Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike
Is olofmeister returning to CSGO or switching to Valorant?
Fariha Bhatti
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 …
News
Check out this new KennyS wallbang spot for AWPs on Nuke
Fariha Bhatti
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 …
Counter-Strike
ESIC banned coach Hunden returns to Heroic for DreamHack Masters
Fariha Bhatti
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 …
Counter-Strike
PhantomL0rd lawsuit reveals Twitch’s secret Strike Guide
Olivia Richman
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, …
Counter-Strike
Developer warns Source 2 might change how CSGO feels forever
Steven Rondina
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive fans have long clamored for the popular first-person shooter to be ported to the Source 2 engine, but it might not be everything they’re hoping for. A former Valve developer discussed what a Source 2-enabled CSGO might look like, and it’s not exactly what some fans have been expecting. Though other Valve titles have been ported to Source 2 effectively, differences in how the game is processed …
Counter-Strike
Astralis transfers dev1ce to Ninjas In Pyjamas CSGO roster
William Davis
Long-time Astralis star Nicolai “dev1ce” Reedtz has been transferred to Ninjas In Pyjamas on a three-year contract. After more than five years in an Astralis jersey, dev1ce will be seeking new opportunities at NiP. The transfer happens after some poor performances by Astralis during 2021, who are currently sitting without a trophy for this year. The transfer is a result of a personal request from dev1ce, according to an announcement …
Counter-Strike
How to play CSGO map Tuscan before official release
Fariha Bhatti
Counter-Strike’s legendary map Tuscan is finally returning to the game with a modern look. CS 1.6 laid the base for competitive FPS gaming that matured into proper esports when CSGO was released. A few maps like Dust 2 and Nuke made the cut in Valve’s new shooter, but some iconic locations were left behind when CS 1.6 players migrated to Global Offensive. Tuscan was one of the most played competitive …
Counter-Strike
Newly discovered Nuke wall bang kills three enemies in one shot
Fariha Bhatti
Nuke is a complex map to play, as this new triple wall bang lineup proves. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive has tons of map variants and locations, but only seven stand out in the active duty map pool. Nuke is one of the most confusing maps in the competitive collection due to its unique design that mashes up sound cues. The two-story map has tight choke corners and adjoined entryways that allow …
summit1g shows off his diamond-encrusted mouse worth $100,000
Fariha Bhatti
Counter-Strike
Popular Twitch streamer Jaryd “summit1g” Lazar’s newest piece of jewellery is an exceptional and freakishly expensive mouse. summit is one of Twitch’s most-followed streamers. The former pro Counter-Strike: Global Offensive player has garnered a massive fanbase with his entertaining content on trending games. Recently, summit has actively been roleplaying in the NoPixel GTA server alongside the likes of Félix “xQc” Lengyel and others. With his regular streams and compelling content, …
People are confusing esports’ ESL with new European Super League
Steven Rondina
Counter-Strike
European football is set to undergo an enormous shakeup in 2021, and that’s causing a bit of a branding issue in esports. ESL, one of esports’ top tournament organizers that operates across almost every notable title in competitive gaming, has been getting mixed up lately with the new European Super League. The fledgling soccer association has been one of the most heavily discussed topics in all of sports, and that’s …
CSGO pro Elige upset for not getting an invite to Valorant 10-mans
Fariha Bhatti
Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive professional player Jonathan “EliGE” Jablonowski is not happy with Valorant 10-mans Discord admin Roy “StrongLegs” Ahad. 10-mans servers are a solid platform for pro players to showcase their abilities and compete against other skilled players. These servers are often divided into tiers based on in-game ranks, accomplishments in the relevant esports scene, and skill level. The division helps maintain fairness in all games so that players can …
Floppy, Xeppa leave CSGO to join Cloud9’s Valorant roster
Fariha Bhatti
Counter-Strike
Ricky “floppy” Kemery and Erick “Xeppaa” Bach have officially stepped back from Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, but will remain under Cloud9’s banner as a part of its Valorant roster. Rumors of floppy transitioning to Valorant have lingered for a while now, but few expected Xeppaa to make the big switch. Cloud9 took to Twitter to confirm reports of floppy and Xeppaa joining the Valorant roster, two days after dropping its oldest …
Valve removes permaban on Jamppi, other VAC-banned CSGO pros
Fariha Bhatti
Counter-Strike
Valve has finally updated its event guidelines for the first time in more than eight years, softening the permabans that have historically been leveled against VAC-banned players. The changes will see 25 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive professional players freed from the strict ban. These significant tweaks arrive with a focus on Valve-sponsored events for the 2021 RMR season. In a short blog post the developer stated that a VAC ban would …
Tarik steps down from Evil Geniuses, addresses Valo
Fariha Bhatti
Counter-Strike
Tarik “tarik” Celik has announced his exit from Evil Geniuses to pursue content creation, putting the rumors of switching to Valorant to rest. Evil Geniuses’ ace rifler and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’s one of the iconic players tarik has officialized his temporary break from competitive play. The rumors of him quitting CSGO for Riot Games’ shooter have been rife for quite a while, but the professional player clarified that he’s sitting …
Manchester United manager Ole Solskjaer invests in esports
William Davis
Counter-Strike
Manchester United’s manager and former Norwegian soccer player Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has been announced as the new co-owner of ULTI Agency, a company that represents pro gamers. Solskjaer will become a minority shareholder in the company, after he and his agent Jim Solbakken acquired a combined 25% of the company through their ventures. “Esports has become bigger than anyone would have dared to predict just a few years ago. It spreads …
Who is Kyojin, Vitality’s newest CSGO player?
William Davis
Counter-Strike
The latest addition to Vitality’s Counter-Strike: Global Offensive roster, Jason “Kyojin” Nguyen is a relatively unknown name in the pro scene. Kyojin is a French CSGO player of Vietnamese descent. Despite already being 22 years old, he will make his debut as a professional player on Vitality. He previously played on several French mix teams, competing in local tournaments and qualifiers for bigger events. He recently stood in for Heretics …
Unknown 9Z Team eliminates Vitality from BLAST Premier Showdown
William Davis
Counter-Strike
The unknown 9z Team managed to eliminate Vitality in the first round of the BLAST Premier Showdown, in what is likely Cédric “RpK” Guipouy’s final game withthe French team. 9Z, a team that qualified for the Showdown through the South American qualifier, was marked as the heavy underdog going into the series. To make things worse, the team was forced to play with Rajohn “easTor” Linato as a stand-in. Vitality …
CSGO feed: News, tweets, more from top pro players
William Davis
Counter-Strike
Thanks to everyone who took part in Operation Broken Fang. As of now the Operation has concluded. Players have until May 15th to spend Operation Stars. We have a few updates today, beginning with the Active Duty Map Pool—Train has been removed and Ancient has been added. — CS:GO (@CSGO) May 3, 2021 Most importantly, new chickens and today’s Release Notes: https://t.co/h2QBdeNOYe pic.twitter.com/hLibdwf67m — CS:GO (@CSGO) May 3, 2021 Today …
These are the very best surf maps for CSGO
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
It may not seem like it now, but Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’s underground surf community is thriving thanks to all the new players that have joined the game over the last year. Because of that, there’s no better time to break out our top three favorite surf maps of all time and take a look at the CSGO mod’s first full-length game based on surfing. Every player who’s tried their hand …
Latest Steam scam likely a hoax as “Secret Club” makes mysterious appearance
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
“Fivetowns,” “Seventowns,” “Vote for my Counter-Strike: Global Offensive team…” All players have heard these before. Steam has no shortage of scams trying to steal players’ passwords, games, and items from unsuspecting their inventories. But thankfully, the platform’s latest viral threat probably isn’t real at all. With that out of the way, the strange videos do seem to be trying to let players in on a secret. When it comes to …
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.
