2hours.gg offers 45 regions worldwide. Picking the right one matters more than people think, a 60ms difference in ping is the gap between feeling sharp and feeling like you're a step behind. Here is how to choose well, especially when your group is spread across multiple cities or countries.
Quick rule: lowest combined ping wins
If everyone is in the same metro, the closest region is obvious. If your group spans cities or countries, you want the region that minimizes the highest individual ping, because the worst-ping player feels every disadvantage. A region where everyone has 40ms beats a region where four players have 20ms and one has 120ms.
Use the group ping test
The group ping test is the right tool for spread-out groups. Share the link with your teammates; each opens it and the page measures their ping to every region. The page then shows the fairest region across all of you, the one that minimizes the worst single ping.
This is more accurate than guessing from geography. Internet routes aren't straight lines; a server in São Paulo can be closer to Lisbon (network-wise) than to some parts of Argentina. The ping test measures actual paths.
Regional clusters
- North America: Chicago, New York, Dallas, Atlanta, Miami, Seattle, Los Angeles, San Jose, Toronto, Mexico City. East coast is usually best for US-only groups; central (Chicago/Dallas) splits the difference for coast-to-coast.
- Europe: Frankfurt, Amsterdam, London, Paris, Madrid, Stockholm, Warsaw. Frankfurt is the default that everyone has decent ping to. Stockholm/Warsaw for Nordic/Eastern Europe.
- South America: São Paulo, Santiago, Buenos Aires. São Paulo serves most of Brazil; Santiago and Buenos Aires help west-coast/Cono Sur groups.
- Asia: Tokyo, Singapore, Seoul, Mumbai. Tokyo and Singapore are the regional anchors; Mumbai for South Asian groups.
- Middle East / Oceania: Tel Aviv, Dubai, Sydney. Tel Aviv and Dubai serve MENA; Sydney for ANZ players.
What "good" ping looks like
- Under 30ms: feels native, like you're on LAN.
- 30-60ms: fully playable competitively. The CS2 average.
- 60-100ms: noticeable but fine for casual play. Tight duels feel slightly off.
- Over 100ms: workable for fun but unfair for competitive 5v5. Look for a closer region.
Trans-continental groups
If your group spans (say) Brazil and Germany, there is no good answer, someone always loses ~150ms. The least-bad option is usually a server somewhere in the middle (Miami or Madrid). For these groups, take turns hosting from each end so the same player isn't always the high-ping one.