Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike
FaZe Clan eliminated from IEM Katowice 2021 after loss to Furia
William Davis
FaZe Clan is out of IEM Katowice 2021 after losing an elimination game to Furia Esports. The two teams faced off in the lower bracket semifinals of group B. Both were in a position where a loss would mean elimination from the tournament, while they needed two wins in order to advance. Faze hit the ground running on the first map, Mirage. They established an early lead on their map …
Counter-Strike
misutaaa domes Team Liquid with Deagle 4K in IEM Katowice 2021
Fariha Bhatti
In a match against Team Liquid, Team Vitality’s Kévin “misutaaa” Rabier put on an incredible show with his Desert Eagle. The Group B upper bracket semifinals saw Vitality lock horns with Team Liquid. The Frenchmen entered in style, taking the first map win in overtime. However, Team Liquid came out strong on Vitality’s pick, Vertigo. A 10-5 score at halftime in Liquid’s favor saw Vitality in an awkward position. That …
Counter-Strike
Team Liquid beats Vitality as EliGE shines at IEM Katowice 2021
William Davis
Team Liquid edged out Vitality in a three-map thriller, securing a spot in Group B’s upper bracket final. Vitality was considered the slight favorite going into its match against Team Liquid. Back under the guidance of in-game leader, Dan “apEX” Madesclaire, the Frenchmen were considered serious contenders for the IEM Katowice 2021 title, while Team Liquid was still adjusting to a recent swap in its roster. That makes Team Liquid’s …
Counter-Strike
FaZe Clan cuts OG out of IEM Katowice 2021 in a one-sided win
Fariha Bhatti
FaZe Clan has eliminated OG from IEM Katowice 2021 in a convincing 2-0 win, moving on to the lower semi-finals. In a one-sided match, the revamped FaZe clan has pounced all over OG, heading further in IEM Katowice 2021. The team bested OG on its own map pick, Mirage. Then it out-aimed OG on Dust 2 in a clean 16-9 win. The sharp-looking FaZe Clan has moved ahead in IEM …
Counter-Strike
Team Vitality IGL apEX returns to CSGO ahead of IEM Katowice 2021
Fariha Bhatti
Team Vitality’s trusted in-game leader Dan “apEX” Madesclaire returned in time for IEM Katowice 2021. The organization has announced that its captain will return to action to take part in IEM Katowice 2021. The IGL is coming back from a brief personal break. KING @Vitality_apEX is back and ready to play the #IEMKatowice! ???? pic.twitter.com/M5Xgwu695W — Team Vitality ???? (@TeamVitality) February 18, 2021 Team Vitality’s apEX takes temporary leave from …
Counter-Strike
Astralis advances in IEM Katowice 2021 by sweeping mousesports
Fariha Bhatti
Astralis has sent the youngsters of mousesports to the lower bracket with a smooth 2-0 win in its IEM Katowice 2021 opening match. Despite mousesports’ surprisingly strong showing against Complexity in the play-in stage, the team failed to excel in the opening match of Group A. Astralis entered as the favourite team and looked the part in a big way. Still, mousesports made the team sweat before giving up the …
Counter-Strike
Team Spirit stuns G2 Esports, wins opener at IEM Katowice 2021
William Davis
Team Spirit continues to surprise at IEM Katowice 2021, with the CIS squad taking down G2 Esports. In the opening match of IEM Katowice 2021’s group stage, Spirit has extended its current win streak and beat G2 in a close 2-1 match. That brings Team Spirit’s winning streak to six matches in a row. Both teams won their map pick, with Spirit edging out the decider of Inferno. HERE WE …
Counter-Strike
FalleN replaces Stewie2k as Team Liquid IGL in IEM Katowice 2021
Fariha Bhatti
Team Liquid is putting Gabriel “FalleN” Toledo in the driver’s seat ahead of IEM Katowice 2021. It seems that role swaps in Team Liquid are far from over as Jake “Stewie2K” Yip is giving up the captain’s chair. After a series of disappointing results, FalleN will take over the in-game leader position in Team Liquid. When FalleN replaced Team Liquid’s trusted rifle Russel “Twistzz” Van Dulken after IEM Global Challenge, …
Gambit shines, Complexity and Fnatic flop in IEM Katowice 2021
William Davis
Counter-Strike
IEM Katowice 2021 kicked off with the play-in stage, where 16 teams fought for the last eight spots in the event. IEM Katowice 2021 will be the biggest Counter-Strike: Global Offensive event of 2021 to this point, with 16 of the best teams in the world competing for their part of a $972,000 prize pool and one of the most prestigious championships in esports. Unlike most other tournaments, IEM Katowice …
Complexity booted from IEM Katowice 2021, mousesports advances
William Davis
Counter-Strike
Mousesports has secured the final spot in IEM Katowice 2021’s group stage after beating Complexity in a close, three-map encounter. With mousesports securing the last spot, Complexity will be watching the rest of the event from their couch. Mousesports hit the ground running on the first map, Dust II. Overcoming the initial frustration of losing the pistol round, the European squad quickly advanced to an 8-4 lead. Spurred forward by …
These are the rarest skins in CSGO
William Davis
Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’s skins market is built around the system of supply and demand. When demand is high, and many want to own a certain skin, the price of that skin will go up. And when supply is low, the price of a skin will increase as well. Certain skins have become so rare that it’s not only expensive to acquire them but close to impossible to find one available. …
Cloud9 out of IEM Katowice 2021 after play-in loss to OG
Fariha Bhatti
Counter-Strike
OG put its best foot forward for its final map of the IEM Katowice 2021 play-in stage and threw Cloud9 out of the event with an action-packed 2-1 victory. The series saw both teams take each others’ map picks, with OG getting the better of Cloud9 on Nuke and Cloud9 edging out OG on Overpass. A hot start for OG on Dust 2 proved to be insurmountable for Cloud9, though …
Complexity’s k0nfig scored the best clutch of IEM Katowice 2021
Fariha Bhatti
Counter-Strike
In a match against Ninjas and Pyjamas, Complexity’s Kristian “k0nfig” Wienecke stole the spotlight with an impressive molotov clutch. Ninjas in Pyjamas advanced through the IEM Katowice 2021 play-in stage, but were on the bad end of one of the event’s most impressive plays. The team dispatched “the juggernaut” in a one-sided match, but k0nfig’s smooth play on Nuke outshone the Ninjas in Pyjamas. The Swedes entered the server looking …
MIBR upsets Fnatic, eliminates them from IEM Katowice 2021
William Davis
Counter-Strike
MIBR has eliminated Swedish powerhouse Fnatic from the IEM Katowice 2021 play-in stage In the first round of the lower bracket at the IEM Katowice play-in, MIBR pulled off a major upset. The Brazilians managed to beat Fnatic in a convincing 2-0 fashion. It’s only the second series win for the squad since signing with MIBR back in January. Fnatic and MIBR started the second day of the play-in with …
karrigan rejoins FaZe Clan, confirms split from mousesports
Fariha Bhatti
Counter-Strike
The long-awaited switch has finally materialized as FaZe Clan announced the addition of Finn “karrigan” Andersen to its Counter-Strike: Global Offensive roster. BLAST Premier Spring’s group stage culminated on a bittersweet note with Olof “olofmeister” Kajbjer stepping down from FaZe Clan. In a pre-match interview, acting in-game leader Marcelo “coldzera” David had hinted at a new captain already calling the shots from the background. Following the team’s elimination from the …
Na`Vi breezes past FaZe Clan, wins BLAST Premier Spring group
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
Natus Vincere walked away with an easy 2-0 win over FaZe Clan to take home first place in BLAST Premier’s group C, with an unlikely smoke defuse from in-game leader Kirill “Boombl4” Mikhailov sealing up the game. Things didn’t start out well for FaZe Clan on Dust 2, with Na`Vi taking an early lead as s1mple and electronic tore apart the pistol round. The rest of the match wouldn’t go much …
Na`Vi’s B1t is hitting more headshots than ScreaM, Twistzz
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
Winter might be Natus Vincere’s season. Almost a year after incredible performances from Na`Vi’s players at IEM Katowice 2020, the team’s youngest member is making serious waves at the start of 2021. 18-year-old Valeriy “B1t” Vakhovskiy has started to settle into his role as NaVi’s sixth player and he’s performing better than anyone could have expected. B1t has been better than the eye test suggests, showing off some stats that …
Will olofmeister retire? A look back at olofmeister’s peak
William Davis
Counter-Strike
Now that FaZe Clan’s in-game leader Marcelo “Coldzera” David has all but confirmed the rumors surrounding Olof “olofmeister” Kajbjer’s potential retirement, it’s time to look back at his career. The legendary Swedish player will go down as one of the biggest stars that Counter-Strike: Global Offensive has ever seen. But just how good was he during his prime? Deciding when a player was at his best is a tricky thing …
FaZe broky lands an insane no-scope on NAF after tabbing out of game
Fariha Bhatti
Counter-Strike
In a recent match, FaZe’s AWPer Helvijs “broky” Saukants proved that tabbing out of the game isn’t a reason good enough to perform poorly after he shut down Team Liquid’s Keith “NAF” Markovic in an AWP no-scope. The opening round of BLAST Premier Spring’s Group C saw FaZe clan go up against Team Liquid for a slot in upper finals. All eyes were on Gabriel “FalleN” Toledo and Russel “Twistzz” …
s1mple tells fans to “show some respect” after ZywOo criticism
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev wasn’t happy with his viewers making fun of fellow Counter-Strike: Global Offensive player Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut’s performance during Vitality’s matches during BLAST Premier’s group stage, and the Natus Vincere star let them know about it. s1mple has come a long way since CSGO veteran Wiktor “TaZ” Wojtas dressed down the young player on Twitter in 2016. Since then, s1mple has attempted to take the high road in …
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.
