Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike
How rare are black pearls? CSGO’s rarest knife skins explained
William Davis
The rarest knife in CSGO is so exclusive that many players haven’t even heard of it. As of Operation Riptide, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive has a grand total of 25 different knife finishes. Add in StatTrak and finish quality, and there are more than 200 possible combinations of knife skins. Out of that massive pool, one knife finish stands above the rest as the absolute rarest in all of CSGO. Rubies …
Counter-Strike
Leaker claims m0NESY and ropz will join G2 Esports
William Davis
Natus Vincere announced that it would be taking offers for rising superstar Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov’s contract. Just one day later, leakers are rattling off Counter-Strike: Global Offensive teams that are eyeing him, with G2 Esports being at the top of the list. According to Russian CSGO veteran Aleksey “OverDrive” Biryukov, m0NESY’s most likely destination is pan-European sponsor G2 Esports. OverDrive is a popular Russian personality who previously played professionally and …
Counter-Strike
Five of the best cheap knives to buy in CSGO
William Davis
Cheap CSGO knives can help you show your style in the server without breaking the bank. Knives are the ultimate flex in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. You’re guaranteed to see your melee weapon every round when you run into action, so a nice custom skin is a clear upgrade. CSGO knives can get very expensive, but you don’t need to shell out thousands of dollars for a nice knife skin. These …
Counter-Strike
Why is CSGO selling Battlefield 2042 stickers in its store?
William Davis
Battlefield 2042 stickers are now available in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. And yes, you’re reading that right. Late on November 17, Valve quietly pushed an update to CSGO for a new Battlefield 2042 sticker capsule. All of the designs are references to the latest edition of DICE’s sandbox shooter. The designs include references to combat drones, portal mode, multiplayer storms, and the infamous penguins seen in the trailer. As a new release, …
Counter-Strike
Can the new Astralis roster dominate the offline era?
William Davis
The new Astralis roster is certainly turning heads, but when will it start winning championships? Astralis has officially confirmed its lineup for the 2022 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive season. The storied organization has gone through more than a dozen roster changes since travel restrictions shut down CSGO majors in 2020. A disappointing Legends stage exit at PGL Stockholm Major was the nail in the coffin for the old Astralis era. The …
Counter-Strike
FalleN, fer, coldzera may be reuniting on a new team
Steven Rondina
Gabriel “FalleN” Toledo, Fernando “fer” Alvarenga, and Marcelo “coldzera” David currently aren’t attached to a major esports organization for 2022. That might change in the near future. According to various reports and an abundance of rumors, four members of the two-time major-winning lineup of SK Gaming and Luminosity Gaming are set to reunite. FalleN, fer, and coldzera may be teaming up with Lincoln “fnx” Lau for a “last dance” run …
Counter-Strike
Stockholm Major autographs release with Flashbang Dance kit
William Davis
CSGO fans can finally get their hands on player autographs from the Stockholm Major. Early on November 10, Valve released a new update for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. The new version includes the highly-anticipated player autographs from PGL Major Stockholm. Championship squad Natus Vincere has its own capsule, while the other top eight teams are divided into another capsule. Both Champions and Finalists autograph capsules are available for 99 cents through …
Counter-Strike
How to check how much money you’ve spent in CSGO
Fariha Bhatti
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive has some of the most expensive in-game skins across the first-person shooter genre. With its many cases and keys on offer, it’s easy to spend more than expected in CSGO. Fortunately, players can track their CSGO spending in 2021. CSGO has some of the most tempting weapon skins. Unfortunately, they’re often pricey and capable of putting a massive strain on your wallet. Despite the big bucks, players …
CSGO Operation Riptide week eight mission guide
William Davis
Counter-Strike
You can get your total Operation Riptide stars up to 52 by completing all of week eight’s missions. The halfway point for Operation Riptide is appropriately titled Midway. Week eight missions are somewhat relaxed this week, and fans of Inferno will have an easy time earning their stars. This week will also have you hop into Arms Race and team up for another Guardian mission. Here’s how to complete every …
shroud predicts CSGO will always be more popular than Valorant
Fariha Bhatti
Counter-Strike
Michael “shroud” Grzesiek has been quite vocal about his love for Valorant, but he doesn’t think Riot’s shooter can ever truly beat Counter-Strike: Global Offensive in popularity. CSGO’s newest rival has split up the tactical shooter player base in half. While many CSGO professional and casual players have packed their bags for Valorant for a variety of reasons, shroud thinks that CSGO still has the edge when it comes to …
FalleN, Stewie2K leaving Team Liquid after PGL Major flop
Steven Rondina
Counter-Strike
Jake “Stewie2K” Yip and Gabriel “FalleN” Toledo are set to depart from Team Liquid. Despite being the undisputed best Counter-Strike team not too long ago, Team Liquid has been sputtering terribly throughout 2021. That came to a head at the PGL Stockholm Major, where the team finished in a shared 12th place after amassing an underwhelming 1-3 record. It’s no surprise that this is resulting in changes for Team Liquid, …
Boombl4’s girlfriend answers marriage proposal, but who is she?
William Davis
Counter-Strike
Natus Vincere’s in-game leader Kirill “Boombl4” Mikhaylov is looking to form a new team with his girlfriend back home. The PGL Stockholm Major had a ton of firsts for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. It was the first CSGO major in two years. It was Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev’s first-ever Valve event victory. It’s also the first time a CSGO player gave a marriage proposal right after winning the biggest tournament in history. …
PGL Major final breaks all records with 2.7M peak viewers
Fariha Bhatti
Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’s first major after two years has finally culminated, shattering all viewership records to date. Over 2.7 million viewers tuned to watch the CSGO final on the weekend, according to Esports Charts. The new number on the final game has broken all previous records by a large margin. CSGO’s slump that was kicked in the latter half of 2020 appears to have come to an end. With the …
s1mple leads Na’Vi to best CSGO major win ever in Stockholm
William Davis
Counter-Strike
With first place and $1 million at the Stockholm Major, Natus Vincere is the first Counter-Strike major champion in two years. After years of attempts, s1mple has finally won his first CSGO major. Natus Vincere solidly defeated G2 Esports 2-0 to win the PGL Major Stockholm grand finals. Na’Vi will walk away with the trophy and $1 million, the biggest grand prize in CSGO history. Stockholm is also the first …
CSGO Stockholm Major grand finals betting picks and analysis
William Davis
Counter-Strike
The best betting opportunity in the history of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is happening right now. Only two teams remain in contention at the biggest CSGO tournament in history. G2 Esports and Natus Vincere both fought tooth and nail through the Legends phase and Champions stage to earn a spot in grand finals. Now they will duel over the biggest grand prize in CSGO history with $1 million as the prize …
Here’s how to change voice settings and mute players in CSGO
William Davis
Counter-Strike
Ever wished your Counter-Strike: Global Offensive teammates would shut up? Time to make that dream a reality with these voice chat settings. Voice chat is extremely important in CSGO. Players can coordinate grenades and share info much faster by talking instead of typing. While most use it responsibly, it’s not hard to find CSGO players worth muting. Here are the best CSGO voice chat settings, plus some other useful audio …
dupreeh and Magisk reportedly to Vitality as Astralis era ends
Steven Rondina
Counter-Strike
Some of Astralis’ greatest stars have left the team, but don’t expect an extended layoff for the players. According to 1pv, Vitality is set to add the recently released trio of Peter “dupreeh” Rasmussen, Emil “Magisk” Reif, and Danny “zonic” Sørensen. This will see the team drop Richard “shox” Papillon and Jayson “Kyojin” Nguyen Van, as well as coach Rémy “XTQZZZ” Quoniam. This will make for a star-studded new European …
PGL Stockholm Major semifinals betting picks and analysis
William Davis
Counter-Strike
What might be the most exciting series in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive history is just two matches away. The Stockholm Major champions stage is the pinnacle of CSGO. The final eight teams have been cut in half. All that’s left is to decide the teams on the podium. The Stockholm Major semifinals features two exciting matchups with $2 million hanging in the balance. Savvy bettors have a chance to bank off …
CSGO fans mad about PGL Stockholm Major production issues
William Davis
Counter-Strike
CSGO fans finally got a massive live event with the PGL Stockholm Major, but it’s been dogged by production troubles throughout. PGL Major Stockholm experienced several audio and production issues during the Challengers Stage. Things got better for the Legends stage, but mutes and delays still hampered the experience. Now in the in-person Champions Stage playoffs, the problems continue to persist. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’s first live crowd in years has …
Virtus.pro vs. Heroic hits 1 million viewers for PGL Stockholm
Fariha Bhatti
Counter-Strike
PGL Major Stockholm has joined the list of the five most-watched Counter-Strike: Global Offensive events ever, hitting over one million viewers for a quarterfinals match between Heroic and Virtus.pro. Many factors contributed to PGL Major Stockholm being one of the most significant events in the history of CSGO. While the major was expected to be a massive success, the event is already smashing expectations in the quarterfinals of the playoffs. …
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.
