Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike
Overpass A execute: Basic strategies, smokes, and pop flashes
M Alzamora
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 …
Counter-Strike
CSGO pro finishes his match after being attacked by a dog
Steven Rondina
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 …
Counter-Strike
JUGi out of Astralis after two months, Bubzkji signed to two-year contract
M Alzamora
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 …
Counter-Strike
The complete guide to CSGO’s Doppler knives, quality, prices
M Alzamora
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 …
s1mple banned from Twitch again, possibly facing permanent ban
Steven Rondina
Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive pro Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev has been banned from Twitch yet again. The Natus Vincere star’s name popped up as being hit with a ban from Twitch, with his channel simply reading, “Sorry. Unless you’ve got a time machine, that content is unavailable.” No other details are yet available on the reasoning behind the ban. It is uncertain what prompted the move or how long he might be …
As nitr0 leaves, Stewie2k may be the top dog at Team Liquid
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
In Jake “Stewie2k” Yip’s teams, if you’re not performing, you’re gone. With Nick “nitr0” Canella out of Team Liquid after a five-year stint on the North American side, a trend is establishing itself surrounding Stewie2k and his leadership role in his teams. The story starts months before Cloud9’s historic run at the ELEAGUE Boston Major, where two long-time Cloud9 members were swiftly ousted from the team. Both Jordan “n0thing” Gilbert …
nitr0 likely out of Team Liquid, replaced by Triumph’s Grim
Steven Rondina
Counter-Strike
After five and a half years, Nicholas “nitr0” Cannella is looking to no longer be a part of Team Liquid’s Counter-Strike: Global Offensive roster. Following reports by dbltap’s Jarek Lewis, Team Liquid president Steve Arhancet took to Twitter to address the matter. While he didn’t explicitly discuss the report or its implications, he functionally confirmed the roster move. “Yes, we will be making changes to the roster…Our commitment to winning …
Marking the 10th anniversary of CS star Cyx’s tragic passing
Jared Wynne
Counter-Strike
The passing of Antonio “cyx” Daniloski marked a turning point in the professional esports industry. Although the German Counter-Strike scene lost one of its most talented and promising players, it also reminded us of the mortality of the star players fans cheer for. Never has there been such a tragic loss that sent shockwaves throughout the esports world as did the loss of cyx. Professional players, devoted fans, and even …
What is the rank distribution in CSGO in 2020?
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’s rank distribution is set in stone, and that means it may be harder for some players to rank up. In 2015, Valve recognized there was an issue in the way that players were ranked in CSGO. Their data showed that there were many more players populating the higher ranks than there were the lower ones. In response, Valve instituted one of the most controversial changes to CSGO’s …
Are higher tick rates affecting CSGO weapon accuracy?
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
A post on social media has shown what most players who have played on both 64-tick and 128-tick servers have likely already felt. Tick rates can affect weapon accuracy in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. There is a difference between how quickly CSGO’s weapons reset their accuracy values between the two types of servers. This can cause some weapons, especially the M4A4, to be more accurate during burst fire. .@3kliksphilip A video …
Falling off the map on Vertigo creates the wildest rounds in CSGO
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
Sometimes all it takes is a little luck to win a seemingly impossible round. In a recent ESEA match between Kinship Ghost and GGPR Esports, GGPR member lowrider managed to pull an impressive one versus two clutch using a creative hiding spot. After planting on the A bombsite, lowrider took out Kinship Ghost’s Bezerker before disaster struck. While strafing back into cover, lowrider managed to fall off of Vertigo, plummeting …
CSGO player Sparkles spends $15,000 to get skin of his dreams
Olivia Richman
Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive YouTuber Sparkles is known for doing a lot of questionable things just to entertain his followers. This time, Sparkles decided to spend $15,000 to get his hands on the skin of his dreams. That skin is the StatTrak AK47 Fire Serpent in Factory New condition. “I will be attempting the skin I have dreamed about since I first started playing this game and have tried to get …
A comprehensive guide to CSGO’s Fire and Ice skin patterns
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
CSGO’s knives are prized by casual players and collectors alike, but the ultra-rare Fire and Ice patterns on Marble Fade knives are particularly popular. Part of what makes the Fire and Ice combination so rare is that it can only appear on four types of knives: the Karambit, Bayonet, Flip Knife, and the Gut Knife. Since neither of the Flip Gut knives are very popular, this means that any Karambit …
Walkthrough for CSGO’s classic Inferno B T-side execute
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
Inferno’s B bombsite is hard to take for an inexperienced attacking team, but executing onto the site is the attacking side’s key to victory. While taking banana control is as simple as waiting out the defender’s early grenades, things get a little more complicated once the attackers get to car. For some reason, most teams panic once they get there, unsure of what to do next. In most games, especially …
These are the best CSGO commands for practicing smokes, nades
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
How a player uses their utility is often what separates good players from great ones. Thankfully, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive has several console commands that help players practice their smoke throws in offline servers. Some of these commands have been in the game since its original release in 2012, but several new commands were added in September 2019. These commands are simple to use, especially if players bind them to keys …
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.
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Counter-Strike
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