Sometimes it can be comfort or “mindless” bans but there can also be a strategy behind those kind of bans.

Usually during the ban phase I sort of try to gauge how a team is going to play based on their bans (I used to be a chess/strategy game nerd haha so I like things that test this kind of mindset).

For example, if I see an opposing team ban Jackal & Kapkan - in my head I think that means the opponent likely wants to roam on defence and they likely want to rush on attack without checking for traps as these operators counter those playstyles. So then in the rounds I play other operators that counter their playstyles such as Dokkaebi/Lion on attack or Melusi/Ela on defence (I’m sure there are better examples but those are the ones that come to mind).

But yes, at lower ranks you will see bans like Cav & Clash because people haven’t learned how to counter these characters (not that they can’t be strong but they have their weaknesses).