A Long Pop Flash from Playground

Steps

1. From Playground, position yourself at the entrance to the corridor that leads toward A Long. Stand against the left wall with your shoulder touching it, a few steps back from the corner.
2. Look toward the corridor opening at roughly head height. You want to aim at the upper edge of the corridor exit - the point where the wall ends and A Long opens up ahead.
3. Place your crosshair on the top-right corner of the corridor opening, right where the wall meets the ceiling at the exit point. This spot ensures the flash pops right as it clears the wall.
4. Start running forward toward A Long and right-click throw (underhand) the flashbang as you approach the corner. The underhand toss sends it low and fast, causing it to pop almost instantly after clearing the wall.
5. The flash pops at head height right at the A Long entrance, blinding any CT looking toward Playground from their Long position. Immediately swing wide around the corner as the flash detonates.

Tips

• The key to this flash is timing the release with your movement. Throw too early and the flash pops before you are ready to swing. Throw too late and the CT has time to turn away.
• This is a pop flash, meaning CTs have almost zero reaction time to look away. The underhand throw keeps it low so it does not arc high and give the enemy a visible warning.
• Have your entry fragger follow right behind you. The person throwing the flash should be the second one out - let your teammate swing the corner while the flash is still active.
• Practice offline with these commands: sv_cheats 1; sv_infinite_ammo 1; sv_grenade_trajectory 1; sv_grenade_trajectory_time 10; mp_roundtime_defuse 60
• If the flash pops too far inside the corridor (blinding your own team), you threw it too early. Wait until you are nearly at the corner before releasing.
• Pair this with a teammate throwing the Connector smoke from A Long at the same time. You flash and entry while they cut off Connector, creating a safe 2v1 situation on the Long player.

When to Use

This pop flash is an aggressive entry tool for T-side A takes. Use it when:

• Entering A Long as the opening move of an A site execute - the flash guarantees your entry fragger gets a favorable duel
• Breaking through a stalemate when a CT is holding a passive angle on A Long and your team cannot push without getting picked
• Fast A rushes where speed is everything and you need to overwhelm the A Long defender before they can call for rotations
• Eco and force-buy rounds where your team is rushing with weaker weapons and needs every advantage to close the distance
• Retake situations on T-side post-plant where CTs might be pushing from Long and you need to re-peek with a flash advantage