Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike
Marking the 10th anniversary of CS star Cyx’s tragic passing
Jared Wynne
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 …
Counter-Strike
What is the rank distribution in CSGO in 2020?
M Alzamora
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 …
Counter-Strike
Are higher tick rates affecting CSGO weapon accuracy?
M Alzamora
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 …
Counter-Strike
Falling off the map on Vertigo creates the wildest rounds in CSGO
M Alzamora
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 …
Counter-Strike
These are the best CSGO commands for practicing smokes, nades
M Alzamora
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
CYN teams up with WINNERS League for Work Hard Play Hard tournament
Olivia Richman
On July 26, tune in to Twitch.tv/RealCYNGaming and Twitch.tv/WINNERSLeague at 4 PM PST / 7 PM EST to see rising star rapper Niko Brim compete against DJ Champ for the chance to donate $2,000 to the local charity of their choice. Niko Brim is hoping to bring that cash to Part of the Solution (POTS), an organization that provides food, shelter, laundry, haircuts, and education to underserved communities in New York …
Counter-Strike
CSGO update adds maps Swamp and Mutiny, removes Jungle and Chlorine
M Alzamora
A new CSGO update has removed two maps, Jungle and Swamp, from community matchmaking as well as adding two brand new ones into the mix. In addition to the maps, devs also removed the option to turn off Trusted Mode. The mode has caused some trouble for users of some software, but the developers also added a new launch command to help take off some of that pressure. In the …
Counter-Strike
Vertigo is set to get a crazy new cyberpunk reskin
Steven Rondina
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive looks pretty good these days, especially for a game that has been around for several years. The trouble is that anyone who hasn’t played the game extensively may not be able to instantly pick out CSGO from the many other first-person shooters whose color palettes are primarily made up of browns and grays. But what if that wasn’t the case? A modder under the handle Swain posted …
Does Valorant’s ditching of “terrorists” give it an edge on CSGO?
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
Riot Games’ decision to steer Valorant away from Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’s use of the words “terrorist” and “counter-terrorist” may help the new competitive shooter overtake CSGO in the minds of some advertisers looking to break into esports. Competitive esports in 2020 sometimes live and die by how well they’re able to attract outside investment to a game’s leagues. Over the years, CSGO has struggled with this problem. The debate over …
s1mple shows how to knife with no keyboard or mousepad
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
Every competitive game has legends. Generational talents that don’t just excel in their sports, they mold the games around themselves and bend it to their will. Basketball had Michael Jordan. Smash Bros. has Joseph “Mang0” Marquez. Tennis has Serena Williams. But CSGO is special. CSGO gets to watch Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev on an almost daily basis, and it’s not exactly clear what fans have done to deserve him. It’s probably …
The classic Na’Vi roster is coming back to challenge s1mple
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
Natus Vincere is planning to celebrate its two IEM Katowice championships in a very special way. Na`Vi’s win at IEM Katowice 2020 happened almost 10 years to the day after the last time Natus Vincere hoisted a major IEM trophy, marking its first win ever in the Spodek Arena. But today’s Na`Vi roster is very different from the one that defeated Fnatic 2-0 to win the Intel Extreme Masters Season …
This is the best and easiest way to take Cache’s A bombsite
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
After Valve released the reworked version of Cache, the popular map pick quickly found its way back into the hearts and minds of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive players. The map is famous, thanks at least in part to its callouts famously named after pro players. No one can forget James Bardolph’s “This isn’t FPL, s1mple, this a Major” casting call after Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev’s crazy highlight play all the way back …
Watch these players dominate CSGO with a DDR pad and digital pen
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive players have approached the game in a number of different ways over the years but thanks to CSGO’s competitive nature, many end up being stamped out over time. That changed recently when a clip of a Reddit user appeared showing off his AWPing skills on Overpass. While players often flaunt their in-game exploits on social media, this individual went one better by pulling this off with a …
Twitch requires US Army to remove fake sweepstakes promotions
Olivia Richman
Counter-Strike
During their endless search for new young recruits, the United States Army has started utilizing Twitch to get gamers’ contact information. But their tactics now have them under fire. Twitch has stated that it’s forced the Army to stop using the official Army Twitch channel to find potential recruits through questionable controller giveaways. In the channel’s chat, they would offer viewers the chance to win an Xbox Elite Series 2 …
ESL One Cologne transitions to a regional online tournament
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
ESL One Cologne will be held as an entirely online tournament, according to a blog post released by the tournament organizer. Additionally, Cologne will be turned into a regional tournament, with Europe, North America, Asia, and Oceania all competing in separate tournaments. According to the announcement, teams from the CIS region will compete in what is now ESL One Cologne’s main European division. While ESL One Cologne was originally set …
These are the five best skins in the CSGO workshop right now
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
While each player probably has their own favorite CSGO skins already set, each new weapon crate that CSGO releases has the chance to bring a fresh coat of paint to some of CSGO’s most used weapons. The CSGO workshop is full of brilliant artwork from designers all around the globe, but these five workshop skins have gotten a fair amount of attention recently from the CSGO community. This top five …
Brazilian streamer Gaules apologizes for cheating accusations
Olivia Richman
Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive streamer Alexandre “Gaules” Borba has apologized for comments made during a CS Summit match through which he implied a pro player was cheating. During a match between Chaos Esports Club and Made in Brazil, Gaules continuously bashed Chaos EC, including 16-year-old named Nathan “leaf” Orf, after he was convinced that they were cheating. He showed a handful of clips that he felt supported his accusations, which convinced …
The three best plays ever from fnatic’s Brollan
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
fnatic’s Ludvig “Brollan” Brolin is one of the youngest professional CSGO players in the world, but that doesn’t mean that he has a bunch of learning to do. After joining fnatic in October 2018, Brollan impressed with more than just his raw ability. He has started to build a reputation for being calm and collected in clutch situations. Over the past year, Brollan has put together an impressive highlight reel of …
Report reveals the salaries of Astralis’ star players
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
According to a report by Danish website BT.dk, Astralis’ players earn hundreds of thousands of dollars in salary each year, even before winning prize money from their in-game performance. While the salaries of professional CSGO players have long been a mystery, BT.dk caught a glimpse of what esports’ top players are paid. The report places the salaries of Astralis’ players at $364,000 USD each year, before any tournament winnings. According …
WINNERS League Season 4 sees massive viewership increase
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
WINNERS League Season 4 is now in the books after both North America and Europe crowned their respective divisional champions. The league’s European division saw a rematch of Season 3’s grand final with ESPADA facing off against Nemiga once again for the title. But this year, it was Nemiga that came out on top. In the North American bracket, Chaos Esports Club squared off against Triumph Gaming. Here it was …
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.
