Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike
IEM Cologne playoffs betting analysis and match winner picks
William Davis
Only six teams remain in the fight for CSGO’s first LAN championship since 2020 at the IEM Cologne playoffs. After an exciting play-in and group stage, 24 of the world’s best CSGO teams have been whittled down to just six. Group stage winners G2 Esports and Natus Vincere earned express tickets to the semifinals. The second and third-place teams start the single-elimination bracket from the quarterfinals. These IEM Cologne playoffs …
Counter-Strike
PGL says CSGO Major might not take place in Sweden
Fariha Bhatti
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’s first major since 2019 may not be held in Sweden, just like Dota 2’s showpiece event, The International 10. In an email to SportExpressen, the CEO of PGL has revealed that the major CSGO event is encountering similar difficulties as Dota’s TI10, which may lead to a change of location. “There is no new development; we can decide any day now to move it from Sweden. We …
Counter-Strike
FaZe Clan surge past Heroic for spot in IEM Cologne playoffs
William Davis
Unexpected victories over Complexity, Team Spirit, and Team Vitality have landed FaZe Clan a spot in the IEM Cologne playoffs. FaZe Clan’s CSGO division has secured a top-six finish at IEM Cologne after a dominant play-in round and multiple group stage upsets. The return to offline play could be a major boon to the star-studded roster. FaZe will take on Gambit Esports in the first round of IEM Cologne’s $1,000,000 …
Counter-Strike
Ninjas in Pyjamas set to merge with Ultra Prime parent company
Steven Rondina
Reports are circulating that major changes have come to one of esports’ most enduring organizations. Reuters is reporting that Ninjas in Pyjamas and ESV5 have merged together via equity swap, with the intent of the new business entity being to find space listed on NASDAQ. If true, this organization would become the first publicly traded esports organization in the United States. Other esports organizations are publicly traded abroad, with the …
Counter-Strike
What is CSGO surfing? How this glitch turned into a mini-game
William Davis
Surfing is a unique feature of the Source engine that lets players quickly gain speed when hugging steep angles. What started as a glitch has become the most popular custom game modes in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and other Source titles. Surfing has become an iconic CSGO custom game for its difficult, yet strangely calming challenge. Surfing has its roots in the original Half-Life’s Goldsource engine. Since Half-Life served as the …
Counter-Strike
IEM Cologne 2021 group stage best bets and betting analysis
William Davis
The main event of IEM Cologne is upon us. The eight teams from play-ins will match up against the eight directly invited teams on LAN for $1,000,000 in prizes. CSGO teams from across the globe are under pressure at IEM Cologne 2021. The historic city is hosting the first offline CSGO event since early 2020. Only eight play-in teams have emerged into the group stage. They now face an even …
Counter-Strike
Valve adds fair play guidelines to fight CSGO matchmaking hackers
Fariha Bhatti
Players have been complaining about blatant hackers running rampant in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’s matchmaking queue. Instead of coming up with a more severe punishment for these cheaters, Valve has rolled out new “fair play guidelines” in a recent patch update. The cheating problem in CSGO isn’t a new thing. Players have long been bugging the developer to wipe out the game’s hackers, and it seems that Valve has finally listened. …
Counter-Strike
The reasons why CSGO is so popular
William Davis
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive remains one of the most popular global esports games as it nears its 10th anniversary next year. It was a successful competitive title right from the start and it hasn’t seemed to slow down despite newer games competing for the FPS crown. Is it because of its fanbase and gaming community? Or is it the million-dollar tournaments or the ease of playing it? To shed more light, …
Betting analysis for the best play-in games at IEM Cologne 2021
William Davis
Counter-Strike
Cologne is a landmark city in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive history, and Intel Extreme Masters is one of the most prestigious circuits in the game. IEM Cologne marks a return to LAN play, something CSGO has sorely missed since early 2020. Offline play in a historic city for a $1,000,000 prize purse makes IEM Cologne the must-watch CSGO event of the summer. Eight teams have already secured a group stage berth. …
Heroic coach Hunden is missing from official IEM Cologne lineup
Fariha Bhatti
Counter-Strike
Heroic’s coach Nicolai “HUNDEN” Petersen will be missing the seventh iteration of IEM Cologne, the first international LAN event for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. Heroic is one of the top eights teams directly qualifying for IEM Cologne, and the organization has made some significant changes in the leadership roles ahead of the event. The team has revealed its backroom staff for IEM Cologne, and Hunden’s name didn’t make the list. Heroic …
All of the correct callouts for the newest CSGO map, Ancient
Fariha Bhatti
Counter-Strike
Many players are still not entirely familiar with Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’s dark and leafy competitive map Ancient. Learning the proper callouts for this new map might help you climb the ranks faster. Not understanding the map may hinder your ranked progress. Callouts are a basic and instrumental part of any shooter game as they help bolster team play and communication. It’s incredibly crucial that you keep your mic active to …
zonic may leave Astralis and take multiple players with him
William Davis
Counter-Strike
After more than five years as the Astralis head coach, Danny “zonic” Sørensen might be looking at new options after his contract expires at the end of this year According to a recent report by HLTV, the Danish head coach might be looking to leave the organization at the end of the year. If the reports are true, the legendary team would lose the head coach who has played a …
The CSGO player count is dramatically declining in 2021
Fariha Bhatti
Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive has lost a large chunk of its player base in the second quarter of 2021, according to Steam Charts. CSGO’s future has been up in the air since the release of rival tactical shooter Valorant, but the game managed to keep steady for several months after. That’s changed since May, with the game experiencing one of its sharpest declines in active players in years, dropping more than …
This is why the Dual Berettas are still the worst weapon in CSGO
William Davis
Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is a fairly serious tactical shooter, so it’s no surprise that the game’s akimbo pistols are the worst weapon in the tactical title. All of CSGO’s sidearms have clear strengths and weaknesses. The Desert Eagle can kill in a single hit, but has massive recoil. The TEC-9 is the king of run-and-gun, but struggles to connect at range. The Dual Berettas’ biggest upside is its double magazine, …
Team Spirit’s run to playoffs at StarLadder RMR is miraculous
William Davis
Counter-Strike
Four consecutive comebacks in the group stage have landed Team Spirit a spot in the StarLadder CIS RMR playoffs. As the #1 Regional Major Rankings team in the CIS region, Team Spirit was expected to dominate their group stage on the way to a playoff berth. Spirit’s final scoreline of 4-0 lines up with the prediction, but the team’s group stage run was anything but clean. Team Spirit lost the …
j3kie and SENSEi leave Akuma after bombing out of StarLadder RMR
William Davis
Counter-Strike
Evgeniyy “j3kie” Sergachev and Dmitriy “SENSEi” Shvorak have both removed themselves from Akuma’s Counter-Strike: Global Offensive roster after a disappointing result at the StarLadder Regional Major Rankings event. j3kie revealed the news with a social media post of his stream and a message that roughly translates to “Stream. I am searching for a new team.” SENSEi removed any mention of Akuma from his personal profiles. While not official statements, both …
Former Astralis, FaZe Clan player Kjaerbye retires from CSGO
Fariha Bhatti
Counter-Strike
Danish Counter-Strike: Global Offensive pro player Markus “Kjaerbye” Kjærbyehas announced his retirement from the game, citing a lack of “hunger to compete” as the primary reason. He announced the news suddenly on Twitter: Thank you CS ???? for all the opportunities & memories you have given me! pic.twitter.com/nFdpT4LqMp — KJAERBYE (@KjaerbyeCS) June 30, 2021 Kjaerbye is a familiar face for CSGO esports fans with Kjaerbye’s heyday coming as he helped …
Improve your CSGO arsenal with these skins that cost under $5
William Davis
Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive skins can cost hundreds of thousands, but you don’t need to break the bank to start a nice collection. There are plenty of eye-catching skins that sell for under $5 on the Steam Marketplace. Here are some of the best options for anyone looking to jazz up their arsenal for an affordable price. The Baroque Purple is an oft-overlooked AK-47 skin, so the price is still very …
NBK leaving CSGO for Valorant, seemingly departs from OG
Fariha Bhatti
Counter-Strike
French Counter-Strike: Global Offensive maestro Nathan “NBK-” Schmitt has announced his official switch to Riot Games’ tactical shooter, Valorant. NBK has finally made the big switch after spending almost three months as the frontman of DBL Poney. In a surprise video announcement, the professional player has confirmed that his time in CSGO has finally come to an end. “I lived the big disappointments and the best tournament wins. Counter–Strike gave me …
XANTARES banned on Twitch following $600,000 charity stream
William Davis
Counter-Strike
BIG rifler İsmailсan “XANTARES” Dörtkardeş has been banned from Twitch for unknown reasons. This marks XANTARES’ second Twitch ban in 2021, with his first one coming in April. The exact cause of the ban has yet to be publicly announced and likely will not be. According to his social media, even XANTARES himself doesn’t know what breached Twitch’s rules. The announcement comes just after BIG earned a $600,000 donation for …
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.
