Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike
These are the very best cases to open in CSGO
M Alzamora
One of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’s biggest draws is its weapon cases that offer users the chance to spin the wheel for a rare drop. But with over 20 types of cases and hundreds of skins available, which is the best CSGO case to open? Even though it’s hard to come up with a definitive answer to that question, there are a few things players should keep in mind as they’re …
Counter-Strike
honda gets 3 aces in debut with FURIA against G2 Esports
Fariha Bhatti
FURIA Esports’ last-minute recruit, Lucas “honda” Honda, registered a historic debut with the team. The Brazilian player entered the server as a fresh talent with minimal experience in pro Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. Paytyn “Junior” Johnson’s inability to travel to the BLAST Premier Global Final due to passport issues opened a slot for newly minted honda, and he made the most of the opportunity. FURIA tags Honda to replace junior at …
Counter-Strike
Ethan kicks off 2021 with a pistol round ace at BLAST Finals
Fariha Bhatti
Evil Geniuses’ Ethan “Ethan” Arnold exhibited an incredible show of skills with a first-round ace against Astralis, marking a heroic entry into 2021. Evil Geniuses have been going through a slump lately. A confident and aggressive play from Evil Geniuses in the first map reminded the audience that the team’s still in the game. Ethan’s performance in Evil Geniuses is often overshadowed by the likes of Tarik “tarik” Celik and …
Counter-Strike
You can now play Among Us in CSGO, and this is how
M Alzamora
Among Us is still a popular game, and it seems like the game of deception and strategy has come full circle, appearing inside Counter-Strike: Global Offensive as a custom map. Among Us is a spiritual successor to a popular mod for Garry’s Mod called Trouble in Terrorist Town, where players have to figure out which one of their teammates is actually an imposter before they manage to wipe out the …
Counter-Strike
GODSENT accidentally leaked its new TACO-led CSGO roster
Olivia Richman
So that just happened. GODSENT accidentally leaked its new Counter-Strike: Global Offensive roster in a job listing looking for a video editor. The post revealed MIBR star Epitacio “TACO” de Melo alongside a new lineup of Brazilian players. Rosters are usually kept a secret by the organizations themselves until the official announcement, although esports insiders often like to leak contract rumors and trades. That wasn’t the case here, as the …
Counter-Strike
G2 Esports site crashes upon new jersey release
William Davis
G2 Esports’ website crashed minutes after the release of its 2021 pro kit jersey. On January 15, G2 revealed its 2021 uniform and fans were more than ready to buy them. In the first minutes of the launch, the website crashed, forcing fans to wait in line. HERE. WE. GO.Our official G2 x adidas 2021 Pro Kit Jersey is available NOW!???? https://t.co/EkftPOvt6x pic.twitter.com/fDC1v1BV1B — G2 Esports (@G2esports) January 15, 2021 …
Counter-Strike
cs_summit 7 teams includes new MIBR lineup, post-flusha Fnatic
Fariha Bhatti
Beyond the Summit has revealed the 12 teams invited to compete in the seventh edition of the cs_summit. The tournament picks up right after BLAST Premier Global Finals and will some of the world’s best Counter-Strike: Global Offensive squads for its unique laid-back broadcast that cs_summit is known for. The event will include the following teams: Cloud9 Complexity Gaming DIGNITAS FaZe Clan Fnatic FURIA Esports Heroic MIBR mousesports Ninjas in …
Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike legend GeT_RiGhT leaves game to stream full-time
M Alzamora
After over a decade of playing for some of Counter-Strike’s best organizations, major winner Christopher “GeT_RiGhT” Alesund has announced his plans to take a step back from the game’s esports scene. The announcement came on January 16 with a tweet from GeT_RiGhT’s current team, DIGNITAS, where the player will stay as he begins a full-time streaming career. According to the tweet and its accompanying media, GeT_RiGhT will host his own …
Here’s how bots can help you practice strats in CSGO
Fariha Bhatti
Counter-Strike
Valve’s recent removal of bots from competitive matches warrants their inefficiency. However, harmless bots may not be as futile as they make an excellent accessory to practice utility in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. Bots are rumored to be worthless in competitive play. However, in offline servers, the robotic figures can help players master maps in the game. With the help of harmless bots, players can practice prefire spots and see how …
Jamppi might switch to Valorant after Valve refuses ban removal
Fariha Bhatti
Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’s young prodigy Elias “Jamppi” Olkkonen may quit his job at ENCE, as reports say the player is considering a move to Valorant. Jamppi has suffered a massive setback in his career due to a losing legal battle with Valve. The developer refused to allow Jamppi to enter any CSGO Majors due to a VAC ban in 2015. After a few lawsuits and missed opportunities, the player may …
FURIA tags Honda to replace junior at BLAST Premier event
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
The newest member of FURIA’s Counter-Strike: Global Offensive roster, Peytyn “Junior” Johnson, won’t play in the team’s upcoming BLAST Global Finals matches due to passport issues, according to an Instagram story from one of the organization’s investors. FURIA had originally announced that it had signed Triumph Gaming’s rising AWPer a day before it was forced to announce another promotion after CSGO’s infamous visa issues struck again. With Junior unable to …
Boltz headlines new MIBR roster as TACO, fer cut ties
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
In a surprise announcement, MIBR revealed that it had signed Gustavo “yel” Knittel, Ricardo “boltz” Prass, Marcelo “chelo” Cespedes, Bruno “shz” Martinelli, and Daniel “danoco” Morgado to its Counter-Strike: Global Offensive roster. The former Boom Esports players had been released to seek other opportunities on January 15, before appearing on Twitter just an hour later clad in MIBR’s patented black jerseys. Boom’s former fifth, João “felps” Vasconcellos, won’t join his teammates …
ZywOo picks dev1ce over s1mple as best CSGO player of the year
Fariha Bhatti
Counter-Strike
Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut has given his verdict for the best player of 2020. ZywOo, who’s a fan-favourite for the number one spot himself, has revealed that his top pick is Nicolai “dev1ce” Reedtz. ZywOo has introduced a new player to the race between him and Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev for the best player of the year. In an interview with 1pv.fr, Vitality’s AWPer admitted that the number one spot belongs to …
Next CSGO major to be hosted by PGL, set for Stockholm
Steven Rondina
Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’s first major since 2019 is booked. For now, at least. PGL has announced that it will host the next CSGO major in Stockholm, Sweden. The event is currently scheduled to take place from October 23 to November 7 and will feature a $2 million prize pool. ???? PGL TO HOST THE FIRST CS:GO MAJOR AFTER A TWO-YEAR BREAK???? Read more -> https://t.co/V7nBgesXnf#PGLMAJOR pic.twitter.com/qexpQgeTRo — PGL (@pglesports) January …
FURIA signs Junior to replace HEN1 for BLAST Global Finals
Fariha Bhatti
Counter-Strike
FURIA Esports has found a replacement for former AWPer Henrique “HEN1” Teles in Triumph’s Paytyn “Junior” Johnson. The Brazilian organization has acquired the AWPer ahead of BLAST Premier Global Final 2020. The organization took to Twitter to announce him as the team’s new AWPer. Junior’s move to FURIA had long been in the pipelines, and was reported by multiple sources after HEN1’s expressed his wish to play with his brother …
Four ways to fix CSGO’s invalid app configuration error
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’s constant updates means that sometimes users get errors regarding “invalid app configurations.” This error normally means that the appinfo file that tells Steam how to start CSGO is corrupt. Now that sounds bad, but clearing up the invalid configuration issue is actually a simple fix that involves only one file inside Steam’s directory. If that doesn’t work, there are several more options players can try before they …
BLAST Premier schedule released, and these are the best games
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
The schedule for BLAST Premier’s Global Final is here, and fans are in for two days of matches that they won’t want to miss. After its annual winter player break, professional Counter-Strike: Global Offensive teams are headed back to competition. Starting on January 19, eight teams will face off against one another to finish off the 2020 tournament year. Astralis, G2 Esports, Natus Vincere, Complexity, Vitality, FURIA, Evil Geniuses, and …
JUGi to stand in for Complexity during BLAST Premier Global Finals
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
Complexity Gaming will play Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’s upcoming BLAST Global Finals with former North player Jakob “JUGi” Hansen, according to a tweet from the organization’s official Twitter account. Fans have known that the team would be without AWPer Valentin “poizon” Vasilev for the tournament. #COLCS Update: @JUGiOfficial will be standing in for us during @BLASTPremier as @PoizonCSGO continues to recover.#WeAreCOL pic.twitter.com/IkXrRHQNUv — Complexity Gaming (@Complexity) January 12, 2021 The North American …
This Inferno one-way smoke makes defending B much easier
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive players can use this one-way smoke for Inferno’s B site to help even the odds on the classic map. One-way smokes are a powerful tool in any CSGO player’s arsenal. The one-way smoke owes its usefulness to the way that it both blocks the player from being seen by the enemy team in addition to allowing the player an clear view of the area it covers. If …
mousesports looks to replace karrigan as contract nears its end
Fariha Bhatti
Counter-Strike
mousesports’ in-game leader Finn “karrigan” Andersen is exploring other options as his contract’s end approaches. The German organization has confirmed that karrigan is free to seek out new opportunities. mousesports’ contract with karrigan ends in March, which has left many questions on the player’s future with the team. Given karrigan’s success with mousesports it is possible he will return to the team, but he is looking into other possibilities before …
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.
