Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike
New weapons, enemies coming in Operation Broken Fang finale
M Alzamora
Tuesday night’s update for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive may have been small, but it primed the game for the final chapter of Operation Broken Fang. Developers pushed a patch in CSGO, intentionally including building blocks for next week’s Operation Broken Fang finale. Players will head back to the cooperative Autumn Harvest map from week one and “delve deeper into the Phoenix facility.” Heavy spoilers follow: Players will face off against a …
Counter-Strike
Dust 2, Inferno, and Vertigo have just turned 20 years old
M Alzamora
20 years ago, Counter-Strike fans played their first games on what are now some of the most famous maps in gaming history. Dust 2, Inferno, and Vertigo each celebrated two decades of play this weekend. On March 13, 2000, CS 1.1 was released, and it looked little like the modern first-person shooter that over 1,000,000 players will log into today. Player models looked very different, and players still had to …
Counter-Strike
New custom map lets players reenact CSGO’s greatest clutches
M Alzamora
Even though Counter-Strike: Global Offensive doesn’t see many mods, the game’s custom maps are a great way for players to try out something new. This week, an impressive map by Ansimist came out, letting players relive 15 clutch moments by some of CSGO’s most popular professional players. The map offers a ton of replayability with a handful of moments to start and more that can be unlocked as players gain …
Counter-Strike
Nivera steps down from Vitality’s roster
William Davis
Belgian AWPer Nabil “Nivera” Benrlitom is stepping down from Vitality’s starting roster, as the team abandons its six-man roster in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. Nivera joined Vitality back in October of last year, being introduced as the team’s sixth player. He initially only played on Dust II and Inferno but was later given playtime on Nuke as well. With Nivera on the roster, Vitality won IEM Beijing-Haidan and the Blast Premier …
Counter-Strike
Train now has two major smoke bugs that Valve isn’t fixing
M Alzamora
After all the work Valve did to clean up Counter-Strike: Global Offensive before the release of Operation Broken Fang, there are still parts of CSGO that could use some work. Recently, players reminded Valve again that something very weird was happening inside Train’s upper B halls, and it’s been happening for over a year. When players smoke the hallway in just the right location, a bugged smoke is cut in …
Counter-Strike
This might be the fastest USP 4K you’ll ever see in CSGO
Fariha Bhatti
Complexity’s in-game leader Benjamin “blameF” Bremer helped his team secure the first victory in the ESL Pro League season 13 opening match by his impeccable shot-calling and a smooth pistol kill streak. The blameF-led roster looked confident from the outset, despite kicking off the game on FunPlus Phoenix’s map pick Nuke. On their own turf Dust2, the team barred all entries on the Counter-Terrorists side and rallied on FunPlus Phoenix …
Counter-Strike
Thorin steps down as creative director at Flashpoint
William Davis
Duncan “Thorin” Shields has decided to not renew his contract with Flashpoint, criticizing the management of the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournament organizer. The 39-year-old joined Flashpoint in February 2020 as a creative director and on-air analyst. He became the public face of the company as he tried to help revolutionize the professional CSGO landscape. But he claims to have never been given the means to make a real impact. Flashpoint …
Counter-Strike
DIGNITAS makes the right move with Lekr0 roster signing
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive player Jonas “Lekr0” Olofsson has signed with DIGNITAS ahead of this week’s matchups, according to a release from the organization. This officially reunites the player with his former mentor, Patrik “f0rest” Lindberg. Lekr0 has replaced Haris “H4RR3” Hadzic, who was benched by DIGNITAS just five months after the organization brought the rifler onboard to replace famed CSGO legend Christopher “GeT_RiGhT” Alesund. Happy to announce that I will …
Reports say legendary CSGO AWPer kennyS might switch to Valorant
Fariha Bhatti
Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’s legendary professional player Kenny “kennyS” Schrub may be packing to move to Valorant. The infamous CSGO player exodus to Valorant continues to advance as more players switch games. Most recently, OG’s former rifle Ethan “Ethan” Arnold left to serve Valorant esports, leaving CSGO fans in a shock. The nascent scene of Riot’s shooter is maturing into proper esports, tempting for North American CSGO players missing out on …
3 big questions ahead of ESL Pro League 13’s group A
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
ESL Pro League Season 13 is just around the corner, so here’s a breakdown of the three biggest storylines ahead of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’s premier league. ESL Pro League’s 13th season starts on March 8, with the six teams from group A kicking off weeks of professional CSGO matches. Group A’s initial matchups are an excellent opportunity for fans to check out some rosters that are unknown commodities looking to …
CSGO pro ragequits during official match, team wins anyway
Fariha Bhatti
Counter-Strike
A close match between Nordavind and Movistar Riders proved that rage-quitting is never a good idea. The two teams faced off in a close match in the lower bracket of the Dreamhack Masters Spring 2021 qualifiers. Nordavind looked sharp on the third map Mirage, leaving no space for Movistar Riders to breathe. The team was struggling throughout the second half, and Nordavind progressed to match point. The team seemingly had …
These were the most popular pro CSGO teams in 2020
William Davis
Counter-Strike
Which Counter-Strike: Global Offensive team drew in the biggest audience in 2020? The worldwide travel restrictions imposed in 2020 had a major impact on CSGO’s tournament circuit. Players were locked in their houses, and competition moved from LAN events to online competitions. But the teams kept competing, giving the fans endless hours of top-tier CSGO to watch. With 2020 behind us, we can look back and see which teams drew …
Evil Geniuses adds young star oBo to its CSGO roster
William Davis
Counter-Strike
Evil Geniuses has announced Owen “oBo” Schlatter as the newest addition to their Counter-Strike: Global Offensive roster. The 17-year-old joins the lineup after having left Complexity Gaming. oBo initially benched himself in September 2020 to return to the United States. The American rifler had been competing with Complexity in Europe and cited the long time spent away from home and in uncertainty as the main reason for his departure. The …
You can skip CSGO’s main menu with this hidden command
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
Tired of loading into Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’s main menu? There’s a command that lets players skip the menu entirely and loads them right into the map of their choice. CSGO’s main menu sometimes feels like a roadblock to actually playing the game. Sitting at the main menu seems silly when most players’ first stop is a warmup map or a favorite surf server before their first match of the day. …
FaZe Clan’s karrigan reveals why he left mousesports
Fariha Bhatti
Counter-Strike
FaZe Clan’s new captain, Finn “karrigan” Andersen, has finally come clean about his major roster switch from mousesports to FaZe Clan. In an interview with HLTV, one of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’s most respected in-game leaders, karrigan, threw light on his decision to step down from mousesports. The skipper said that he wanted to choose experienced players over youngsters. karrigan’s return to FaZe was just as confusing for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive …
The definitive list of the best weapon skins in CSGO
M Alzamora
News
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’s weapon skins are one of the only ways that players can customize their competitive experience, but which ones are the best of the bunch? Everyone has a different opinion on the hundreds of skins available in CSGO, so it’s a hard question to answer outright. But there are some skins that everyone agrees are impressive, and that’s thanks to how each artist created their design around CSGO’s …
s1mple drops 69 kills in FPL match that draws 100,000 viewers
William Davis
Counter-Strike
A match in FACEIT Pro League drew over 100,000 viewers on Twitch, and it boasted Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev finishing the overtime thriller with 69 frags to his name. While FPL games usually are a way for pros to relax and play some Counter-Strike: Global Offensive without too much pressure, a match earlier today drew a lot of attention. Both teams had some of the biggest names in the game on …
kennyS moves to G2 Esports bench, Jackz rejoins active roster
Fariha Bhatti
News
G2 Esports’ Counter-Strike: Global Offensive division is set to undergo a major shift as Kenny “kennyS” Schrub has been moved to the bench. The legendary AWPer will switch places with Audric “JaCkz” Jug, who has been on G2 Esports’ bench for three months. JaCkz was dropped from the active roster when G2 picked up FaZe Clan rifler Nikola “NiKo” Kovač in the biggest signing in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive history. It …
electronic joins s1mple at the top of CSGO’s player rankings
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
Even after a rough IEM Katowice 2021, it looks like no one can stop Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev or Denis “electronic” Sharipov. But two of Katowice’s grand finalists are making a move on them. Natus Vincere struggled in last week’s IEM Katowice, dropping out of the tournament in fifth place after losing three in a row to FURIA, Team Liquid, and eventual champions Gambit, respectively. But one poor tournament can’t wipe …
Gambit and VP are clear winners in the latest CSGO rankings
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
This week’s rankings are proof that in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, hard work and consistent play can pay off in a big way. Both Gambit Esports and Virtus.pro have rightfully taken spots among CSGO’s top five teams, and that shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone. Even though Gambit rolled through VP in last weekend’s IEM Katowice 2021 grand finals, both teams have earned their places among CSGO’s top rosters. What’s almost …
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.
