Counter-Strike
Esports Betting
NRG vs Fnatic StarLadder Budapest Major 2025: Best odds, picks
Fariha Bhatti
Stage 1 of the StarLadder Budapest Major 2025 is wrapping up, with NRG and Fnatic among the final teams for Stage 2 are about to be locked in to face some of the most accomplished Counter-Strike 2 rosters in the world. It’s a good moment for bettors to check the latest odds and picks before placing their wagers. Group play at the StarLadder Budapest Major 2025 has already delivered enough …
Kick
StarLadder Budapest Major hit by stream and production issues
Fariha Bhatti
StarLadder has issued an apology for the production issues at the ongoing Budapest Major 2025, acknowledging the problems after a full day of criticism from livid CS2 fans and bettors. StarLadder Budapest Major 2025’s first day will likely go down as the most talked-about opening day of any CS2 Major. The conversation wasn’t due to any shocking upsets, but was rather attributable to the relentless tech and production issues that …
Kick
Where to watch the StarLadder Budapest Major 2025
Khizar Mundia
A new sponsor has joined StarLadder Budapest Major for 2025, and this new development has sparked speculation that the upcoming StarLadder Major won’t be streamed on Twitch and YouTube with fans only able to watch on Kick. Online crypto gambling and sports betting hub Rollbit has joined StarLadder as its lead gambling sponsor for the Budapest Major, one of the biggest Counter-Strike 2 events of the calendar year. Some fans …
Esports Betting
How to bet on StarLadder Budapest Major 2025 and best promos
Fariha Bhatti
The latest Counter-Strike 2 Major is almost here, and with bettors gearing up to cash in, we can help to figure out how and where to bet on StarLadder Budapest Major 2025, while also pointing the best available promos for the CS2 tournament. CS2’s esports calendar is packed with S-tier events each and every year, but nothing matches the Valve-backed Major tournaments. These high-stakes events are prime territory for bettors, …
Esports Betting
Falcons vs Team Vitality BLAST Fall Rivals 2025 semifinal: Best odds, picks
Fariha Bhatti
Team Vitality had to earn its spot in these semifinals the hard way with a well-rested Falcons was already waiting, and with Vitality’s form swinging wildly in the group stages, bettors will want to tread carefully when placing wagers on the BLAST Rivals Fall 2025 semifinals. Team Vitality vs Falcons will be the second semifinal of the day, going live after the FURIA vs paiN match-up that will have already …
Esports Betting
FURIA vs paiN BLAST Fall Rivals 2025 playoffs: Best odds and picks
Fariha Bhatti
The semifinals for BLAST Rivals Fall 2025 are locked in, and with the underdogs are about to face the event favorites in one of the most anticipated match-ups of the season, these are the key odds and picks for FURIA vs paiN Gaming to help bettors place their wagers. BLAST Rivals Fall 2025 is nearing its boiling point, with one last hurdle left before the finals on November 16, 2025. …
Esports Betting
Team Spirit vs Team Vitality BLAST Fall Rivals 2025 playoffs: Best odds, picks
Fariha Bhatti
Team Vitality and Team Spirit are all set to meet in the second quarterfinal of BLAST Rivals Fall 2025, and we’ve gathered the best odds and picks for the playoff match to help bettors place their wagers. BLAST Rivals Fall 2025 has proven difficult for both underdogs and popular teams that have recently been slipping in form. Early brackets had strong lineups matched against struggling ones, making the event unpredictable …
Esports Betting
Passion UA vs paiN BLAST Fall Rivals 2025 playoffs: Best odds, picks
Fariha Bhatti
BLAST Rivals Fall 2025 is finally nearing its climax with the playoff bracket locked in. Passion UA and paiN will be the first two teams to clash in the semifinals, with FURIA awaiting the winner. BLAST Rivals Fall 2025 hasn’t seen much in the way of upsets thus far, with outright odds hitting exactly where they were expected to. Then again, that’s mainly because the gaps between teams were so …
BLAST Rivals Fall 2025 betting guide: Schedule, odds, where to bet
Fariha Bhatti
Esports Betting
All eyes in the CS2 world now turn to BLAST Rivals Fall 2025, and our comprehensive betting guide includes a look at the best odds and picks for those planning to test their luck as the event gets underway. BLAST Rivals Fall 2025 will bring together some of the world’s top CS2 teams, including Team Vitality, FURIA, Falcons, The MongolZ, and more. Four of the eight teams earned their spots …
Team Vitality vs FURIA IEM Chengdu 2025 final: Best odds, picks
Fariha Bhatti
Esports Betting
IEM Chengdu 2025 will wrap up with a grand final that could go either way, and for bettors looking to make this tough call, we’ve got the best odds and picks for Team Vitality vs FURIA. IEM Chengdu 2025 has been packed full of surprises, as several dark horses broke expectations and left bettors reeling. Despite it all, the grand final shaped up exactly by the book, featuring the top …
Falcons vs FURIA IEM Chengdu 2025 semifinal: Best odds, picks
Fariha Bhatti
Esports Betting
The IEM Chengdu 2025 semifinals matchup between FURIA and Falcons will determine who faces the winner of Team Vitality and MOUZ, and we’ve gathered the best odds and picks available for the second semifinal match-up. The winner between Team Vitality and MOUZ will claim the first berth in the IEM Chengdu 2025 finals, while the winner of FURIA vs Team Falcons will join them on November 9 for the final …
Vitality vs MOUZ IEM Chengdu 2025 semifinal: Best odds and picks
Fariha Bhatti
Esports Betting
IEM Chengdu 2025 began with 16 teams and that list has now narrowed to the top four, and as MOUZ and Team Vitality will clash for a berth in the grand final, we take a look at the best odds and picks available for this rivalry renewal. IEM Chengdu 2025 began with clear favorites, but the group stage turned out to be anything but predictable. Bettors have had to tread …
IEM Chengdu 2025 betting guide: Schedule, odds, where to bet
Fariha Bhatti
Esports Betting
IEM Chengdu 2025 brings together some of the strongest pro Counter-Strike 2 teams in the world, and while predicting its winners is no easy task, our betting guide can help you to make the smartest picks and will give insight on where to place those bets. IEM Chengdu 2025 features 16 top CS2 teams, each having earned its slot through the Valve Regional Standings (VRS). With a hefty $300,000 prize …
XYZVerse launches new CS2 League with massive $5.5 million prize
Fariha Bhatti
Counter-Strike
Crypto project XYZVerse has now announced the CS2 League, a Counter-Strike 2 tournament featuring a massive $5.5 million prize pool comprised of both cash and tokens. Esports and crypto have been steadily converging in recent years, with more brands outside of the traditional gaming spheres investing in titles like CS2 that can overlap with gambling and blockchain communities. XYZVerse is following that trend with its upcoming CS2 League, which could …
The biggest esports winners of August 2025
Steven Rondina
Counter-Strike
While some major esports titles are in their offseason or are in the middle of standard league play, a few hosted their biggest events of the year in August. Similar to July, the Esports World Cup and its enormous prize pools are key when discussing the biggest winners this month. But in terms of prestige and popularity, tournaments like Evo and IEM Cologne dwarf the event. Here are the teams …
The biggest winners in esports in June 2025
Steven Rondina
Counter-Strike
Valorant, Counter-Strike 2, and Call of Duty all had some of their biggest events of 2025, which adds some extra stakes to the biggest esports winners of June 2025. Esports can sometimes be samey. Games like Dota 2 only really have a couple of events each year that matter, making the other 10 months of the year a bit of a treadmill. Sure, money changes hands and esports is inherently …
The biggest winners in esports of May 2025
Steven Rondina
Counter-Strike
The spring can sometimes be a slow time in esports and that’s the case in May 2025, though there were some big winners. Dota 2 is gearing up for The International 2025. Most of Counter-Strike’s best teams are being funneled into the BLAST Austin Major. Over in League of Legends, league play is determining who will play in the Mid-Season Invitational. Then there’s the Esports World Cup looming over the …
G2 Esports vs Eternal Fire: BLAST Open Spring 2025 betting guide
Steven Rondina
Counter-Strike
The BLAST Open Spring 2025 group stage grinds on and one of the key matchups of group B is G2 Esports against Eternal Fire; but it’s a tricky one when it comes to betting. The first round of matches had a mix of surprises and slam dunks to it. Not everything was outlandish, though. G2 Esports and Eternal Fire both advanced in the upper bracket of the event’s group B …
All donk CS2 settings: How to play like the Shanghai Major MVP
Khizar Mundia
Counter-Strike
Team Spirit’s Danil “donk” Kryshkovets is currently one of the most skilled CS2 players on the planet, and fans are rushing to copy his settings so they can best emulate him. donk is a Russian professional CS2 player currently playing for Team Spirit as a rifler. He joined Team Spirit’s Academy roster when he was just 14 years old and was promoted to the main roster in 2023 after two …
Here’s every possible way to get new cases in CS2
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
Skins and cases are among the most notable features of CS2, and here’s how players can get them either in-game or externally. While CS2 skins aren’t essential to playing and enjoying Counter-Strike 2, they do add an extra layer to the game both in terms of pleasant aesthetics and collectible value. Players have two main options for getting weapons skins: directly purchasing them, or opening cases. Those who like 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.
