Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike
Why former CSGO pros are quitting Valorant to return to CSGO
William Davis
Decorated Counter-Strike: Global Offensive player Nicholas “nitr0” Cannella tried his luck with Valorant, but now he’s coming back to his original flame. nitr0 is the first major pro esports player to leave CSGO for Valorant and return to his original game. He officially signed with Team Liquid’s CSGO roster earlier this week. The move has serious implications for Valorant and many of its competitive players. nitr0 may be the first …
Counter-Strike
Will there be a new CSGO? Could we get Source 2 or a sequel?
Fariha Bhatti
As modern shooter games continue to bulldoze Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, fans can’t help but think Valve’s silence may mean something. Dedicated players are hopeful that a new CSGO might save the scene. CSGO has garnered a massive player base since its release in 2012. Until 2020, it was the only go-to shooter game for all FPS fans. However, things took a turn when Riot Games dipped its toes in the …
Counter-Strike
A pro CSGO player just lost a 1v1 clutch to a chicken
William Davis
Losing in the clutch is never a good feeling, but this particular match left a pro player feeling absolutely fowl. A professional Counter-Strike: Global Offensive player just lost a one-on-one clutch situation due to a chicken. The duel on Inferno A site looked good for Casper “cadiaN” Møller until an errant chicken disrupted his defusal attempt. The entire debacle was streamed live on his official Twitch channel. Heroic’s captain attempted …
Counter-Strike
Five great budget CSGO rifle skins to add to your collection
William Davis
The right budget rifle skin in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive can get you some mad drip without a guilt trip. Skins are an essential part of the CSGO experience. Spotting expensive cosmetics like a Dragon Lore or Gold Arabesque in the wild is always cool, but even certain budget skins have a certain appreciable quality. And the rifle slot is probably the most important skin in your collection. It’s what you’ll …
Everything you need to know before IEM Katowice 2022
William Davis
Counter-Strike
Katowice is a historic city in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, and it’s about to add another important tournament to its list with IEM Katowice 2022. Intel Extreme Master XVI Katowice 2022 will be the first massive CSGO tournament of the new year. The event will gather 24 of the greatest teams in the world to compete for their share of a $1 million prize pool. It will also host a live …
shroud blasts Valve for letting Valorant “walk all over” CSGO
Fariha Bhatti
Counter-Strike
Former Counter-Strike: Global Offensive pro Michael “shroud” Grzesiek isn’t happy with Valve’s approach to his old game and he has some advice for the developer on how to return the game to its former glory. shroud may have stopped playing Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, but he still cares about his former “main game.” While watching the trailer for Valorant’s newest agent, Neon, shroud said CSGO has somewhat slipped into the background. …
Team Liquid confirms the return of nitr0 as CSGO captain
Steven Rondina
Counter-Strike
At long last, Nicholas “nitr0” Cannella is returning to Team Liquid’s Counter-Strike: Global Offensive team. The organization confirmed the return of its former captain on Twitter. The decorated shot-caller has been playing on 100 Thieves’ Valorant lineup, but is instead returning to his old game and his old organization in a blockbuster transfer. To celebrate his return, Team Liquid put out a dramatic video that shows nitr0 polishing a Captain …
Everything you need to know about CSGO’s player count in 2022
Steven Rondina
Counter-Strike
2022 is set to be a very big year for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and the best barometer for the game’s health is its player count. Rival tactical shooter Valorant is in its second year of existence, and CSGO saw some major changes to its matchmaking system in 2021. This resulted in some enormous shifts to the game’s player base. But what did CSGO’s player count look like in 2021, and what …
CSGO pro FUSiON passes away unexpectedly, shocking community
Olivia Richman
Counter-Strike
A well-known Counter-Strike: Global Offensive pro player has passed away. Alex “FUSiON” Dincof died on January 3, 2022 at just 23 years old. Next month he would have turned 24. The details behind FUSiON’s passing remain unknown. FUSiON was an Italian player who started competing in CSGO at just 17 years old. While Italy isn’t often on the map in esports, FUSiON had already competed on the international stage. In …
CSGO skin tradeups explained, plus how to guarantee factory new
William Davis
Counter-Strike
Tradeups are a great way to get new skins in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, as long as you understand how they work. That’s where we can help. Opening new cases and ranking up your profile aren’t the only ways to get skins in CSGO. Tradeups are a volatile, but potentially very rewarding, option to get the gun of your dreams. But the rules for tradeups aren’t as simple as they may …
What is the most CT sided CSGO map of 2022?
Fariha Bhatti
Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive maps are generally well-balanced, but some locations heavily support one side over the other. We have assembled a list of the most CT sided CSGO maps in 2022. Valve has rolled out dozens of maps in CSGO since its release in 2012. Only a few maps managed to match the greatness of legendary locations like Dust 2, Inferno, and Mirage. However, all maps have a loyal fanbase …
Valve updates CSGO controller UI for Steam Deck, but is it good?
Steven Rondina
Counter-Strike
The Steam Deck is set to be a big deal and that’s resulting in some big updates to Valve’s own games, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive included. In a stealth update that wasn’t published on the game’s official blog, Valve heavily overhauled CSGO’s controller support. While it’s still messily implemented and doesn’t work intuitively even with popular controller models, the pieces are in place for a nice experience for Steam Deck users. …
UltimoGG launches free EU CSGO tournament with £7,500 prize pool
William Davis
Counter-Strike
UltimoGG’s free Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournament is a great way to kick off your esports career. All CSGO players across Europe can sign up for the free tournament thanks to UltimoGG. The next-generation esports event platform is advertising its services with a £7,500 prize pool. Teams can sign up for two single-elimination qualifier events starting January 8 and January 15, respectively. The top eight squads will advance to a final …
All you need to know about CSGO rank distribution in 2022
Steven Rondina
Counter-Strike
Even in 2022, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’s ranks and matchmaking system is an absolute mess for a variety of reasons. But with a little work, it’s possible to break it down and understand how it works and how ranks in CSGO are distributed. Hackers remain omnipresent in CSGO, with recent numbers suggesting that players came across a hacker in every two to three games. Even worse, CSGO’s ranking system is downright …
cadiaN calls out CSGO FPS issue, FACEIT admin shares a fix
William Davis
Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive players have discovered a massive FPS drop at the start of 2022, but there could be an easy fix. A recent update from Valve seems to have caused a lot of FPS issues in CSGO. Players have reported massive frame drops as big as 100 since an update in early January 2022. Among the affected players is Heroic in-game leader Casper “cadiaN” Møller. The cause of these …
These are the best pro CSGO crosshair codes in 2022
Fariha Bhatti
Counter-Strike
Winning in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive depends heavily on your ability to hit your shots. A perfect CSGO crosshair can help with your aim and precision, ultimately boosting your performance. We’ve assembled some of the best crosshairs for you to use, with exact instructions in how to make your choice and implement them. CSGO is a team game, but coordination has low impact in a team whose players lack accuracy. Each player …
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
