Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike
Newly discovered one-way Mirage incendiary may change the map
Fariha Bhatti
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 …
Counter-Strike
HenryG returns to CSGO casting after long hiatus
Fariha Bhatti
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 …
Counter-Strike
FACEIT CSGO admin banned for selling ELO boosts for cash
William Davis
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 …
Counter-Strike
New CSGO Kart mod bring Rocket League fun to CSGO
Fariha Bhatti
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 …
Counter-Strike
These 3 smokes on Tuscan are easy to learn, extremely powerful
William Davis
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 …
Counter-Strike
YouTuber 3kliksphilip makes it into CSGO with new music kit
Fariha Bhatti
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, …
Counter-Strike
You can use chickens as a weapon in CSGO with this trick
Fariha Bhatti
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
Iconic door stuck meme included on new CSGO map Breach
Fariha Bhatti
Valve is well aware of the most popular community memes surrounding its games, as a cheeky easter egg in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive map Breach shows. CSGO is one of the oldest first-person shooters out there and has always been about shooting and strategizing, making it a go-to FPS for its dedicated players. It has few frills attached, yet players continue to find new ways to play it. 10 years after …
Celebrate CS10 with these budget CSGO sticker crafts for under $15
William Davis
Counter-Strike
CS10 brought a ton of new stickers to Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and that means plenty of new budget crafts and skin-sticker combos. CSGO skin aficionados now have 65 new stickers to play with, and 50 of them are selling for less than the price of a capsule. It’s a great time to buy in for players on a budget, and even established sticker freaks have reason to invest. With the …
Here is what’s known on s1mple missing BLAST Premier: Fall 2022
William Davis
Counter-Strike
Natus Vincere is doing great at BLAST Premier: Fall Groups 2022, but it’s hard to ignore the lack of star AWPer Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev. s1mple is absent from BLAST Premier Fall Groups despite being part of the registered roster until the day before the competition. Danyyl “headtr1ck” Valitov from the Natus Vincere Junior roster is playing in his stead. Here’s the context for s1mple’s substitution and how the team is …
Did a CS10 sticker reveal the release date for Source 2 CSGO?
William Davis
Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive fans have been in a frenzy over the possibility of the Source 2 CSGO date being spoiled by a CS10 sticker. But a video of a CS10 sticker spoiling the release date of Source 2 is fake, and we can prove it. Soon after the release of the CS10 sticker capsule, videos began circulating on social media of messages hidden in their designs. One sticker in particular, …
CSGO trading site loses $6 million of skins in massive hack
Steven Rondina
Counter-Strike
One of the largest Counter-Strike: Global Offensive skin trading sites in the world was hacked and potentially emptied out, with millions of dollars in CSGO skins being lost. Fans who have watched CSGO esports for any length of time have likely seen ads for skin trading website CS.money. The site processes tens of millions of dollars worth of skins between players. But now many of those skins have gone missing. …
CSGO player count explodes after CS10 anniversary update
Steven Rondina
Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’s player count has enjoyed a significant boost thanks to CS10 with the peak concurrent player count hitting its highest number in ages. CSGO overtook Dota 2 as the most popular game on Steam a long while ago, but that doesn’t mean things have been smooth sailing for the game. In June 2021, competitive matchmaking and drops were made exclusive to those with CSGO Prime status, with that …
Could Tuscan replace Mirage or Dust 2 in Active Duty map pool?
Steven Rondina
Counter-Strike
Tuscan is here and Counter-Strike fans are loving it, but Mirage and Dust 2 fans should probably be a bit worried about their map’s future in CSGO. The CS10 anniversary event has arrived in CSGO. It didn’t bring Source 2, but it did bring a batch of three maps including Tuscan, Anubis, and Breach. All three have been added to to official competitive matchmaking, and players are loving the chance …
How to get the CSGO 10th birthday coin before it’s gone forever
Steven Rondina
Counter-Strike
It’s time to celebrate the 10th birthday of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. CSGO players looking to commemorate the occasion can now get themselves an in-game birthday coin. CS10 is a bit awkward for CSGO fans. Valve has traditionally not given fans of the tactical shooter glamorous events or commemorated special occasions. The 10th birthday of CSGO wasn’t completely blown off by Valve, but it also didn’t have the long-awaited Source 2 …
CS10 update for CSGO drops with stickers, maps, no Source 2
William Davis
Counter-Strike
CS10 is here, and while exciting, it doesn’t have everything that Counter-Strike: Global Offensive fans were hoping for. And the theoretical Source 2 CSGO port? That’s nowhere to be found. On August 16, Valve released a new update for CSGO commemorating the 10th anniversary of the game. To celebrate, Valve has added a new community sticker capsule and three new maps to play on. There’s also a new commemorative coin …
dev1ce may never return to NiP after spending $1 million on him
William Davis
Counter-Strike
Ninjas in Pyjamas turned heads when it forked over an estimated $1 million for Nicolai “dev1ce” Reedtz’ contract, but it could be all for nothing. Swedish news company Expressen has published an interview with Ninjas in Pyjamas in-game leader Hampus “hampus” Poser. hampus discussed the state of the team going into BLAST Premier: Fall Groups 2022, even hinting at some of the squad’s updated strategies. hampus also gave an update …
Modder creates Source 2 port of CSGO before Valve does
Steven Rondina
Counter-Strike
Fans have been wanting a Source 2 version of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive for years now, and one modder has made it a reality before Valve. Modders and content creators have given fans a taste of what Source 2 would look like for the game on several occasions in the past. This has been done by taking Source 2 games like Half-Life: Alyx and transferring in guns and maps from those …
s1mple says that Mirage haters know nothing about CSGO
Fariha Bhatti
Counter-Strike
Despite its high play rate, Mirage is often the subject of hate in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. AWP maestro Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev has picked sides, explaining why Mirage is a good map and why its haters are wrong. Mirage may be the most-played match in official matchmaking, but some professional players want it gone. Abai “HObbit” Hasenov’s tweet regarding Mirage sparked an interesting discussion about whether the map should be removed. …
Iconic CS 1.6 map Tuscan has finally arrived in CSGO
Fariha Bhatti
Counter-Strike
The legendary Counter-Strike map Tuscan has finally gotten an official release in CSGO. The Counter-Strike franchise has a long list of iconic locations that players still reminisce about. Agency, Estate, Mill, and many others left a lasting impression on fans. Thankfully, Valve allows players to create custom maps that have kept the old content alive. However, it’s tough to replicate the true spirit of the old maps. Creators Catfood and …
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.
