@@Fishy-gc2yy There is no clear answer really. 2 sides to this thing: In Valorant the rounds after pistol matter ALOT more, but you also can force way stronger in valorant than CS:GO, resulting in more round 2 force wins. In CS:GO the ct economy can easily recover after 1 eco after a force, but the force buy is way weaker, resulting in less wins.

[@KirboPoyo]

losing pistol doesnt matter anymore since everybody will just go ares next round lmao

[@tawzeeh]

@@KirboPoyo lmao fr. they need to make it cost more again

[@xforce6213]

Colten's Ina in the background is always a sight to behold xD

[@theScore_Colten]

Right!? I actually love this poster so much.

[@gothicaapricot5730]

also girl dm playing on the computer?? HELL YE

[@polkafucker]

@@theScore_Colten chad

[@anarchistburrito7109]

The only thing that data tells me is that it is a predictor, especialy for valve's stats. If i am a better gunner, the higher chance is that i win the pistol round, and if im a better gunner, the higher chance is that i win the game. Of course, its true that it has an impact, but id argue it is less important due to the fact that a better team should win the pistol, and the better team should win the match

[@GuilherMCosta]

Yeees! I mean, there's this "correlation" vs "causation" mess here

[@fica1137]

Better team =/= Better at pistol round

[@growarmygtvo8463]

@@fica1137 Yes but the team with the better players will usually win in both pro and casual play

[@olopaxx]

@@fica1137 Yes but better team => more likely to win in pistol

[@royaleagle04]

Also the stat about force rounds conversion... The conversion rate might only be so high BECAUSE so little pro's force. IE they only force when they have a strategy in mind, or something they know they can exploit. This is purely speculative, but something to keep in mind. Those numbers don't mean shit without the context

[@AzureDrive]

I got immediately distracted by Colton's villain mustache, and then his Ina poster. And then the girl_dm video playing. I had to rewatch the segment lmfao

[@TheOnlyZoltan]

I apologize for my distracting culture.

[@Biditchoun]

It's indeed E minor, but you can know that with the previous shots on kills, the notes you hear then are E F# G A, which are all part of either G major, D major, B minor or E minor, but the whole thing turns around the E, so E minor is correct. The end of round chords are just a minor chord on e repeated (and reversed once).

[@njc119]

Music thoery 101

[@Camus2301]

Honestly the pistols are the rounds which initiate a lot of comebacks in valorant,especially if it's a 4-8 half.

[@onion7484]

Well you would want to stay with 3 wins at the first half because it's an instant comeback

[@63inches9]

its almost impossible to clutch if you lose the pistol

[@afrobrur2065]

Too bad valorant is a bad game then

[@rrrrre2905]

@@afrobrur2065 at least i dont have to use a third party app for match making

[@afrobrur2065]

@@rrrrre2905 neither do I...

[@qoque2737]

It can't be just me that just loves pistol rounds, it's neat, fast and simple, you don't have to worry peeking mirage window without getting awped, I just love pistols all together.

[@jakegroot0906]

The fact the video editor had an ina flag/poster in the background makes me respect him so much more

[@svenzerx8490]

Let's not forget the 11-4 scorline pistol round importance. Basically winning the pistol and the following round when you're 11-4 down is almost a guaranteed comeback

[@TheEventForumZ]

Also, they forgot to mention that back in 2016 CS, the pistol round was way more important because of how punishing the economy system was. Before 2018, if you lose the pistol round, you get the base 1.4k loss reward instead of the current 1.9k. Before 2019, winning a round resets the loss bonus (a.k.a money fucked) so you can go 1-6/7 after losing pistol, winning round 3/4 and losing the one after that.

[@akurbyburby]

Zonic

[@slickrhoads3523]

I honestly think that the fact that 90% of teams tend to save in valorant might contribute to the average of less rounds, because the people who force buy are very confident, and they may be forcing in games where they are not afraid of losing, or are very confident that they are gonna win the game anyway so they don't mind forcing.

[@christianregala5393]

I freaking love that Vsauce self-questioning reference

[@tejass1155]

what a wonderfully written video! well done devin, dimitri, and colten (and of course everyone else involved)

[@c4catz861]

I think you also have to consider that teams that win both pistol rounds, maybe they are just better teams overall. Therefore, most likely winning pistol rounds and most likely taking the series as well. The calculation should also consider the strength difference between the team to truly understand the importance of pistol rounds.

[@victordubreuil9602]

thats what i thought as well. correlation =/= causality

[@athieshgaming2659]

My thought as well. Teams that are better are more likely to win both pistol rounds and the match is a perfectly reasonable conclusion to draw.

[@minutenreis]

it also just gives you an advantage of 2 rounds in your calculation, meaning if you win both pistol rounds you are more likely to win it all anyways

[@Hatovix]

"Or do they ? (Intense music) Vsauce, Michael here."

[@crimbolio]

Im now realizing that Colten has an Ina poster in the background, a man of culture

[@TheOnlyZoltan]

Wah.

[@kingfred4620]

The one thing I think you forgot to mention in Valorant is the ultimate economy. And that a good pistol and anti eco can help you start snowballing the match if you get important ults online for the bonus or first full buy round. Something which is a lot harder If you loose the pistol

[@arnavpiscesxtream]

i really love your cracked series, good intelligent insights all over

[@bukkittom]

I truly appreciate that ninomae inanis poster in the background

[@theScore_Colten]

And I truly appreciate your comment :D

[@tomgibbs4552]

Damn Coltens moustache is on point

[@TheOnlyZoltan]

Thanks. I try my best!

[@NocturnalPyro]

Honestly most of my best rounds are in the pistol rounds, I often get 2 or 3 kills, only to lose the round cause my team fights the last 2 people 1v1 instead of refragging each other even though it's a 2v4...

[@atharvtyagi3435]

Well was for this a cracked episode was needed I mean I thought cracked was about tech mainy?

[@NocturnalPyro]

@@atharvtyagi3435 what?

[@chaoticswordz]

@@NocturnalPyro here’s a translation of what he said: “well, was a cracked episode for this really needed? i though cracked was about tech mainly”

[@NocturnalPyro]

@@chaoticswordz ah

[@nilanavesa]

@@chaoticswordz u can speak "rip english" huh

[@humdrum5408]

"It's very good for popping melons, and makes a gush noise when it does" maybe it's just my mind that's dirty...

[@HadeSyh]

Are we not gonna talk about the Ina poster behind Colten?

[@abzalya9820]

I know this video is all about cs and valorant but god damn give colten some credit for that Ina poster

[@TheOnlyZoltan]

Just doing my part to keep this channel cultured.

[@lotrdude13]

Colton, I love the fact you brought up that E minor scale bit, I've said the same thing to my friends who play Valorant but who couldn't care less about music theory haha

[@TheOnlyZoltan]

I love the IDEA of music theory but never put the time in to learn. Had to throw one out there for the music homies.

[@rick0994]

16:45 could be E Minor but could also be G major. More than likely it is E minor though since it starts at E treating it like the root note.

[@saiyanshh]

I was thinking the same thing

[@DisSabot]

I feel like it's D major's re mi fa and so though

[@rick0994]

@@DisSabot notes are definitely in that scale but its just not common to NOT use the root note especially in a small phrase like this one

[@TheOnlyZoltan]

This was my thought exactly. Especially that last note, the underlying sounds build more of a minor chord tension (but I'm not good enough to pick out the actual notes).

[@socringe2217]

Hello fellow music theory enthusiasts

[@Clarkbardoone]

How come their pistols are always rifles and mine are always glorified t-shirt cannons

[@Kangaroo693]

Because they use "The Gear"

[@chesternutz8682]

@@Kangaroo693 nobody is going to get that reference sadly

[@ububugagaga]

@@chesternutz8682 ur talkin about dan m right? :D

[@ububugagaga]

@@Kangaroo693 crisp clean lock bois

[@Clarkbardoone]

@@chesternutz8682 I got the reference, it’s this nerd who said that pros were cheating, he called it “the gear” and would say shit like “crisp clean lock bois”

[@AdamODell]

Music Theory Homie: Yeah, e minor scale for sure. The ACE sound cadences on E with G in the melody. Probably gonna make a video about it eventually.

[@metalsnake27]

Ah, I see Colten is a fellow Tako.

[@jmc2830]

11:11 i really hope that mustache was the result of a lost bet, otherwise... mornin' capt'n hook! didn't mean to disparage your hero Dustin Hoffman xD

[@theconduit21]

Zoltan: *Brings out the numbers about winning/losing pistol rounds in terms of economy.* Me, focusing on the background: Wait, is that girl_dm in the background monitor?

[@TheOnlyZoltan]

Glad you caught the important part ;)

[@theconduit21]

@@TheOnlyZoltan you sure do have the taste 👌

[@saltyduckie]

“you’re gonna be restricted to buying hand guns for at least 2 rounds” instalock reyna buying phantom round 2:

[@GameWorldRS]

I think the only problem with these statistics is that a team that wins 2/2 pistol rounds is also likely to be the better team in general, so they are likely to win the match. The question is if it's just causation, or also a bit of correlation

[@dancortes2164]

Thx for adding that economy in shambles meme. Now I have to clean all the coffee I spit in my monitor

[@akalawada]

The Vsauce sound effect at 1:08 was hilarious

[@dhobiejr9078]

That Vsauce bit was hilarious

[@CrazedGin]

Dimitri: And the CT's start with the USP. P2k: Am I a joke to you?

[@itzretailiator4569]

I forgot that gun exists

[@jdmendieta7259]

I almost shat myself after i just did a 1v4 clutch on competitive Mirage with only a USP-S. The bomb was bout to explode but i had enough time to defuse it, without a kit. It was 8:9 and we were about to lose, and also won the next rounds and won the game. My teammates was shocked after that round. After the game, they sent me some skins: a MW AK slate, FT Glock Bullet Queen, and a FT M4 Buzz Kill as gifts. We became friends too :). Yes, this is a real story and i just wasted my time writing this

[@jdmendieta7259]

Side note: One of them gave me a StatTrak MW USP-S Black Lotus, and yes this is also real

[@mikethefunnyguy]

I usually get a quiet "Nice" after clutching a pistol :(

[@jdmendieta7259]

@@mikethefunnyguy i feel you, so imma give you one nice Noice

[@firefruitt]

@@jdmendieta7259 why do you keep mentioning that it’s real..🤨

[@aidxchaoo]

catgirl below ina sasuga colton, never disappoints how do u maintain your mustache btw, i wanna know how 😂

[@TheOnlyZoltan]

I keep the culture going around here. Thanks :D Honestly pretty straightforward. Just trim it fairly often and don't put much in the way of product in it.

[@aidxchaoo]

@@TheOnlyZoltan yo thanks for the tip man I'm sorry I misspelled your name on the comment doe haha

[@TheOnlyZoltan]

@@aidxchaoo all good. Happens all the time.

[@kabirjain9831]

1:20 TiziaN overpass shot is the most insane pistol shot ever

[@carloscorreia9648]

Hitting headshots in valorant sounds like a fight with a minecraft iron golem

[@ameame32]

Came for Dmitri and Colten Stayed for Colten's PC viewing vtuber streams in the background

[@TheOnlyZoltan]

We stay cultured here on Cracked >.

[@raynesylvania8541]

Respect to the guy with the Tako priestess poster.

[@TheOnlyZoltan]

Thanks homie 🤙

[@TheLoneGamerAce]

I think it's safe to say that we need to rename Colton's segment to "The guy with the magnificent mustache"

[@TheOnlyZoltan]

Something like this was definitely tossed around in meetings, haha.

[@TheLoneGamerAce]

@@TheOnlyZoltan Hey Colton! Love your insights in these kinds of videos :D

[@iuxanu]

I don't regret switchihg from cs to valorant but what i really miss are the cs pistol rounds, the weapon diversity and the CT or T weapon differences. Hitting a run and gun glock one tap or a usp onetap is one of the best thing to ever experience. I also hope valorant will add new guns sometime. The team differnce has no real place in valorant but i still miss it.

[@note5068]

_"why does every piece of trash is on the same team"_ -yuro

[@PillsNotHere]

Why does colten look likes a neighbor that hides something sinister in his basement with a steel door

[@jeypi__]

As WarOwl said, sometimes your strats and utilities wouldn’t matter if the enemy team aims significantly better than you where in they could run and gun and get away with it most of the time. That is why the team that wins both pistol rounds get a higher chance at winning.

[@thepreposterousnobody1503]

I just love seeing the guy with a ina poster... Nice to see a fellow takodachi... He is right?

[@TheOnlyZoltan]

Wah.

[@thepreposterousnobody1503]

@@TheOnlyZoltan wah

[@chrisliao8300]

This is also a theory that I got from watching pro match and playing fps (mainly val and cs). After winning a pistol round, the team who wins have this "momentum" that gives them more confident. That is why (most of the time) they like to go aggressive on the second round since they know they have the better guns and utilities. However, there is also times where they mess up in the second round(getting ecoed by the other team due to being way to confident). But in general winning a pistol round gives you two thing: money in the bank and confidence.

[@meru8348]

Economy doesn’t matter in Valorant anymore just buy an Ares win or lose.

[@thatkalmboi]

I fckin hate the ares meta rn

[@frostyiv1509]

That moment when an lmg cheaper than an smg

[@ububububububububub1667]

colton's moustache looks very nice

[@TheOnlyZoltan]

Thanks :D

[@yariza1483]

1:05 was my fav moment of the video That reference really got me

[@jordanallred123]

yo that vsauce cut lol

[@carlsong6438]

In order to do a proper statistical analysis, you cant just take win rate when winning both pistol rounds... you have to compare that to win rate when two randomly selected rounds are won

[@jpgdesign]

Sounds like survivorship bias. They didn't take the winning rate of all conditions, instead they just took the winning rate of the survivors (winning 2 pistol rounds)

[@TheRealAstro_]

Yeah this also bugged me for the Valorant section. Since it requires you less rounds to win a Valorant game compared to CS:GO, winning both pistol rounds means you win a larger portion of the match, which directly translates to the increase in % winrate.

[@carlsong6438]

@Shuaces it's not survivorship bias imo. Pustol rounds wouldnt count as "survivors" under the operational defionition. It's more basic than that. If you claim statistical significance of pistol rounds relative to any given round, you actually have to measure the impact of any given round. (In this case two random rounds won vs two pistol rounds won)

[@carlsong6438]

@@TheRealAstro_ this is true, but they did include a discussion of this very point, so I'm less concerned about that

[@sebastiaankruis3006]

Exactly, wanted to comment just this. I was quite disappointed that the comparison to two randomly selected rounds wasn't included, because this is the only useful metric.

[@jordansmith2647]

You can see how much wasd dimitris' fingers have hammered out. Also id love to see knife round statistics

[@gilbertquinzon7887]

Im glad your back bro and not that stoned guy yesterday

[@v1rus136]

Pistol round can also switch your mind to flow state (if you can’t turn on your flow state by your control)

[@forsakenturin]

HES BACK DIMITRI

[@viditsirohi]

that Vsauce refrence had me 💀

[@akikleist]

I feel the same about wanting a Glock over Deagle in times like that, Dimitri

[@f1awsy]

1st pistol round win gets you util + maybe new gun. 2nd pistol round win destroys the enemy teams morale leading to your inevitable win.

[@chaosblewup]

This is why i think pistil rounds make a big impact bcs of - 1) it decideswho has a better econymy 2) If you have a bad econmy no good gun bcs no utility = Relying a lot on mechanical skill which most ppl dont have a lot But buying utilities and a bad gun is if your playing in a higher elo then ppl will know how to play around your utility and bcs you have a bad gun have a higher chance of getting killed which will lead to more economic loss

[@loverofstars5676]

bro colten i love the ina in the backgroud

[@TheOnlyZoltan]

Same... same. :D

[@theamazingeevee2045]

It's interesting to see Girl_DM in the background of Colten's segment

[@Hsecrpntr]

He is a true mam of culture with girl_DM and Ina in the background

[@Hsecrpntr]

I mean man of culture

[@DavSannnn]

9:52 Does someone knows where the image at the background of Colten setup comes from?

[@TheOnlyZoltan]

The VTuber? That's girl_dm.

[@TheOnlyZoltan]

If you're talking about the poster, I got it from a booth at FanExpo.

[@DavSannnn]

@@TheOnlyZoltan yeah, the girl with glasses

[@razgrizsol13]

Great info and great video guys!

[@wafzaf]

Honestly, from my POV, more so than the economy, its the psych that comes into play. He-hear me out (from valorant POV) You're up pistol round 1-0. Enemy is either force buying (quite rare, but does happen, but if its 0-0 most wont force buy on the first pistol round loss), or they have a mix of full saves/sheriff for duelists to close out with frags/some chance of a comeback. Either way, you know you have better guns going into it, and hence have a high chance of coming out with the win. You start to feel more laidback and this psychology of being more laidback and relaxed is actually proven to give you a performance boost (in sports/esports/studies etc). As long as you dont do stupid shit like being overly aggro/peaking wide angles which arent tradable for no good reason, 9/10 times you win the round and go up 2-0. Now theres a high chance the enemy is buying, and its your bonus round. So its really a round where you aim to take guns off their hands, where even if you dont, all good as it becomes 2-1 where you come into your first buy round. The costs of losing guns of the enemy team is loads higher than you losing your bonus round, so it starts to get to them when there is so much to lose. They've just loss 0-2 and imaging losing 0-3, the damage is going to be wayy too much. They're gonna be sweating their balls, and losing 2 rounds previously isnt exactly good for morale for starting the 3rd round. Sometimes mistakes happen and you're up 3-0, they're either forcing (not a good move tbh) or saving again. And this momentum is likely to carry on until later parts of the first half. Its the momentum which affects human psych = affects gameplay. Just my 2 cents tho xd.

[@Murphmonster69]

In CS you have more rounds to throw away so it doesn’t feel as demoralizing taking a full save. Especially when the USP is so strong.

[@matiasbriceno6031]

I rly think you guys needs to give ethos a contract at this point....

[@ochinchin1180]

Lmao that Vsauce music caught me off guard

[@WintermintP]

Ayo when's the fight stick episode?!

[@zerarose]

i see colten is a fellow wah enjoyer

[@TheOnlyZoltan]

Truly a blessed tako.

[@zerarose]

@@TheOnlyZoltan takodachi are everywhere

[@Mask60YT]

that deagle buy got its money worth lol, but i hate it when bad moves by your opponents make you mess up because you werent expecting them to fuck up in such a noob way

[@xraiya9991]

The Vsauce transition XDDDDDDD

[@xotoxx7746]

Me (a chamber main): "tf is an eco round?" *ults*

[@DrSharknome]

Really enjoyed this video. I feel like CSGO and Valorant have a good grasp on pistol rounds and I‘be enjoyed both.

[@prashantsubedi8979]

1:05 Ayo VSAUCE

[@lakshyabamne]

I understood the little Vsauce reference XD

[@freeline4468]

Anyone notice the inna on the background

[@lorenhikaru]

the bloopers make these videos great

[@jym2r]

editor's mustache on point

[@TheOnlyZoltan]

Why thank you!!

[@haventdecidedyetforreal7954]

man i love these cracked vid's

[@ruskinwadia]

1:05 That Vsauce reference xD

[@kennynz3566]

We always force 2nd round if we get the plant but lose. The extra 300 in val spike plant or 400 in cs bomb plant allows for a decent half armor spectre or full armor mac10 rush.

[@understarrynight1991]

A good mustas and Ina poster I believe that guy 100%.

[@theScore_Colten]

What else could anyone need? >.

[@timothylalsiamlena7059]

"Or do they?" Vsauce nostalgia hits

[@dwin5143]

Valorants economy: exists The ares meta: I’m gonna pretend I didn’t see that.

[@zwingler]

If you already win both pistol rounds you tend to just generally be better than your opponent by default so the comparision is just so skewed towards them.

[@LocksleyNg]

OMG! Dimitri is back! I thought you left when the last few videos did not have you.

[@va1na14]

A point I think important in valorant Is that if u lose ur 2nd round,u get more money,so u can kinda make ur loses by saving round 3

[@3nd1ess77]

Going on to Noteflight, a program to make sheet music, I found that E minor was the way to go for specifically Sovereign. For Prime, it sounds like a D Minor, just a scale down. Interesting that i haven't noticed it until now, but I can never listen to both side by side ever again without my head exploding.

[@bert6576]

"the s1mple answer is usually the best one"

[@SyKeusX]

THAT VSAUCE REFERENCE

[@chorpsockdareal1]

I really thought you were gonna go Vsauce mode right there lol

[@angelbertdelfin5658]

Players who knew this information and still buy deagle and sheriff after winning a pistol round because they like tapping heads or they just want to save for $ for rifle in 3rd is a god...