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What happens when you abandon a CS2 Premier match?
Valve’s guidance is direct: “Choosing to abandon an incomplete Competitive match will result in a Competitive cooldown for your account.” Premier is not a way around that rule. Valve’s August 31, 2023 release notes also document a fix for an issue in which players who abandoned during Premier map voting received multiple cooldowns. That note confirms map-vote abandonment was covered by cooldown logic at the time; it is not a complete description of every current match state. Valve’s Competitive cooldown guidance · August 31, 2023 release notes.
Can a disconnect count as leaving?
Yes. Valve says a Competitive cooldown can apply if you cannot stay connected or reconnect in time. The stated causes include network problems, technical issues, or trouble with your local machine. A genuine connection failure therefore does not guarantee that you will avoid a cooldown.
How long is the cooldown?
Valve lists these durations for non-VACnet Competitive cooldowns. The level that applies depends on your account’s current cooldown level.
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| Cooldown level | Duration |
|---|---|
| Level 1 | 30 minutes |
| Level 2 | 2 hours |
| Level 3 | 24 hours |
| Level 4 | 1 week |
These are Valve’s published policy durations, not a prediction of which level an individual player will receive. Valve’s cooldown guidance explains the levels and progression.
Can cooldowns escalate, and how do levels go down?
Cooldown levels can escalate with repeated cooldowns. Valve says a level remains on the account for a one-week probationary period; one week of clean play reduces the level by one. Your history and current level therefore matter when a new cooldown is issued.
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Does leaving cost CS Rating?
Valve’s reviewed official materials do not give a universal numeric CS Rating deduction for voluntarily abandoning an in-progress Premier match. CS Rating is a visible measure of Counter-Strike performance used for regional and global leaderboards, but the official guidance does not establish a fixed point loss for this situation. Check the in-game result for the outcome of your specific match.
Do not confuse this with Valve’s October 10, 2023 note about kicked players: it says Valve corrected the maximum CS Rating penalty so that kicked players’ rating would instead be based on the match’s final outcome. That note does not specify the rating result for voluntarily leaving. October 10, 2023 release notes.
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Can Steam Support remove the cooldown?
No. Valve says Competitive cooldowns cannot be removed or reduced by Steam Support.
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