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Team Liquid designs CSGO skins, will they appear in-game? Counter-Strike Team Liquid designs CSGO skins, will they appear in-game? By William Davis This new smoke from s1mple actually lets you B-rush on Mirage Counter-Strike This new smoke from s1mple actually lets you B-rush on Mirage By Fariha Bhatti Is your trash CSGO skin secretly expensive? Here’s how to check Counter-Strike Is your trash CSGO skin secretly expensive? Here’s how to check By William Davis
Boombl4 divorces wife, claims she is blackmailing him Counter-Strike
Boombl4 divorces wife, claims she is blackmailing him Steven Rondina Kirill “Boombl4” Mikhaylov is getting divorced from his wife and the drama is spilling out onto social media. Natus Vincere announced the sudden decision to release Boombl4 due to his being a “high reputational risk.” Though many suspected the cause of this was a possible pro-Russia Instagram post made by his wife or a possible move back to Russia for Boombl4, it might have been something else entirely. A video …
Become a CSGO action star with these coop Workshop maps Counter-Strike
Become a CSGO action star with these coop Workshop maps William Davis Coop maps are the perfect way to unwind from a long day of grinding ranked in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. The CSGO Workshop is full of amazing user-created content. From in-depth aim trainers to crosshair generators, there’s a tool to solve nearly every problem CSGO players might run into, including boredom. Coop maps are a perfect way to lighten the mood after a few tough competitive matches. The low-stakes gameplay and …
This molotov lineup is the easiest way to retake Mirage’s A site Counter-Strike
This molotov lineup is the easiest way to retake Mirage’s A site Fariha Bhatti Mirage’s A site is comparatively easier to break into than B, but Counter-Terrorists can still delay the bomb plant using this lineup.  Almost all Counter-Strike: Global Offensive maps are biased towards the CTs to some extent, but Mirage’s A site can be a handful. Defending the location against terrorists who know their smokes is no easy feat. A few smokes coupled with molotovs can quickly open the site for a …
Flex on the force buy with the best P90 skins in CSGO Counter-Strike
Flex on the force buy with the best P90 skins in CSGO William Davis The best P90 skins will make you call a force buy after every tough round. The P90 has a controversial reputation in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. For experienced CSGO players, it’s a riskier eco option without much going for it. But for those new to the game, the P90’s high rate of fire and relatively low price make it a common sight regardless of economy. No matter how cool your AWP …
Nigma Galaxy becomes first all-female team to win ESL Impact Counter-Strike Nigma Galaxy becomes first all-female team to win ESL Impact By Olivia Richman CSGO players can now reproduce smoke through the floor bug Counter-Strike CSGO players can now reproduce smoke through the floor bug By Fariha Bhatti Antwerp Major stickers are on sale, are they worth investing in? Counter-Strike Antwerp Major stickers are on sale, are they worth investing in? By William Davis
Newly discovered run boost molotov on Overpass is too OP Counter-Strike
Newly discovered run boost molotov on Overpass is too OP Fariha Bhatti Overpass is one of the oldest maps, but its exceptional layout offers opportunities for wild plays. This new run boost molotov on Overpass is an excellent example.  Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’s map pool in 2022 features some of the classic locations like Dust 2, Inferno, Overpass, and more. Players continue to engineer new ways to play these old maps, keeping CSGO as fresh as ever. Especially Overpass, a map that has …
Dr DisRespect one-ups CSGO with skins that players legally own Counter-Strike
Dr DisRespect one-ups CSGO with skins that players legally own William Davis Skins are a core part of many popular multiplayer games today, but players usually don’t legally own their fancy cosmetics. Streaming icon Herschel “Dr DisRespect” Beahm IV wants to change that. Dr DisRespect’s new game studio Midnight Society has announced a partnership with technology company Polygon Studios. The joint venture all but confirms rumors that the studio’s upcoming game will involve blockchain technology. According to official information, the studio’s upcoming …
GeT_RiGhT gets $16,000 CSGO birthday present from Trainwreckstv Counter-Strike
GeT_RiGhT gets $16,000 CSGO birthday present from Trainwreckstv Steven Rondina Christopher “GeT_RiGhT” Alesund recently celebrated his 31st birthday and he got quite the gift. Tyler “Trainwreckstv” Niknam crashed the festivities with a donation and a gift for GeT_RiGhT during a birthday stream. The streamer purchased the generous gift through high-rolling skin trader zipeL. The gift was a holographic Team Dignitas sticker from the 2014 ESL One Katowice Major. The sticker is exceedingly rare and costs upwards of $16,000. The gift …
Boombl4 kicked from Na’Vi, was it over wife’s political views? Counter-Strike
Boombl4 kicked from Na’Vi, was it over wife’s political views? William Davis Kirill “Boombl4” Mikhailov is officially of out Natus Vincere’s Counter-Strike: Global Offensive roster, but it may not have anything to do with his gameplay. Natus Vincere has officially announced the departure of longtime captain Boombl4. Based on statements from the sponsor and his former teammates, Boombl4’s kick is not related to his in-game performance. Instead, it’s because he represents “high reputational risks for the club.” The kick is possibly related …
Are CSGO bots becoming too powerful for players to handle? Steven Rondina Counter-Strike Calling someone a bot in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive has traditionally been an insult. Should that change, though? CSGO fans will occasionally see clips pop up of a heroic bot leading its team to victory in clumsy fashion. Those clips seem to be happening more and more frequently, however. Most recently, a clip on social media popped up showing a bot making a shady play. Instead of the bot awkwardly panning …
Ludwig pulls $1,000 knife in his first-ever CSGO case opening Olivia Richman Counter-Strike Ludwig Ahgren plays a variety of games, making him one of the top variety streamers on YouTube, but he decided to try out Counter-Strike: Global Offensive for the first time and had great success. Well, with the loot boxes at least. Ludwig decided to stream his first time ever playing CSGO. He didn’t start with trying out weapons or getting a feel for the movement, though. Instead, Ludwig decided to …
Gucci launches new CSGO playing academy, but can you join? William Davis Counter-Strike Aspiring Counter-Strike: Global Offensive players can find an unlikely ally in high-end Italian fashion. Italian fashion studio Gucci and CSGO matchmaking service FACEIT have teamed up to create a training program for aspiring esports professionals. The system, called Gucci Gaming Academy, will prepare young players to join the top level of CSGO esports. Although technically any player can join Gucci Gaming Academy, the program will pull from existing FPL players. …
These are the callouts you must know playing Overpass in CSGO Steven Rondina Counter-Strike Overpass is one of the most enduring maps of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and because of that, any ranked player needs to commit its callouts to memory. Overpass is one of the most popular and notorious maps in competitive CSGO. Though it’s always been below Mirage and Dust 2 in terms of popularity, it’s still stuck around for years. This largely stems from the incredible depth of the map. While other …
These are the most important callouts for CSGO map Nuke Steven Rondina Counter-Strike Callouts are important on every map in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. There’s no CSGO map where callouts are more important than Nuke, though. Nuke is one of the trickiest maps to play in a solo queue environment. This stems from the fact that it’s one of the few maps built around being tall instead of wide. Nuke effectively has three floors stacked on top of one another. This makes it immensely …
CSGO pros recreate Overpass triple boost exploit during major Fariha Bhatti Counter-Strike The Counter-Strike: Global Offensive PGL Major Antwerp has registered an iconic moment reminiscent of the infamous Olofboost from 2014.  Valve may have yanked the scandalous Olofboost from the core, but it stays in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive in different forms. Overpass has numerous pixel walks that elevate players to killer angles. However, few come close to the greatness of the Olofboost that prompted Valve to put up a “not permitted” warning …
rain leads FaZe Clan to 2-0 win over Na’Vi in CSGO major finals William Davis Counter-Strike FaZe Clan has earned the greatest prize in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive with a fantastic performance in the PGL Antwerp Major grand finals. After almost two weeks of competition, FaZe Clan is the champion of the Antwerp Major. The team’s solid 3-1 run through the Legends Stage ended with playoffs victories over Ninjas in Pyjamas and Team Spirit. The grand finals were marked by an incredible performance from Håvard “rain” Nygaard …
Make your sniping stylish with the best AWP skins in CSGO William Davis Counter-Strike The best AWP skins can make you look cool even when you miss the easiest of flicks in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. When picking the best AWP skins for CSGO, there’s no room for subtlety. The loudest gun deserves the loudest skins, especially since it costs so much in-game. Players only get to buy an AWP a couple of times per half, so it’s best to make any fashion statement count. …
This new one-way smoke on Dust 2 lets you easily hold B site Fariha Bhatti Counter-Strike Dust 2 is one of the most popular maps in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive but even the wildest tricks can get repetitive. Thankfully, new tricks like this one-way smoke to deal with tunnels keep Dust 2 feeling fresh.  Valve continues to shuffle active duty maps in CSGO, but a few remain constant. CSGO and Mirage are the two maps that players love to spam-queue, making them the hardest to win as …
Twistzz blasts CSGO pros who switched to Valorant, sees backlash Steven Rondina Counter-Strike A number of professional Valorant players are very angry at Counter-Strike: Global Offensive pro Russel “Twistzz” Van Dulken. The PGL Antwerp Major is going on right now and that has CSGO’s top stars discussing the state of the game. That also results in players discuss CSGO’s rival tactical shooter, Valorant. Twistzz sat down for an interview with CSGO website Dust2 and fielded a question about the state of the game’s …
Magisk’s legit one-way on Mirage is as deadly as a bugged smoke Fariha Bhatti Counter-Strike After days of controversy, Valve has removed the infamous Mirage mid-window smoke. But Emil “Magisk” Reif has found an equally deadly and legitimate alternative. Mirage may be the most balanced Counter-Strike: Global Offensive map, but parts of it are a menace to tackle as the attacking Ts. Taking control of mid as Ts is a tall order on Mirage due to a massive AWPers den that is tough to dodge. …
s1mple blasts Valve over Ancient map balance at Antwerp Major Steven Rondina Counter-Strike Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev doesn’t hate Ancient, but it’s fair to say that he hates how Valve has handled the newest map in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’s active duty rotation. Natus Vincere secured a 3-0 finish in the PGL Antwerp Major’s Legends Stage by taking a 2-1 victory over Ninjas in Pyjamas. This moves Na`Vi forward to the Champions Stage playoffs and sets the team up with a minimum top-eight placement. It …

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.