Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike
CSGO players can now reproduce smoke through the floor bug
Fariha Bhatti
The long-standing smoke through the floor bug is no longer random. A player has broken the code to reproduce the curios smoke glitch. It’s no secret that Counter-Strike: Global Offensive has had minor bug problems, with grenades suddenly slipping through the ground. When this would randomly happen, the smoke no longer remained a safe hideous. At the time, the bug couldn’t be replicated and it would happen when players least …
Counter-Strike
Antwerp Major stickers are on sale, are they worth investing in?
William Davis
If you’re looking to make a pretty penny off stickers, the Antwerp Major may be a good time to invest. Every Counter-Strike: Global Offensive major brings a ton of new stickers to the game and as every player knows, older slaps can get extremely expensive. With the Antwerp Major stickers now on sale, this is the best time to stock up on autographs and team stickers. But entrepreneurial fans may …
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 …
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 …
Counter-Strike
Ludwig pulls $1,000 knife in his first-ever CSGO case opening
Olivia Richman
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 …
Counter-Strike
Gucci launches new CSGO playing academy, but can you join?
William Davis
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. …
Counter-Strike
These are the callouts you must know playing Overpass in CSGO
Steven Rondina
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 …
Counter-Strike
These are the most important callouts for CSGO map Nuke
Steven Rondina
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 …
Why Katowice 2014 stickers are so incredibly expensive in CSGO
William Davis
Counter-Strike
Clean design, extreme rarity, and tons of hype are why Katowice 2014 stickers are so expensive in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. CSGO skins are known to fetch ridiculous prices, but stickers tend to be much less expensive. There are a few pricy stickers like the Crown Foil and Howling Dawn, but Katowice 2014 team stickers are the very peak of rare slaps. The cheapest start at over $1,000 and skyrocket up …
The 5 best USP-S skins in CSGO, and which is most expensive
Steven Rondina
Counter-Strike
The USP-S is a powerful pistol in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and there are some very good skins for it. But what are the best USP-S skins in CSGO? There’s obviously some subjectivity in that discussion. One player might like the lowkey leather accents of Business Class, while another might prefer the sparkly magenta of Target Acquired. The good news is that there are choices for everyone. These are the best …
You can play these scary horror maps in CSGO for free
Fariha Bhatti
Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive may be a competitive FPS at its core, but it can be scary and spooky too. Players can spice up their CSGO experience by trying out these free horror maps. Valve’s FPS has become the go-to shooter in 2022. Most players return to the game for its competitive appeal and dynamic weapons and maps. It has curated a player base that loves a challenge. But while players …
s1mple, other pros defend FalleN from overrated accusations
William Davis
Counter-Strike
After Gabriel “FalleN” Toledo was called the most overrated player in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, the entire pro scene rallied back with Oleksandr “s1mple” at the helm. CSGO pros from all over the world have come together to defend and celebrate one of the game’s greatest captains. The row started with a social media post from analyst Duncan “Thorin” Shields claiming that FalleN is the most overrated player in CSGO history. …
ESIC admits initial CSGO coach bug investigation was “lacking”
Olivia Richman
Counter-Strike
The Esports Integrity Commission has released an official statement regarding the ongoing coach bug investigation. The Counter-Strike Professional Players’ Association recently shared a statement from ESIC discussing some updates to the ongoing investigation. A coaching bug being exploited in professional CSGO competitions was first investigated in 2020, resulting in more than 30 coaches receiving suspensions from competitive events. The bug allowed coaches to unfairly spectate matches to gain insight into …
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.
