Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike
Here’s why CSGO will get a new operation in 2023
William Davis
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive players are chomping at the bit for a new operation in 2023, and Valve will probably deliver. Here’s why. Operation Riptide, with all of its fancy agent skins and golden AK-47s, feels like it debuted ages ago despite its actual release date in November 2021. Many CSGO fans are starting to feel like a new operation is due, and the timeline for releases definitely supports that idea. …
Counter-Strike
Best CSGO pro crosshair codes for MM grind in 2023
Fariha Bhatti
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is unlike any other shooter game. You must have a crisp aim and a sharp brain to emerge as the winner — nothing else matters. For this reason, it’s essential to arm yourself with the best crosshair code. CSGO’s Official Matchmaking isn’t always a pleasant experience. Sweaty-ranked demons don’t make it easier to break into higher MMR. Besides dedication and resilience, you need a sleek crosshair to …
Counter-Strike
Valve has an idea for CSGO World Cup overtime similar to FIFA
Fariha Bhatti
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive developer, Valve, may not actively respond to player complaints, but it’s surely caught the fever of the FIFA World Cup, coming up with its own overtime concept for CSGO. CSGO players are vocal about their complaints and concerns regarding the game. Despite Valve’s lukewarm attitude towards the game, the players continue to voice their criticisms. Now, FIFA World Cup has done something that loud players couldn’t do …
Counter-Strike
Switched yet? M4A1-S popularity plummets after nerf
William Davis
CSGO weapon M4A1-S’ nerfs have now had time to settle, and the silenced rifle’s popularity has significantly dropped as a result. Scope.gg has released new stats showing the drop in usage rate for the M4A1-S following the most recent round of nerfs. It found that the M4A1-S has fallen out of favor on several maps while the usage share of the M4A4 has nearly doubled. While the silenced option still …
Counter-Strike
Most expensive AK-47 CSGO skin costs more than most houses
William Davis
The most expensive AK-47 skin in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive will sell for more than $400,000. Danish CSGO skin collector Luksusbums has listed the crown jewel of his collection up for auction starting at $400,000. As a perfect blue gem AK-47 | Case Hardened, the skin is likely the single most valuable gun skin in all of CSGO. The sale of the gun has not been confirmed, with the eventual price …
Counter-Strike
Three awesome CSGO Christmas gift ideas
William Davis
There are plenty of great Christmas gifts for the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive fans in your life. Christmas is a time of giving, and what better gift than something related to their favorite video game? CSGO is extremely popular, and all sorts of merchandise and collectibles are available online. If you’re shopping for a CSGO fan, here are three great gift ideas to inspire you. Paintings are a perfect way to …
Counter-Strike
Iconic map Dust 2 has officially been removed from CSGO
William Davis
On a dark day for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive grinders everywhere, Dust 2 has been removed from the active duty map pool. Valve has announced a new round of gameplay changes following the conclusion of the Rio Major. The most beloved map Dust 2 has been removed from the active duty pool and has been replaced with Anubis. The M4A1-S and AWP also both received substantial nerfs, which will have major …
Counter-Strike
WePlay Academy League Season 6 Playoffs schedule, format, and more
Fariha Bhatti
The final stage of WePlay Academy Season 6 is coming, and the new champion of the battle of the academies is about to be determined. Within Season 6, 14 teams participated in the competition for the prize pool of $100,000, but only four could reach the final Playoff stage, starting on November 18. The Season started with the Group Stage, where the teams, divided into two groups of seven teams …
The Rio Major platinum coin is one of CSGO’s rarest items
William Davis
Counter-Strike
The Rio Major platinum coin can’t be traded or listed on the Steam market, but if it could, it would fetch quite a hefty price. Platinum Major coins are the ultimate way to show off knowledge of the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive esports scene. To earn one, players must accurately predict the outcomes of all three stages of an official Valve-hosted major. They wax and wane in rarity from tournament to …
Outsiders won the easiest major in CSGO history at Rio
William Davis
Counter-Strike
Outsiders’ Rio Major trophy is well-deserved, but too many upsets produced the easiest major championship in the history of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. The Rio Major was a tournament of extremes. Only one South American team put up a deep run at the first-ever major in the continent. The most crowded matches provided the craziest atmosphere in all of CSGO while the non-Brazilian semifinal was a ghost town. And while there …
Outsiders sweeps Rio Major grand finals over Heroic
William Davis
Counter-Strike
After a dominant grand finals performance in the heart of Brazil, Outsiders has been declared the champion of the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Rio Major. The Rio Major marks the 18th CSGO major and the very first to take place in South America. Outsiders is the continent’s first champion, bulldozing through Fnatic, MOUZ, and Heroic to claim the Intel Extreme Masters trophy. It will take home $500,000 of the $1.25 million …
The best Pick’ems for the CSGO Rio Major playoffs
William Davis
Counter-Strike
The Rio Major playoffs will soon go live, and that means that Pick’ems are already open for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive players to guess. Only eight teams remain in the fight for 1.25 million dollars and the most prestigious title in CSGO esports. If you’ve been following WIN. gg’s predictions so far, you already have a silver coin and a free souvenir token to claim. The playoffs are the make-or-break point …
This CSGO player has the weirdest controls of all time
William Davis
Counter-Strike
Pro players controls are a common topic of discussion in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, but there’s one setup that new players should avoid entirely. Thanks to some esports’ decades of competitive history, players have picked up some pretty weird quirks. Whether it’s click-to-drag in StarCraft or legacy keys in Dota 2, customizable controls always lead to players making wild changes to their inputs. However, one professional CSGO player has reached the …
New CSGO stats show eco rounds win matches
William Davis
Counter-Strike
No one ever wants to eco in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, but the win rate of pistols against rifles is higher than some players may expect. Eco rounds are a necessary evil in CSGO. After a bad buy attempt or run of bad luck, the very thought of bringing peashooters to a gunfight is enough to make most players splurge for MAC-10s. However, the success of economically conservative rounds is finally …
What’s the best platform for CSGO trading in 2022?
Fariha Bhatti
News
The best online trading platforms offer advanced features, fast execution, stability, and reliability. All of this is difficult to find in one trading platform, but DMarket comes close to ticking all boxes in 2022. Most traders are motivated to trade in order to increase the general value of their inventory and to get cash in their wallets. A marketplace is just a tool to reach these goals. The recent cs.money …
Connector boost on Overpass can help lock the entire map
Fariha Bhatti
Counter-Strike
Overpass is littered with unusual boosts that look shady at first but are completely legal to use. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is known for its realistic and cutthroat gameplay, but only dedicated players are familiar with the dark side of CSGO. The game is littered with longstanding bugs and absurd mechanics. This new Overpass boost is the latest in the long list of exploit-like, powerful mechanics. Most recently, players are highlighting a viable …
The best Pick’ems for the Rio Major legends stage
William Davis
Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive players who listened to our Rio Major challengers stage pick’ems already have a free souvenir token, and the legends stage is now up for speculation. CSGO players who followed our challengers stage pick’ems have already secured a silver coin, the legends stage is an opportunity to advance to gold. Upgrading the coin also grants a free souvenir token, so there are plenty of reasons to research your …
The Skin.Club Pick’Em Challenge for Rio Major 2022
William Davis
News
The upcoming IEM Rio Major 2022 in Brazil will be an unforgettable event for every CSGO fan. Pick’Ems have been around for a long time, allowing fans to pick specific teams and predict if they will make it to the next tournament round. While Valve is preparing to add the analog of the Battle Pass to CSGO, Skin.Club has launched its own Pick’Em Challenge. The event has a prize pool …
Legendary AWPer dev1ce has officially returned to Astralis
Fariha Bhatti
Counter-Strike
It’s a good day for Astralis fans as the iconic trio of Lukas “gla1ve” Rossander, Andreas “Xyp9x” Højsleth, and Nicolai “dev1ce” Reedtz are officially reuniting under the red flag. After a string of leaks and reports, the Danish organization has confirmed the highly-awaited return of Mr. Consistent, more commonly known as dev1ce. The AWP maestro and legendary Counter-Strike: Global Offensive professional player who led Astralis to their pinnacle will hop back into the server but in …
The best predictions for the CSGO Rio Major challenger stage
William Davis
Counter-Strike
The Rio Major challenger stage is almost here, and our predictions are based on Major history, recent form, and vibes. The Rio Major is a rare opportunity for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive players to get their hands on more souvenir gun skins. Players who have purchased the pass can earn free souvenir tokens and even a platinum coin for correctly predicting how the world’s best CSGO teams will perform. The challenger …
Counter-Strike has long been among the biggest titles in esports and competitive gaming, even going back to esports’ deepest roots from decades past. What’s more, the game continues going strong today, with developer and publisher Valve releasing the latest iteration of the franchise in 2023. The newest version, Counter-Strike 2, has not been without its issues. But its popularity continues the enduring prominence of the Counter-Strike series, signaling that the venerated franchise is likely here to stay for many years yet to come.
But how did the franchise come be to so prominent in the esports space, and role does CS2 have to play in the industry moving forward?
Counter-Strike has roots in the beginnings of esports
Counter-Strike was unquestionably one of the biggest drivers of what we would today consider to be early professional esports movement. It was far from alone, and it wasn’t the most advanced. That likely was StarCraft: Brood War, a real-time strategy game from famed developer Blizzard that caught on in South Korea and led to a professional scene in the country well ahead of any examples of esports industry elsewhere in the world.
But outside of Korea, Counter-Strike quickly became the driving force behind competitive gaming and esports. First released in 1999 as a modification for popular first-person shooter Half-Life, the game was easy to pick up and play for many gamers. Half-Life was borderline ubiquitous software for gamers with a PC, and adding a mod to it was as simple as downloading and applying said mod. So it was that Counter-Strike began to catch fire and spread across the world.
As it spread, so too did its competitive play. Early competitions often centered around online play, most prominently including the Cyberathlete Amateur League (CAL) in North America and the Clanbase Eurocup in Europe. But live, in-person tournaments, similar to those enjoyed by StarCraft players and fans in Korea, were also rising in prominence.
Within just a few years, there were a number of major annual tournaments being held for the original version of Counter-Strike. Notable international tournament organizers included the Cyberathlete Professional League (CPL) in the United States, the Electronic Sports World Cup (ESWC) in France, and the World Cyber Games (WCG) in Korea. This was in addition to many other regional tournaments through which teams could test their mettle and battle over smaller prizes.
But even at bigger tournaments, prizes weren’t what they are today, and in general there was far less money available to professional Counter-Strike players than there is in today’s thriving esports industry which sees many players and teams playing at the full-time pro level. That’s a far cry from a time when perhaps a small handful of players were able to make a true living through playing CS alone, and even them, it was often a modest one.
Counter-Strike 2 at the fore of a bigger esports scene than ever before
Counter-Strike 2 was released to a far different esports space than that which the original Counter-Strike occupied. But what exactly is it that has changed the scene so much, besides the accrual of years?
Esports betting is at the top of the list. The sports betting industry is growing and expanding around the world each and every year, and esports has absolutely been a part of that. As esports betting continues to grow and thrive, it brings its benefits to the games that are being bet on. And Counter-Strike 2 is at the top of that list.
These benefits have arrived through a myriad of means. Fan interest in tournaments has gone up and become more consistent with betting markets available for each and every game played, which further incentivizes tournament organizers and their sponsoring partners. But those partners are also now more likely to work with the pro teams and players themselves. Betting operators are among the most common and most generous sponsors in the pro CS2 space, showing how esports betting’s rise has contributed to Counter-Strike’s continued prominence in esports and competitive gaming as a whole.
