Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike
KovaaK goes free, gives away 3080 GPUs for Latency Challenge
William Davis
A free week for KovaaK is the perfect time to try out the best aim trainer. First-person shooter training tool KovaaK 2.0 has officially left its beta period. To celebrate, the developer New Meta has teamed up with NVIDIA for a special contest. The prizes include esports-ready monitors, mice, and RTX 3080 Ti graphics cards. KovaaK will also become free to download and play for a full week to celebrate …
Counter-Strike
How to quickly rank up in CSGO during the holidays
Fariha Bhatti
Christmas is the perfect time to dust off your old Steam account and restart the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive rank grind. Maintaining a decent rank in CSGO isn’t easy. The cut-throat tactical shooter requires consistency, which is tough to offer for those who have jobs and other commitments. However, the winter holidays can help you unlock your dream rank. Crisp aim, smoke lineups, and team strategies mean nothing when you’re inconsistent. …
Counter-Strike
New findings suggest CSGO may finally get ported to Source 2
Fariha Bhatti
A new discovery suggests that Valve is actively working on porting its tactical shooter, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, to the Source 2 engine. Fans, data miners, and leakers have all been patiently waiting for a cleaner, more accurate, and more refined CSGO in the Source 2 engine. Data miner Gabe Follower, who recently ported Dust 2 into Source 2, uncovered evidence that suggests that CSGO might be moving to the more-advanced …
Counter-Strike
CSGO Operation Riptide week 13 mission guide
William Davis
Our Operation Riptide mission guide will make quick work of week 13. Riptide week 13, Practical Oceanography, is now underway. Valve is probably planning a grand finale for their surf-themed operation, but we’ll have to wait a few more weeks to find out for sure. Week 13 is pretty standard as far as missions go, but the Riptide gun skin, stickers, and agent rewards are just as good as they’ve …
Counter-Strike
Police investigate stalking, question Baka Prase on Kika’s death
Steven Rondina
The death of YouTuber and former Counter-Strike: Global Offensive competitor Kristina “Kika” Dukic is now being actively investigated by police. Shortly after news of Kika’s death was made public, fans and professional gaming personalities from the region speculated that harassment may have been a factor in her demise. According to Blic, police in Serbia also suspect this might be the case and are investigating possible threats, doxxing, and stalking that …
Counter-Strike
Illegal Olofboost inspires a new Overpass trick for AWPers
Fariha Bhatti
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive players have created something similar to the historic Olofboost that changed the game. The new boost isn’t as deadly, but it can be viable. CSGO has its fair share of bugs and loopholes that players love to exploit. But this new trick is completely legal and extremely helpful. The new Overpass boost on the B site requires team power and tons of patience. https://www.reddit.com/r/GlobalOffensive/comments/rct7gc/new_overpass_boost/ The pixel walking …
Counter-Strike
CSGO streamer and former pro Kika dead at 21 years old
Steven Rondina
Former Counter-Strike: Global Offensive semi-professional player, YouTuber, and streamer Kristina “Kika” Dukic has died. Individuals close to the Serbian content creator revealed the news on Kika’s Instagram page. She was 21 years old at the time of death. The post on Instagram was not specific regarding her cause of death, but the post strongly suggested it was suicide, with local media seemingly confirming this. “With great sorrow, unfortunately we need to …
Counter-Strike
kennyS reveals his AWPer tier list for pro CSGO players
William Davis
Who better to create an AWPer tier list than the player who got it nerfed? During a stream on December 8, Kenny “kennyS” Schrub revealed his tier list for the greatest AWPers in the history of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. His list includes who he believes is the greatest AWPer of all time, and who he thinks is overrated by the community. The list is not ordered within its individual tiers. GOAT …
Your complete guide to the CSGO BLAST Premier: World Final
William Davis
Counter-Strike
The BLAST Premier 2021 circuit will end with the World Final, one of the biggest Counter-Strike: Global Offensive events of the year. And we have all of the details for you. After a full year of competition, eight of the best CSGO teams in the world will meet in Copenhagen to battle for $1 million. The World Final event is the grand finale for BLAST’s competitive CSGO season. The tournament …
Is nitr0 returning to CSGO after leaving 100 Thieves Valorant?
Fariha Bhatti
Counter-Strike
100 Thieves has confirmed Nicholas “nitr0” Cannella’s departure from its Valorant roster, and fans are hopeful that he might return to Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. nitr0 quit competitive CSGO in 2020 to pursue a career in Riot’s tactical shooter after its blockbuster release. But the pro player has now left the 100 Thieves organization and his future looks unclear. Reports suggest that a return to CSGO is on the cards for …
CSGO Operation Riptide week 12 mission guide
William Davis
Counter-Strike
Operation Riptide week 12 is called Remember Your Training, so it makes sense that the missions will polish up players’ fundamentals. Week 12 of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’s Operation Riptide is now live. This week’s missions feature all sorts of modes meant to train players for real competitive play. You’ll either test out the entire CSGO arsenal in deathmatch or run retakes on new Riptide maps. Here is our guide to …
Should CSGO players be able to share skins?
William Davis
Counter-Strike
Want to share skins in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive? You’re not alone. Skin collecting has effectively become a second game built into CSGO. Everyone from Silver Twos to elite pro players want a nice inventory, but the sheer price of many skins means that most are stuck with budget options. CSGO’s free-to-play nature also means that a massive portion of the player base can’t afford to flex expensive cosmetics. What if …
CSGO is proven as the most relaxing esport to play
William Davis
Counter-Strike
Relaxing with Counter-Strike: Global Offensive may sound counterintuitive, but collegiate research proves it’s a valid option. Scientific research has discovered that CSGO is the most relaxing major esports to play. While player heart rates soared during key moments of the match, the researchers found that players’ heart rate significantly decreased after playing a match. This is due to a variety of factors including CSGO’s slow pace and frequent downtime. The …
How to find your perfect sensitivity in CSGO
Fariha Bhatti
Counter-Strike
If you continue to struggle in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive despite putting in many hours of practice, you may want to rethink some of your in-game settings. Finding perfect CSGO sensitivity might just help you to win more games. Copying the in-game settings of CSGO pros may sound tempting, but it won’t necessarily change your performance. Mouse sensitivity is something that should be left to personal preference. But finding the perfect …
CSGO Operation Riptide week 11 mission guide
William Davis
Counter-Strike
Operation Riptide week 11: Water, Water, Everywhere will have you surf between four different game modes. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’s Operation Riptide is in the final stretch, and week 11 is a chance to up your star collection to 70. This set of missions involves Retakes, Guardian, deathmatch, and the classic competitive short match. Find out how to tackle each mission and earn your six Riptide stars with our week 11 …
CSGO fan ports Dust 2 into Source 2 and it looks amazing
Steven Rondina
Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive fans have long wondered what the game would look like in Source 2, and one fan took it into their own hands to find out. YouTuber Gabe Follower has been experimenting on a number of different Valve titles, including CSGO. One of those experiments is porting parts of CSGO into s&box, the spiritual successor to Garry’s Mod that runs in Source 2. Gabe Follower seems to have …
CSGO star s1mple is now a playable hero in Raid: Shadow Legends
William Davis
Counter-Strike
Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev will soon become available as a playable character in Raid: Shadow Legends. As part of a partnership with Natus Vincere, s1mple has been added as a playable character to the mobile game. This will see the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive star become a playable character in a game he’s not actually known for. The newest legendary champion will become available for free on December 1. s1mple’s legendary champion …
Is Valve giving CSGO players fake matchmaking ban notices?
Nicholas James
Counter-Strike
Valve’s known to have plenty of problems with Counter-Strike’s matchmaking, including requiring a third party to stabilize the matchmaking experience. However, a new issue may be rearing its head, with players rejoining matches after supposedly abandoning said match. Despite the chat announcing the player’s cooldown, they appear to immediately be reseeded into the game despite their alleged cooldown. In a recent Reddit post, a fan highlighted an interesting scenario that …
BLAST Premier Fall Finals grand finals betting analysis
William Davis
Counter-Strike
CSGO bettors are spoiled in late 2021. After IEM Cologne and PGL Major Stockholm, there’s one more chance to bet on LAN play at the BLAST Premier Fall Finals. The BLAST Premier Fall Finals combined a $425,000 prize pool with eight of the best Counter-Strike: Global Offensive teams in the world. The playoffs bracket has whittled the field down to the final three. Team Vitality, Astralis, and Natus Vincere are …
Does tick rate even matter for most CSGO players?
William Davis
Counter-Strike
CSGO fans clamor for 128 tick servers, but 99% of players wouldn’t even notice any difference. Official Counter-Strike: Global Offensive servers run at 64 tick, which is the standard for competitive video games. While most gamers are happy with what they have, CSGO players have always claimed that 128 tick servers would be an important improvement to the game. An entire third-party matchmaking industry has popped up to fill the …
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.
