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Technical Competitive Infrastructure

Establishing a dedicated “War” server is the fundamental requirement for hosting professional 5v5 scrims and organized tournament matches in Counter-Strike: Source (CSS). By using a specialized competitive configuration, you ensure that every match adheres to official league standards - encompassing specific round timers, starting economies, and strategic freeze-times. The FREAKHOSTING high-performance network provides the low-latency technical foundation required for high-stakes tactical play.

Difficulty

Beginner

Time

5 Minutes

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Technical Security: RCON Authorization

To manage your matches effectively, you must establish an administrative bridge using the Remote Console (RCON) protocol.
1

Access the Config Directory

Log in to the Game Panel and navigate to the Files tab.
2

Locate server.cfg

Open the file situated at /cstrike/cfg/server.cfg.
3

Define Security Key

Input a strong password using the following syntax: rcon_password "YourSecretTeamKey2026"

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Architecting the Scrim Registry (war.cfg)

To automate the application of tournament rules, we recommend creating a dedicated execution script.
1

Initialize the Registry

Create a new file named precisely war.cfg within your /cstrike/cfg/ directory.
2

Define Tournament Variables

Copy and paste the following industry-standard parameters into the file:
mp_maxrounds 30           // Full match length (15 rounds per side)
mp_freezetime 15          // Strategic buy and planning phase
mp_startmoney 800         // Standard starting funds
mp_roundtime 1.75         // Tournament standard duration
mp_friendlyfire 1         // Enables team damage for realism
mp_buytime 0.25           // Restricts buying to the start of the round
mp_forcechasecam 1        // Restricts spectator view to teammates only

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Match Initialization Workflow

Once your participants have successfully connected to the lobby, use the following administrative protocol to begin the match.
Open your in-game developer console (~) and execute the following logic: rcon exec war

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Need Extra Help?

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Last Updated: January 2026 | CSS: Competitive logic active.