Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike
How G2 captain HooXi went from CSGO meme to gigachad
William Davis
Rasmus “HooXi” Nielsen is rarely G2 Esports’ top fragger, but that hasn’t stopped fans from treating him like a superstar. Shortly after becoming G2 Esports captain, HooXi was immediately torn to shreds by Counter-Strike: Global Offensive fans for his low-impact rifling skills. Now just a few short weeks later, those same fans are celebrating every kill and brigading MVP votes in his favor. What caused HooXi to go from a …
Counter-Strike
French president reveals details on the 1st 2023 CSGO major
Steven Rondina
The first Counter-Strike: Global Offensive major of 2023 will be held in Paris, and the announcement came from a surprising source. French President Emmanuel Macron officially announced the 2023 BLAST Paris Major. The news was confirmed shortly thereafter by BLAST on Twitter. This will be the first CSGO major to take place in Paris, with the city having previously hosted the League of Legends World Championship and a Dota 2 …
Counter-Strike
Astralis announces female CSGO roster ahead of ESL Impact
Fariha Bhatti
Astralis has unveiled a new Counter-Strike: Global Offensive roster for the upcoming ESL Impact Season 2. Over the years, esports heavyweight Astralis has fielded some of the top rosters in the CSGO scene. While recent performances aren’t on par with its dynasty era, the organization isn’t leaving Counter-Strike behind. After actively retooling its male roster, Astralis is now dipping its toes into CSGO’s nascent women’s esports scene. ESL Impact opened …
Counter-Strike
CSGO pro gives opponents the middle finger, then loses 0-2
William Davis
There are plenty of ways to flame in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, but one pro player opted for a classic during Tipsport Cup Prague. Professional CSGO player Josef “MoriiSko” Maurenc formally apologized for flipping the bird at the enemy team. The incident occurred during a Tipsport Cup Prague match between Entropiq Prague and Bad News Eagles. While the move garnered attention and engaged the audience, the unkind gesture wasn’t well-received by …
Players can now play Valorant maps in CSGO, here’s how
Fariha Bhatti
Counter-Strike
Like Valorant’s map designs, but not the weapons and abilities? Well, you can now combine the maps of Valorant with the impeccable gunplay of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. In 2020, Riot Games changed the tactical shooter genre by rolling out Valorant, a five-on-five hero shooter. With devastating abilities assigned to different agents, the genre took a unique turn. CSGO is still popular, but it’s certainly not the only go-to shooter. Valorant …
4 FACEIT admins banned for selling ELO boosts to players
William Davis
Counter-Strike
FACEIT admins are usually the ones banning other players, but now four of them are getting banned themselves for violating fair play on the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive matchmaking service. Less than a week after Russian CSGO personality Aleksey “OverDrive” Biryukov accused a FACEIT admin of selling ELO boosts for cash, four different admins have been banned from the matchmaking platform. The official statement claims that all the players involved have …
Newly discovered one-way Mirage incendiary may change the map
Fariha Bhatti
Counter-Strike
Smokes aren’t the only way to trick enemies into your crosshair. This one-way incendiary can help you gain a competitive edge on Mirage. Mirage is a relatively simple map, layout-wise. It’s truly balanced, so whoever has the better lineups and tricks up their sleeve wins. Utility is of the utmost importance for winning on Mirage, with aim sometimes even coming secondary. However, pairing both can yield incredibly satisfying results. Thanks …
HenryG returns to CSGO casting after long hiatus
Fariha Bhatti
Counter-Strike
Henry “HenryG” Greer is making a return to live CSGO casting for ESL Pro League season 16. The British caster and analyst is back after a two-year hiatus and the collapse of the Cloud9 colossus he once tried to build. HenryG was a staple of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive esports, having worked at over 150 events. His career as a professional player was nothing to write home about, but his casting …
FACEIT CSGO admin banned for selling ELO boosts for cash
William Davis
Counter-Strike
A prominent FACEIT staff member stands accused of selling ELO directly to players, and is now facing a ban for the offense. Matchmaking isn’t the best in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, so many players opt for third-party services based outside the game. FACEIT is a popular option for quality matchmaking and pubs, but its competitive pedigree has been threatened by a heavy accusation. A FACEIT administrator was allegedly selling services for …
New CSGO Kart mod bring Rocket League fun to CSGO
Fariha Bhatti
Counter-Strike
A crazy new mod in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive lets players drive Rocket League cars in the popular tactical first-person shooter. Valve’s FPS has become the go-to tactical shooter in 2022. Most players return to the game for its competitive appeal, dynamic weapons, and fun maps. It has curated a player base that loves a challenge. But while players are busy climbing the ranks, they may overlook a lot of the …
This 1-way smoke can completely shut down AWPers on Dust 2
Fariha Bhatti
Counter-Strike
Do you also lose your Dust 2 games to that one person who only ever goes mid with an AWP? Well this one-way smoke by Christopher “GeT_RiGhT” Alesund can help you ruin their day. Double doors on Dust 2 heavily favors the CT side, especially after the recent design changes. The blocked line of sight across the T spawn gives CT players free positioning to enemies pushing tot A-short. Setting …
shox will not attend Rio Major, breaking 9-year streak
William Davis
Counter-Strike
One of the most prestigious streaks in the history of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive has ended with Richard “shox” Papillon missing out on the Rio Major. Rising Counter-Strike: Global Offensive squad Apeks failed to qualify for the European Regional Major Rankings events. As a result, shox will miss out on a CSGO major for the very first time. The disappointing result marks a turbulent moment in the legendary French rifler’s career. …
How to fix Steam Deck mouse bug in CSGO, Apex Legends
Steven Rondina
Counter-Strike
The Steam Deck is great, but a long list of first-person shooters including Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Apex Legends, and more have a frustrating bug that causes the mouse to point straight up or down. Thankfully, there’s an easy fix. Valve’s latest piece of gaming hardware is presented as a mobile gaming device, allowing people to play anything from Stardew Valley to Elden Ring on the go. But at its core, …
These 3 smokes on Tuscan are easy to learn, extremely powerful
William Davis
Counter-Strike
Tuscan is a smash hit in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, but smokes are the first thing to learn seriously with any new map. Players who started playing Counter-Strike with Global Offensive may not be familiar with Tuscan, a classic from previous installments in the series. The map was extremely popular in the Source days and is fondly remembered by veteran players. Now the map has returned with a splash, and it …
YouTuber 3kliksphilip makes it into CSGO with new music kit
Fariha Bhatti
Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive got its 10th birthday update but a new patch added the Initiators Music Kit Box, which includes a music kit from YouTuber 3kliksphilip. Valve continuously rolls out exciting in-game cosmetics for players to buy. Pricey and exclusive skins have become a commodity in CSGO, and most can’t afford them. Players with a budget can still look to music kits to make their presence felt in a game, …
You can use chickens as a weapon in CSGO with this trick
Fariha Bhatti
Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive players are highlighting ways to use Inferno’s iconic chickens to help them win CSGO matches. The active map pool of CSGO is cutthroat and challenging. Complex layouts and pleasant views are common ingredients in almost all maps. Another common feature is the lack of disruptive visuals and audio elements. All maps are free of loud patterns and background noise, allowing players to focus on gunplay. Except for …
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.
Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike
