Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike
BIG claims top spot in latest CSGO world rankings, Na’Vi falls
M Alzamora
Following wins at CS Summit 6, DreamHack Masters Spring, and the ESL Pro League Season 12 qualifiers, BIG is on top of the world. A string of powerful performances from the German lineup catapulted BIG to Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’s number one world ranking for the first time in the team’s history. The squad, comprised of Johannes “tabsen” Wodarz, Tizian “tiziaN” Feldbusch, Florian “syrsoN” Rische, Ismailcan “XANTARES” Dörtkardeş, and Nils “k1to” …
Counter-Strike
These are the longest CSGO games in competitive history
M Alzamora
“This is the longest CSGO game ever.” Every Counter-Strike player has said this at least once, and the game’s complexity means that CSGO requires a serious time investment from its players. Even after counting the hours spent learning the game’s movement, mechanics, and grenade lineups, CSGO’s players can sometimes spend more than an hour playing out a single match. And that’s only in Valve’s CSGO matchmaking system, where there …
Counter-Strike
GeT_RiGhT reveals that he caught COVID-19 during Flashpoint Season 1
Steven Rondina
Christopher “GeT_RiGhT” Alesund had a really bad time in Flashpoint Season 1. It isn’t just because his long-awaited reunion with his former Ninjas in Pyjamas teammates ended the event with an underwhelming 10th-place fashion. According to the legendary lurker, GeT_RiGhT’s time in Flashpoint also stunk because he caught COVID-19. The Dignitas player discussed his diagnosis on Twitter: Wow.. interesting news.Seems like I can visit my parents after months not seeing …
Counter-Strike
Evil Geniuses dominates Gen.G to win CS Summit 6 North America
M Alzamora
Evil Geniuses made the most of its one-map advantage, demolishing Gen.G 3-0 in North America’s regional CS Summit 6. While Gen.G continued to show that it has difficulties communicating during tense moments, Evil Geniuses looked completely at home in Valve’s second online Regional Ranking tournament. In fact, EG hasn’t looked this good since their short run at the top in 2019 after the roster’s transfer from NRG Esports. The roster, …
Counter-Strike
Flashpoint and CSPPA in conflict entering CSGO player break
M Alzamora
FLASHPOINT is reportedly withholding a $165,000 payment from the Counter-Strike Professional Players Association, claiming that the CSPPA violated an agreement between the two parties during FLASHPOINT Season 1. A report by DBLTap’s Jarek “Dekay” Lewis includes a copy of a letter from FLASHPOINT to the CSPPA that outlines the complaints. In the letter, FLASHPOINT claims that the CSPPA stopped responding to emails from the tournament organizer regarding the testing of …
Counter-Strike
FaZe Clan reportedly looking to add ALEX from Team Vitality
Jared Wynne
In-game leaders are a highly sought-after commodity in the current Counter-Strike: Global Offensive scene right now and several teams are looking to fill that hole in their lineup. With a number of squads lacking a seasoned captain, it should come as no surprise that Team Vitality’s Alex “ALEX” McMeekin is one of the most in-demand players in professional CSGO at the moment. One of the biggest names in need of …
Counter-Strike
WINNERS League Season 4 – On the doorstep of semi-finals
Jared Wynne
First round of playoffs finished without any real upsets, most of the games were incredibly close and had impressive show of teamplay and resilience. One could argue that it was a surprise that CR4ZY beat SKADE, but if you’ve been paying attention, you could see how quickly the Ukrainian team has developed under coach Ivan “Johnta” Shevtsov and them taking the match over a reformed SKADE wasn’t a shock. PACT …
Counter-Strike
MIBR fer banned on Twitch amid racism, cheating controversies
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive pro player Fernando “fer” Alvarenga has been banned on Twitch, according to the Twitter account StreamerBans. The ban follows what has been a month of bad press for both fer and his team, MIBR, after a series of incidents that included fer’s use of a Brazilian racial slur on his Twitch stream, death threats made against another professional CSGO player, and accusations of bullying another CSGO team …
Why is MIBR now the most hated team in Counter-Strike?
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
MIBR has always been a top team in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, and its roster has always been championed by fans, analysts, and casual viewers as one to look up to and admire. But not anymore. Over the past eight years, accomplished players Gabriel “FalleN” Toledo, Epitácio “TACO” de Melo, and Fernando “fer” Alvarenga have sat at the top of the Brazilian CSGO scene. They’ve enjoyed a massive and passionate fanbase …
MIBR fans send death threats to 16-year-old pro after upset
Steven Rondina
News
MIBR fans are most displeased about the team’s early ejection from cs_summit 6, but they aren’t directing their frustration at the team that wiped out in eighth place. No, some fans are directing their wrath at Chaos Esports Club’s Nathan “leaf” Orf. The 16-year-old became an overnight sensation in the worst possible way when a number of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive fans, and even a few pro players, aired suspicions that …
s1mple gifts custom mousepad to physically handicapped CSGO fan
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
Natus Vincere’s Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev surprised one of his fans with a very special gift. A video of s1mple gifting Polish streamer Marcin “Kofin45” Bielaczuk a custom mousepad emblazoned with s1mple’s own Cache graffiti was posted to Twitter, cementing s1mple as one of the most gracious CSGO pros out there today. “Hey Kofin, I hope you’re enjoying [the game], and I want to gift you my own custom mousepad with …
ESPADA versus Gambit Youngsters Clutch Island betting analysis
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
Sunday’s regional matchup between ESPADA and Gambit Youngsters should be much closer than the odds suggest. Both ESPADA and Gambit Youngersters are interesting teams. Neither particularly excels at any one map, and the maps they do perform on they tend to share with one another. ESPADA does have some known veterans on their squad in Dmitrii “S0tF1k” Forostianko and Dmitrii “Dima” Bandurka, and they’re surrounded by what could grow into …
CSGO’s Warhammer sticker capsules have some awesome scrapes
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
With the release of every CSGO sticker capsule comes the chance for them to contain hidden patterns, and the Warhammer 40K capsule is the latest to have a few hidden surprises. Warhammer 40K is a tabletop game, and its crossover with CSGO surprised many players. That said, there are definitely fans of both universes that appreciated the attention to detail that these new stickers showed off. That goes doubly so …
Prefiring tips that every CSGO player should know
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive can be all about outsmarting your opponent, but sometimes all it takes is good crosshair placement, sound mechanics, and a little bit of luck to seal a win. When fans think of Counter-Strike, they think of the exciting duels and the impressive flick shots, but many kills come from a tactic known as “prefiring.” Prefiring is the act of shooting where a player thinks their opponent will …
CSGO announces new software restrictions to combat cheating
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
A tweet from the official CSGO Twitter account and an accompanying blog post announced that Valve will now restrict third-party software from interacting with the game in an effort to better combat cheating. The short blog post announced that Valve will now block many third-party applications from running alongside CSGO, but it declined to mention the exact types of software that will be blocked. The update is currently live in CSGO’s …
CSPPA calls out cs_summit for player breaks during tournaments
Olivia Richman
Counter-Strike
The Counter-Strike: Professional Players Association has responded to some teams’ complaints about recent tournament schedules. At the cs_summit six Europe tournament, c0ntract coach Neil Murphy spoke up about the tournament organizer’s response to his request for a quick break. “Two minutes after we won versus Complexity I asked for a 30 minute break,” Murphy tweeted. “It got blocked instantly. […] I can’t believe this is actually a reality.” In an …
What do fans and players want from the next CSGO operation?
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
Since the end of Operation Shattered Web in March, players have been waiting for the next CSGO operation to launch. When Valve released Shattered Web in November 2019, CSGO players had been waiting almost two years for Valve’s next CSGO operation. While games like Apex Legends and Fortnite introduced seasons and battle passes to the competitive shooter world, Counter-Strike players waited patiently for the game’s developer to release the next …
From Cologne to EPL Season 11, CSGO tournament schedule is packed
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
Starting with the move of ESL Pro League’s season 11 to online play in March and Valve’s rescheduling of ESL One Rio 2020, almost every CSGO event has been shifted. To complicate matters, Valve added three more tournaments to the schedule. Called Regional Major Ranking tournaments, ESL’s Road to Rio, CS Summit 6, and an unannounced third tournament serve as pathways to CSGO’s 2020 Major. Here’s a list of the …
HenryG responds to allegations of abuse as accusations continue
Olivia Richman
Counter-Strike
Prominent streamers, espots personalities, and content creators have been accused of sexual assault, harassment, and rape over the last few days. Some of the men admitted to their wrongdoings in lengthy apologies, while others have denied the alegations. One of the more prominent esports professionals to be so accused was Counter-Strike: Global Offensive caster and analyst Henry “HenryG” Greer. His former girlfriend wrote a TwitLonger outlining alleged mental, verbal, and …
This Vertigo grenade combo makes taking A so much easier
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
Vertigo’s A bombsite is notoriously one of the hardest to execute on in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, but a new smoke, Molotov, and flashbang combination makes taking it much easier. Vertigo has favored the attacking side even with Valve’s latest updates to the map making it slightly easier to defend. But with most of the changes coming through in the form of the map’s middle area and B site, Vertigo’s A …
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.
