A competitive cooldown stops you from queuing for a while after you break matchmaking rules. Most are short, but they escalate fast if you keep collecting them. Here is what causes them and how to stay clear.
What gets you a cooldown
- Abandoning a match: leaving, disconnecting for too long, or getting kicked by your team.
- Team damage: dealing too much damage to teammates, or killing them, especially early in a round.
- Not accepting a match you queued for. This usually gives only a short cooldown.
- Being kicked by vote repeatedly can also count against you.
How long cooldowns last
Cooldowns escalate. A first offence is short, often around 30 minutes. If you get more within a short period, the next ones grow, typically to 2 hours, then 24 hours, then 7 days. Staying clean for a while lets the escalation wind back down. The exact timings are Valve's and can change, but the pattern is always the same: repeat offences cost much more than the first.
Green cooldowns
Some cooldowns are shown in green and carry no penalty. You get these when a match ends early for reasons that are not your fault, for example because another player abandoned or a server problem ended the game. They only stop you queuing for a few minutes and do not count towards the escalation.
Cooldowns and Trust Factor
Frequent cooldowns are exactly the kind of behaviour Valve's matchmaking notices. Abandoning matches and griefing teammates are likely to hurt your Trust Factor, which can put you in lobbies with more smurfs and cheaters. See CS2 Trust Factor explained.
How to avoid them
- Only queue when you have time for a full match.
- If your connection drops, reconnect straight away: you usually have a few minutes.
- Turn off friendly-fire-heavy habits like spamming molotovs into your own team's path.
- Don't vote-kick or get vote-kicked over arguments; mute instead.
Got matched with someone who ruined the game on purpose, or who you think was cheating? Check them with the CS2 match checker using the match share code.