Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike
Figuring out when CSGO’s next operation is coming
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’s ninth event, Operation Shattered Web, landed with a bang last November and was a major factor that helped catapult CSGO to its first million-player day. Shattered Web was Counter-Strike’s first battle pass, and where there’s one season pass, more tend to follow. CSGO’s internal configurations refer to a seasonal pass, and Shattered Web’s mission files are structured to make it easy for Valve to create one over …
Counter-Strike
Orgless disbands, yay blames CSGO leagues and Valorant
M Alzamora
North American Counter-Strike: Global Offensive team Orgless has announced that they will cease competing in Valve’s first-person shooter. The team was currently involved in ESL’s Road to Rio competition to determine the new attendees at November’s CSGO Major. ESL made the announcement in a tweet from their official Twitter account. Team “Orgless” have decided to not compete in the rest of the #ESLOne Road to Rio and have disbanded.As #ESLOne …
Counter-Strike
Ninjas in Pyjamas runs over f0rest, Dignitas in ESL One Road to Rio
Steven Rondina
Dignitas made waves earlier this year by returning to Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and reuniting the Ninjas in Pyjamas roster that won the 2014 ESL One Cologne Major. The squad led by the legendary duo of Christopher “GeT_RiGhT” Alesund and Patrik “f0rest” Lindberg faced their old team for the first time in the Road to Rio: Europe group stage. It did not go well for them. Dignitas received a swift 2-0 …
Counter-Strike
Fnatic is once again ranked as the world number one CSGO team
M Alzamora
For the first time in over four years, Fnatic is ranked as the best Counter-Strike: Global Offensive team in the world. In the recent HLTV world rankings, Fnatic moved from number two to number one, dethroning Natus Vincere for the top spot. The honor comes after almost nine months of increasingly strong play that saw Fnatic evolve their style and add new members to it roster while retaining veterens. Still …
Counter-Strike
Thorin and Montecristo on the future of Flashpoint, Cloud9, FPX, more
M Alzamora
With Flashpoint’s inaugural season wrapped up, WIN.gg sat down with the league’s creative director Duncan “Thorin” Shields as well as broadcaster and talent advisor Christopher “MonteCristo” Mykles to discuss what went right and what went wrong. The two covered the wild ride that was the league’s first season and the league’s future. WIN.gg: Flashpoint 1 is in the books. How does it feel? Thorin: Satisfying. The only problem with expectations …
Counter-Strike
Astralis loses to Fnatic after some huge mistakes in Road to Rio EU
Steven Rondina
Astralis is among the best Counter-Strike: Global Offensive teams in the world. At their absolute worst, they’re still very close to the top. They do still make mistakes, though. Astralis went 1-1 in the first week of the Road to Rio: Europe group stage, beating Complexity Gaming while dropping a series to Fnatic. Though Fnatic is typically crisp, the series between Astralis and Fnatic turned on a few apparent misplays …
News
ESL Road to Rio: Team Liquid vs MIBR betting analysis
M Alzamora
Let’s not mince words. If MIBR shows up to their Road to Rio matchup against Team Liquid the same way they’ve shown up against any team in their previous series in the event, they’ll lose. At this level of competition, MIBR cannot reliably compete. Instead, let’s take a look at Team Liquid and what the Americans can do against the battered MIBR. Under coach Eric “Adren” Hoag, Team Liquid has …
Counter-Strike
ESL Road to Rio NA: Cloud9 vs Orgless Betting Analysis
M Alzamora
After a poor opening day for both teams, Cloud9 and Orgless will take to the online stage in both team’s second matchup of ESL’s Road to Rio Regional qualifier. Cloud9 suffered a 2-1 upset loss to Triumph, while Orgless lost a rough 2-0 to Evil Geniuses. Both of these teams are on the low end of the spectrum to make it to one of the five spots Valve has alotted …
HenryG hints at Valve bringing 128 tick servers to CSGO soon
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
CSGO caster and analyst Henry “HenryG” Greer raised eyebrows during ESL One’s Road to Rio qualifier, saying that his cohost Alex “Machine” Richardson might not have to learn two sets of smokes anymore. After Astralis took down Complexity 2-1 at the European Regional Major Rating tournmant nicknamed Road to Rio, HenryG, Machine, and Chad “spunj” Birchhill discussed Machine’s experience with 128 tick servers. Machine admitted that the servers were nice, …
CSGO and Team Fortress 2 source code leaks with big implications
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
The source code for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Team Fortress 2 has been leaked online, posing a huge issue for Valve and the communities of both games. Valve News Network’s Tyler McvVickers was originally blamed for the leak by 4chan, but McVicker is adamant that he did not leak the code, but he knows who did. On a Q&A Twitch stream, McVicker explained that the code was provided to him …
How exactly does new FPS Valorant compare to CSGO?
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
Valorant is turning heads around the globe as Riot Games’ first entry into the shooter genre inches closer to release. While the game has captured the attention of pro players from around the gaming world, one game’s players in particular seem more suited to Valorant than the rest. Valorant has clearly borrowed its best bits and bobs from today’s popular games, but it has used the proven formula pioneered by …
ENCE adds banned player Jamppi after losing Finland’s top ranking
Steven Rondina
Counter-Strike
ENCE is in a tough spot right now and they are making some big changes as a result. The Finnish team has slipped down on HLTV’s Counter-Strike: Global Offensive rankings to the point where they are no longer ranked as the top Finnish team in Counter-Strike. That spot has been taken over by HAVU Gaming. HAVU has been on an upswing over recent months, posting first-place finishes in Assembly Winter …
This Nuke wallbang by OG Aleksib is the craziest of the year
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
Aleksi “Aleksib” Virolainen isn’t OG’s most explosive player, but the young, in-game leader came alive in OG’s match against AVEZ. During the closed qualifiers for this year’s Spring DreamHack Masters, Akeksib found himself stuck on the B bomsite on Nuke. As the plant came in from AVEZ directly above him, Aleksib rolled the dice and fired off several shots from his Desert Eagle through the floor and onto A site’s …
shroud says Valorant will become more popular than CSGO
Olivia Richman
Counter-Strike
Riot’s new FPS title Valorant has been called the “Overwatch killer” since details started coming out. But now Counter-Strike players are also starting to wonder if the similarities between their game and Valorant will also lead to a loss of players for them, too. Popular CSGO streamer Michael “shroud” Grzesiek is among them. There are a lot of game elements Valorant has taken from Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, including the look …
MIBR versus MAD Lions in Flashpoint’s Season 1 grand final breakdown
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
Flashpoint’s first season hasn’t exactly gone to plan. That said, despite several teams dropping out from the young Counter-Strike: Global Offensive league, Flashpoint has delivered on what it promised: good fun, good banter, and good Counter-Strike. Now, it’s left to the final two teams to deliver. The veteran MIBR under the leadership of the ageless Gabriel “FalleN” Toldeo will take on young upstarts MAD Lions for $500,000 and the the …
Valve reveals ESL One Rio Major’s Regional Major Rankings
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
Valve has released its initial rankings for the build to the ESL One Rio Major. In March, Valve revealed that teams will be required to requalify for 2020’s only CSGO Major, citing the length of time between the StarLadder Berlin Major in September 2019 and ESL One Rio, which comes in November. Fans and teams now know exactly how it works, thanks to a blog post from the developer. The …
New CSGO major rules spell trouble for Astralis’ six-man roster
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
Contained in a blog post delving into the specifics of the new Regional Major Rankings system, Valve detailed several rule changes that could have a major impact on Astralis. When the Danish team announced it would switch to a six-man roster in March by adding Patrick “es3tag” Hansen, it whipped up controversy over the impact this had on a business deal between Heroic and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive newcomer FunPlus Phoenix. …
ESL Pro League stats show that taco really likes killing chickens
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike fans are obsessed with statistics. From a player’s headshot percentage to their open duel win rate, fans consistantly find new ways to rate Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’s pro players. But one startup has found way to calculate some truly weird statistics. Scope.gg posted a number of out-there statistics on its official Twitter account, making us wunder just what else is out there. In one of the most surprising of the …
CSGO’s player count just passed Dota 2’s all-time peak
Steven Rondina
Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’s player count has been on a steady climb for months now and has hit yet another big milestone. On April 17, CSGO’s concurrent player count reached a whopping 1,298,888. That doesn’t just set a new benchmark for CSGO, it also eclipses the all-time high of Dota 2. The two Valve-made esports titles have long had something of a rivalry, and have inhabited the number-one and number-two spots …
Vertigo changes, M4A1-S buff part of huge CSGO meta shift
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
Between the SG-553 nerf that hammered the rifle’s viability and the surprise overhaul of Vertigo, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’s developers have done something they rarely do. In two patches, the developers have signaled that they believe the attacking side is too powerful in today’s meta, and they’re going to do something to fix it. Several changes suggest that a CT-friendly meta is on the horizon. Over the past nine months, Counter-Strike’s …
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.
