Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike
Team Liquid adds caster moses as new CSGO head coach, adreN out
Steven Rondina
Team Liquid has made a big change to its Counter-Strike: Global Offensive team. The organization has added a new head coach in Jason “moses” O’Toole, who will be replacing Eric “adreN” Hoag. The news was revealed by Liquid on the organization’s official Twitter account: Our journey towards reclaiming first place begins today. Welcome, @MosesGG pic.twitter.com/PwBGkSJo1S — Team Liquid (@TeamLiquid) August 9, 2020 moses is best known to current fans of …
Counter-Strike
78-year-old CSGO player becomes champion with Silver Snipers
Olivia Richman
“I’m 78 and I’ll kick your ass at Counter-Strike!” PC Gamer’s Totally Game series recently featured 78-year-old CSGO champion Abbe “DieHardBirdie” Drakborg, who won the CSGO Senior League tournament at DreamHack last year with his squad, Silver Snipers. The youngest member was 64 years old at the time. DieHardBirdie said that winning DreamHack was his favorite moment of his career because it allowed his team to showcase their skills to …
Counter-Strike
Astralis’ gla1ve is out for ESL One Cologne
M Alzamora
Astralis fans probably won’t see Lukas “gla1ve” Rossander or Andreas “xyp9x” Højsleth in ESL One Cologne’s Regional standoff. Astralis’ gla1ve won’t compete for the team at the upcoming ESL One Cologne tournament, according to a tweet from the player’s official Twitter account. ESL currently has the player listed as a substitute for Denmark’s premier Counter-Strike: Global Offensive team along with fellow player xyp9x, according to a report from Danish sports …
Counter-Strike
ESL One Cologne 2020 schedule, opening matches revealed
M Alzamora
ESL has revealed the groups and opening matchups for the upcoming ESL One Cologne 2020. Groups are now live for all four of ESL One Cologne’s regions, as well the early round matchups for each of the tournament’s group stages. Cologne’s European division is split into two groups of eight teams, with each group playing four matches on opening day on August 18. This will come alongside North America’s two …
Counter-Strike
MAD Lions adds Polish veteran innocent ahead of DreamHack Summer
Jared Wynne
MAD Lions has completed its Counter-Strike: Global Offensive roster with Polish rifler Paweł “innocent” Mocek. innocent replaces Lucas “Bubzkji” Andersen, who departed for Astralis last week. “Thrilled to have the opportunity to join a team like MAD Lions. If you know me, you know I will work my ass off to make it work, as I did last year in order to be here. Hopefully I can use this chance …
Counter-Strike
Ex-Virtus.pro star pashaBiceps joins Team Liquid Stream Team
Jared Wynne
Team Liquid has announced the signing of Counter-Strike legend Jarosław “pashaBiceps” Jarząbkowski to its Liquid Stream Team. In its announcement on Twitter, the organization included a mock-up WhatsApp chat mockup between their current roster, where they said PashaBiceps would be joining as a ‘streamer and certified Liquid supporter’. “Ok boys. Papito is coming! I’m joining Team Liquid and becoming their new friend, which will support them for better or worse. …
Counter-Strike
Some CSGO talents boycott BLAST over partnership with NEOM
Olivia Richman
Soon after the BLAST Premier Pro Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournament series announced a new partnership with NEOM, some top CSGO talent came out to make clear that they wouldn’t work with BLAST any longer. NEOM, a developing tourist attraction in Saudi Arabia also came under fire in the LEC when League of Legends talent revolted after Riot Games’ European competitive league had partnered with NEOM. The LEC wound up ending …
Counter-Strike
DreamHack Open Summer North America is TL Grim’s first big test
M Alzamora
DreamHack Open Summer is the first chance for fans to see how North America’s participating teams measure up after the player break. The first tournament after CSGO’s player break can be a sloppy one, with many teams returning to practice only days before it begins. Fans can see it in their play, as teams that usually showcase impressive coordination and creative executes might come into the second half of the …
s1mple unbanned on Twitch after just one week
M Alzamora
News
Twitch has reversed Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev’s ban nearly one week after the streaming service banned the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive star’s account. It’s still unclear why s1mple was originally banned, but Natus Vincere’s star player seems to have avoided a permanent ban under Twitch’s three-strike policy, despite last week’s ban checking the box as his third suspension from the platform. s1mple has been banned twice before, both times for the use …
What are the signs that CSGO’s next operation is on its way?
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive fans have had to do a lot of waiting recently. In less than a month, it will have been an entire year since the last time fans saw teams compete in the last CSGO Major. September is also the same time that Valve dropped what we now know were some of the earliest hints about Operation Shattered Web. For a game that lives and breathes by its …
Virtus.pro kicks AdreN, takes RMR hit ahead of IEM New York Online
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
Virtus.pro announced it has parted ways with CSGO veteran as CSGO Major MVP Dauren “AdreN” Kystaubayev after seven months with the organization. VP acquired AdreN and the rest of the AVANGAR roster in a transfer in December 2019 following a string of success. After winning the 2017 PGL Major with Gambit, AdreN spent time with FaZe Clan before his transfer to AVANGAR. His gunplay and veteran savvy were key in …
This bouncing molotov shows the weird ways CSGO molotovs work
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
A runaway molotov turned a Mirage mid play into a rare video clip, and highlighted just how strange the behavor of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’s molotovs can really be. Most Mirage players know that just one or two moltovs can be their ticket into Mirage’s A bombsite, this particular mid molotov seems like it had a mind of its own. A recent clip posted to social media showed off what can …
IEM New York goes online as final RMR event for NA, CIS regions
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
Tournament organizer ESL officially that 2020’s IEM New York will take place online while stating that it will also be the final Regional Ranking tournament and will be the final Regional Ranking tournament for both the North America and CIS regions. Fans of European CSGO don’t need to worry; IEM New York Online will also feature Europe’s top teams Don’t let the name fool you, IEM New York is now …
Leaving Team Liquid, is nitr0 the answer to Chaos’ problems?
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
Team Liquid officially released Nicholas “nitr0” Cannella after the former captain had spent over five years with the organization. So what does this mean for Liquid and for nitr0, and where might this veteran player next land? Liquid officially announced that nitr0 had been removed from the roster in a nearly five-minute video that was heavy on emotion and light on details. The fact that TL released a video at …
Danger Zone: Everything you need to know about CSGO’s battle royale
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
After Rust kicked off the battle royale trend, it was only a matter of time before Valve got in on the action. Now nearly two years old, Danger Zone has separated itself from other battle royale games. Even groundbreaking additions to the genre like Fortnite’s building system don’t hold a candle to this under-appreciated addition to CSGO. A recent CSGO update removed one of Danger Zone’s maps, Jungle, from public …
Overpass A execute: Basic strategies, smokes, and pop flashes
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
Overpass has slowly become one of the most favored maps in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. Many professional teams, from Cloud9 to Team Liquid, have called the map home. But the problem for casual players is that its unconventianl bombsites and winding staircases that connect them can cause serious problems. In most casual matches, much of the action takes place on the sites themselves, with attackers often taking early positions inside bathrooms …
CSGO pro finishes his match after being attacked by a dog
Steven Rondina
Counter-Strike
Playing professional Counter-Strike: Global Offensive requires immense mental toughness to deal with a rigorous schedule and intense competition, but it can sometimes require physical toughness too. That was the case with a player from CR4ZY who found himself fending off an animal attack. Facing elimination, the CIS squad was locked into a brutal series against Serbia’s Level Up Esports in the second group stage of Nine to Five #2. The …
JUGi out of Astralis after two months, Bubzkji signed to two-year contract
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
MAD Lion’s Lucas “Bubzkji” Andersen has officially signed with Danish CSGO organization Astralis on a two-year contract, according to an official press release from the organization, After just over two months under the Astralis banner, the organization has released Jakob “JUGi” Hansen in favor of the MAD Lions rifler. Initial indications pointed towards the players transfer to Astralis as recently as July 30. Bubzkji was originally benched by MAD Lions …
The complete guide to CSGO’s Doppler knives, quality, prices
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
Out of all of the many knives in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, one of those most desirable finishes that players seek is the Doppler. Besides looking incredibly flashy, what makes these finishes unique is the fact that there are different “phases” of each, with the phases showing off their own combination of colors on the knives’ blades. At their most basic, Doppler finishes are a mix of red and blue. Technically, …
Astralis pursue more talent with rumored Bubzkji addition
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
Reports indicated that MAD Lions player Lucas “Bubzkji” Andersen may soon sign with Astralis, with MAD Lions coach Luis “peacemaker” Tadeu revealing that the young player would be joining a big-name team in the near future. An unsourced report from HLTV has Astralis signing the player imminently. The MAD Lions’ star was benched from the roster at the end of June following the its poor performance at the CS Summit …
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.
