Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike
ScreaM still prefers CSGO to Valorant, despite success in VCT
Fariha Bhatti
Tyler “Ninja” Blevins recently asked his fans a question, with Adil “ScreaM” Benrlitom giving him a surprising answer. Counter-Strike has some of the sharpest shooters in all of esports but even against that fierce competition, ScreaM earned the label of “Headshot Machine.” His departure from the game in favor of Valorant was met with sadness, but a recent tweet shows he’s still a CSGO guy for life even if he’s …
Counter-Strike
Snax ace can’t stop NiP’s controversial win in Anonymo rematch
Fariha Bhatti
Ninjas in Pyjamas finally managed to win its controversial rematch against Anonymo, but Janusz “Snax” Pogorzelski didn’t make it easy. The May 18 game between the two European sides by far one of the most anticipated games of Flashpoint Season 3. The two teams locked horns on May 14, but packet loss issues plagued Anonymo’s win against Ninjas in Pyjamas and created instant controversy. We spoke internally about Flashpoint’s decision, …
Counter-Strike
The infamous CSGO bug that got 37 coaches banned still exists
Fariha Bhatti
Valve has rolled out several patch updates over the past few months, but one particularly significant bug is still active in the game. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive rarely has game-breaking bugs, but a recent spectator glitch rocked the esports scene. CSGO coach and analyst Sergey “lmbt” Bezhanov highlighted that controversial coach bug can still be triggered during a game. How the fuck it’s still there? Wasn’t in a coach sport for …
Counter-Strike
NiP vs Anonymo plagued by packet loss, Flashpoint orders rematch
Fariha Bhatti
The best-of-three series between Ninjas and Pyjamas and Anonymo played on May 14 was plagued by technical pauses and lag issues. The situation has developed into a complicated drama that remains unresolved for now. That May 14 series marked Nicolai “dev1ce” Reedtz’s debut with NiP against Anonymo. The Swedish team had the odds in its favour against a Polish squad ranked 44 in the world rankings. However, Anonymo wiped out …
Counter-Strike
Is AI the future of CSGO’s anti-cheat? Gabe Newell says yes
Steven Rondina
Gabe Newell is still happily stranded in New Zealand and surprisingly, he’s much more talkative about Valve than he usually is. The Valve president recently did a question-and-answer session at a high school, which was recorded by a student in attendance. A long list of subjects were touched upon, with Counter-Strike’s anti-cheat issues being among them. Newell was vague in his response. “A lot of the work we’re going to …
Counter-Strike
Allu takes leave from ENCE as roster breakdown continues
Fariha Bhatti
ENCE AWPer Aleksi “allu” Jalli has announced a temporary break from competitive Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, citing “personal reasons.” The legendary Finnish player will be stepping back from professional play for the foreseeable future to rest and recuperate. Polish player Olek “hades” Miskiewicz will be substituted in for allu, but the timeline for his return is still unknown. The new stand-in is a young talent from Poland and has previously competed …
Counter-Strike
CSGO dev insists that Valve’s community management is great
Steven Rondina
If gamers felt a strange chill run up their spine in the last few days, it likely came from the fact that Valve is giving lessons to other developers in how to do community management. The developer of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Dota 2 dusted off the Steamworks Development channel on YouTube to publish presentations on game development, with one of them being a detailed breakdown of how Valve approaches …
Counter-Strike
This post-plant molotov lineup warrants easy win on Dust 2
Fariha Bhatti
Dust 2 is all about spraying and praying. But these new post-plant lineups proves that sometimes utility can save the day. Dust 2 is a tricky site to take control of, especially if Counter-Terrorists have an AWPer holding long. However, it’s better to tactically move into the A site than die to an SMG close range at the B site. On Dust 2, B site is a lion’s den that …
These grenade lineups are crucial for playing on Ancient
Fariha Bhatti
Counter-Strike
Valve has finally rolled out a new map for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’s competitive pool, and it’s a bit different than other active duty locations. CSGO’s competitive experience was completely transformed with the addition of a hot new location, Ancient. The new map replaced Train after a six-year tenure. The drastic change prompted mixed reactions from CSGO fans who admired Train’s complex design, but players are finally getting the hang of …
New CSGO patch upgrades chicken models, brings new skins, and more
Fariha Bhatti
Counter-Strike
New Counter-Strike: Global Offensive patch notes mark the end of Operation Broken Fang. But it brings tons of stuff for players to sink their teeth in. Valve has rolled in a whole new case with bubbly skins for CSGO weapons, a new map, and a model update for the chickens. The May 4th update is one of the most significant ones since Valve added Vertigo to the active duty map …
Train dropped from active duty map pool, replaced by Ancient
Fariha Bhatti
Counter-Strike
Train’s tenure in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is over. At least, as far as active duty goes. Valve has revamped the active duty map pool with the addition of a fresh new location, Ancient. CSGO hasn’t seen a massive map update in a long time. While the game has a tall list of unique maps designed by developers and community members, the competitive map pool was still restricted to the same …
Is Valve now permanently banning CSGO account boosters?
Steven Rondina
Counter-Strike
Valve is cracking down on boosting in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. A CSGO player recently took to Reddit to discuss their recent banishment from the game. In a post on the site, they shared a message they received from Valve that suggests a larger crackdown on accounts with manipulated MMR is currently underway. “The account you are writing in for was identified as having its CSGO Skill Group and/or profile level …
Valve admits it was letting cheaters into trusted CSGO games
Fariha Bhatti
Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive fans, rejoice! A recent fix from Valve may change your competitive experience. Cheaters have always been a nuisance in CSGO. However, a recent surge in hackers was reported by several CSGO casters, which players confirmed. Most games were littered with spin bot users, wall-hacks, trigger shots, and other advanced hacks that squeezed the fun out of casual games. The developer has heard the woes and revealed the …
Is olofmeister returning to CSGO or switching to Valorant?
Fariha Bhatti
Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive veteran Olof “olofmeister” Kajbjer is not done with competitive play, and he may even consider Valorant if it comes down to that. The legendary CSGO rifler stepped down from FaZe Clan after a brief break from competitive play. Since then, the reports of his retirement have been making the rounds, but it seems he still has unfinished business in esports. In one of his recent streams, the …
Check out this new KennyS wallbang spot for AWPs on Nuke
Fariha Bhatti
News
Legendary AWPer Kenny “KennyS” Schrub may be flying under the radar since stepping down from G2 Esports, but he’s actively sharing game knowledge with his fans. His recent wallbang on Nuke will blow your mind. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive has a few timeless maps that have enjoyed special status among the players. Nuke is one of the oldest maps in CSGO, but players still find it tricky to play in competitive …
ESIC banned coach Hunden returns to Heroic for DreamHack Masters
Fariha Bhatti
Counter-Strike
Coach Nicolai “HUNDEN” Petersen will return to Heroic ahead of Dreamhack Masters Spring after completing the suspension period levied against him by Esports Integrity Commission in 2020. The Danish coach will resume his duties as the coach of Heroic, the organization has announced. His first event with the team will be Dreamhack Masters Spring which will be played from April 29 to May 9. Nicolai ‘HUNDEN’ Petersen will be back on …
PhantomL0rd lawsuit reveals Twitch’s secret Strike Guide
Olivia Richman
Counter-Strike
Twitch has been criticized quite harshly over the years for doling out inconsistent bans to its streamers, but a recent lawsuit revealed that the streaming platform may have a Strike Guide that it follows when it comes to these decisions. James “PhantomL0rd” Vargas won his lawsuit against Twitch on April 23. Twitch banned PhantomL0rd in 2016, and the trial’s jury eventually concluded the Amazon-owned company “breached its standard partner contract, …
s1mple talks about player burnout in CSGO, says there’s always motivation
Fariha Bhatti
Counter-Strike
A plethora of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive players stepped back from pro play in 2021, citing burnout symptoms. But, Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev is more motivated than ever. Mental health issues in esports athletes were a hot pic during the online format of 2021. The conversation is still active, but s1mple is confused about why a professional player would feel less motivated to compete. On his live stream, the Ukrainian player read a …
Valve called out by CSGO caster for rampant cheating
Fariha Bhatti
Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is one of the most challenging shooters to master, but its hacker problem may be a bigger issue than the steep learning curve. CSGO players are no stranger to enemies turning on third-party software to gain an edge in the middle of the game. Caster Harry “JustHarry” Russell brought this up after he was matched up against cheaters in his ranked games. My last 3 games of …
You can finally rush B on Dust 2 with this smoke lineup
Fariha Bhatti
Counter-Strike
Dust 2’s B site has changed quite a bit over the last year and that has come at the expense of the terrorist side. This quick smoke lineup may help create unique plays around the B site that will make things a bit easier. Last year, Valve tweaked the site and flipped the double doors, giving Counter-Terrorists a very powerful angle over the entrance to the site. This allows 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.
