Molotov is one of the grenades in the terrorists' arsenal in CS2. When thrown, it shatters and ignites a section of the map, creating a wall or patch of fire that lingers for a few seconds and damages anyone who walks into it or stays nearby. Counter-terrorists have an equivalent with the same effect — the incendiary grenade — but in casual conversation it's usually also called a "molotov" or simply "fire," without distinguishing between the teams.
The name comes from real history: the Molotov cocktail is a homemade incendiary weapon, a bottle filled with a flammable mixture, named after a Soviet politician. In games, the word stuck as a general term for any incendiary grenade, and from CS it spread into esports slang as a whole.
How the molotov is used
The grenade is used not just for direct damage, but also for space control:
- Smoking out corners — if an opponent is holed up in a tight spot or behind cover, a molotov forces them to move out into the open.
- Blocking chokepoints — fire denies a spot for a short time while the team executes an action, such as planting the bomb.
- Burning smokes — a molotov thrown into a smoke grenade's cloud destroys it, opening up visibility through the area.
- Damage on stacks — if several players are grouped together, a single well-placed throw can damage the whole group at once.
Throwing a molotov requires calculation: the burn spot can't be changed after the throw, and its duration is limited, so it's important to throw it exactly when the enemy is there or about to appear. Memorizing throw lineups is a separate part of team preparation, on par with smoke and flash setups.
In casual speech, the word is also used as a verb — "molly the corner," "throw down a molly" — emphasizing that the grenade isn't just thrown randomly but used deliberately as part of the round's tactics.