Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike
Outsiders sweeps Rio Major grand finals over Heroic
William Davis
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 …
Counter-Strike
The best Pick’ems for the CSGO Rio Major playoffs
William Davis
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 …
Counter-Strike
This CSGO player has the weirdest controls of all time
William Davis
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 …
Counter-Strike
New CSGO stats show eco rounds win matches
William Davis
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 …
News
The Skin.Club Pick’Em Challenge for Rio Major 2022
William Davis
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 …
Counter-Strike
Legendary AWPer dev1ce has officially returned to Astralis
Fariha Bhatti
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 …
Counter-Strike
The best predictions for the CSGO Rio Major challenger stage
William Davis
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
Which bomb sites are most popular in CSGO? The stats reveal all
William Davis
With two bomb sites on each Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, it’s easy to think they’d be equally popular. However, that couldn’t be further from the truth. New stats from Scope.gg have revealed the popularity of bomb sites on each major CSGO map. While a 50/50 split seems logical, it’s clear that T side players are very biased when it comes to picking a venue. While not particularly useful on its own, …
How to get souvenir gun skins from the CSGO Rio Major
William Davis
Counter-Strike
Souvenirs are a big part of any big Counter-Strike: Global Offensive event and the Rio Major is no exception. Even CSGO players with no interest in the esports scene can appreciate a healthy injection of both stickers and souvenir skins into the game. However, fans who are getting back into CSGO in time for the major may not understand Valve’s massive overhaul for commemorative cases. Here’s how to get souvenir …
VAC wave resurges with 2,000 more bans, what could it mean?
William Davis
Counter-Strike
A VAC ban wave is a reason for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive players to celebrate, and Valve appears to be in a very festive mood. CSGO ban database ConVars has revealed a second wave of VAC bans less than a month after the last major spike. On October 14, 2022, Valve handed out 2,284 game bans along with a few hundred VAC violations. That’s about ten times the normal rate of …
This glitched Overpass boost is OP, but totally legal to use
Fariha Bhatti
Counter-Strike
A new glitched boost spot on Overpass is making rounds on the internet, but it’s completely legit and good to use. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is known for its realistic and cut throat gameplay, but only dedicated players are familiar with the dark side of CSGO. The game is littered with longstanding bugs and absurd mechanics. CSGO’s black market tech now includes a boost so overpowered that players are convinced it’s …
CSGO skins worth $6 million hacked, cs.money reveals compensation plans
William Davis
Counter-Strike
After being hit with a $6 million hack, cs.money is paying the price on behalf of its users. In August of 2022, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive skin market cs.money announced that it had been hit with a hack snatching of $6 million in digital assets. After identifying the thief and recovering what it could, there is still around $2 million worth of skins unable to be recovered. How cs.money responds to …
k0ngif reveals details of Malta fight after Astralis drops him
Fariha Bhatti
Counter-Strike
Astralis has dropped Kristian “k0nfig” Wienecke from the starting roster of their Counter-Strike: Global Offensive division, citing personal circumstances. k0nfig has played a pivotal role in Astralis’ shooter lineup since November 2021. The reputed CSGO player joined the Danish organization after a tumultuous stint with Complexity alongside Benjamin “blameF” Bremer — a move that seemed refreshing at the surface failed to have much impact. Despite it all, Astralis retained the core players. …
All the teams and favorites qualified for the CSGO Rio Major
William Davis
Counter-Strike
The qualified teams for the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Rio Major have finally been decided. The Rio Major will break new ground for CSGO esports with the first major hosted in South America. The preceding Regional Major Rankings event was fierce with only 24 teams earning a trip to the $1,250,000 event. With the Americas division wrapping up on October 9, CSGO fans can finally know exactly which teams will compete …
Astralis bombs out of RMR, dupreeh becomes sole all-Majors player
William Davis
Counter-Strike
Astralis has been disqualified from the Rio Major after going 1-3 in the European A RMR. The unexpected result will break Andreas “Xyp9x” Højsleth’s all-Majors streak, possibly leaving former Astralis rifler Peter “dupreeh” Rasmussen as the only pro Counter-Strike: Global Offensive player to attend every Major. Astralis entered the Rio Major RMR as a solid favorite to qualify. However, a difficult first-round matchup against Ninjas in Pyjamas immediately resulted in …
G2 Esports not attending Rio Major after being eliminated by GamerLegion
William Davis
Counter-Strike
G2 Esports fans may not be quite as excited for the Rio Major now that their favorite squad has dropped the ball. After a shock upset from GamerLegion, G2 Esports will not attend the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Rio Major. The decisive match was originally expected to be an easy win for G2 but the German side came back from a 3-16 loss on map one to win it all. G2 …
CSGO streamer loses thousands in unlucky capsule opening
Fariha Bhatti
Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive players are no strangers to losing money over reckless gambling, but this streamer lost about $11,000. In 2022, there are around 50 EMS Katowice 2014 Legends capsules lurking around in Steam inventories. Unfortunately, since they’re old, the game may run out of all remaining capsules very soon, ultimately making them cost a fortune. Buying a capsule worth $12,000 is risky, but players continue to put it all …
HooXi just outfragged the rest of G2 against Ecstatic
William Davis
Counter-Strike
The insane Cinderella story of G2 Esports’ captain Rasmus “HooXi” Nielsen adds a new chapter after the Dane went beast mode against Ecstatic. G2’s in-game leader HooXi has solidified his name as a top-level player after being a popular meme in the CSGO community. His meteoric rise from ironic gigachad to actual gigachad is a huge story in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, but he just one-upped his own reputation. In an …
Try this devious molotov from ZywOo to win on Vertigo
Fariha Bhatti
Counter-Strike
Team Vitality’a star AWPer Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut’s magic molotov has dropped many jaws, leading players to even question the legality of the lineup. Vertigo isn’t precisely the most popular CSGO map but it’s highly competitive. Professional players often pick this location for its advanced design that almost always delivers exciting matches. Vertigo’s low play rate in official matchmaking has led to bland games with poor utility use. In a recent …
Is device finally returning to competitive CSGO with Astralis?
Fariha Bhatti
Counter-Strike
Reports claim that the Nicolai “device” Reedtz to Astralis discussions are turning the corner as Ninjas and Pyjamas and the Danish esports org agree on a buyout number. The rumors of device contemplating a return to his former home, Astralis, started swirling in the December of 2021. However, the star AWPer shut down the reports at the time, calling them nonsense in a series of tweets. device clarified that his …
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.
