But why do this? The leading idea is accelerated reloading. After the shot, a long animation of the shell ejection from the AWP is triggered, so players reset it by switching to the knife and back. True, there is no difference in speed, this has already been tested many times.
But there is also a more logical reason. After the shot, the player is shown an animation of the cartridge case ejection, and then the sight is turned on again in full screen. Turning on the zoom is often unnecessary because the sniper needs to quickly change position or look around to understand where else there are opponents. Switching to a knife knocks down the animation; therefore, it will not be in aim mode after switching back to AWP.
After switching to the knife has complete freedom of action. He can strafe a little, get out of position, or shoot quickly. With a knife, the movement speed is 2.5 times faster than in aim mode, so you can run behind cover much faster.
After the shot, the player switches to the knife and assesses the situation. If there is no threat, then he quickly returns to the AWP. For Pros, this technique is auto option. It is fine for every AWPer to develop this pattern. It does not interfere in matches, but it will allow you to play much cooler with AWP over time.
Recall that map designer Roald van der Scheuer talked about the history of Anubis and the deal with Valve. In an interview with HLTV, the Dutchman admitted that the map was based on previous developments related to the multiplayer game Pirates, Vikings, & Knights 2.