Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike
ESL Pro League stats show that taco really likes killing chickens
M Alzamora
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 …
Counter-Strike
CSGO’s player count just passed Dota 2’s all-time peak
Steven Rondina
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 …
Counter-Strike
Vertigo changes, M4A1-S buff part of huge CSGO meta shift
M Alzamora
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
Here’s everything you can do in CSGO’s in-game watch tab
M Alzamora
With Counter-Strike: Global Offensive adding online tournaments to the watch tab today, it’s a good time to go through exactly what players can and can’t do with CSGO’s powerful GOTV browser. CSGO boasts some serious integration between the game and outside tournaments, and today it got a little bit closer to being the complete CSGO viewing package. In a surprise reveal, Counter-Strike developer Valve announced on the game’s official Twitter …
Counter-Strike
summit thinks CSGO’s tournaments are a problem, warns Valorant
Olivia Richman
Valorant’s closed beta key drop system has helped Riot’s new FPS set new records on Twitch. The highly anticipated title already has 34 million hours watched, with a peak viewership hitting over 1.7 million viewers, beating Twitch’s previous single-day viewership record. Fans from all over have been watching their favorite streamers play the new game, both to find out more about the included agents’ abilities and to get access to …
Counter-Strike
CSGO pros are already in love with the SG 556 Krieg nerf
M Alzamora
CSGO’s most powerful weapon was finally nerfed in the latest Counter-Strike patch, and pros around the world have their take on the changes. Most reacted with happiness at the news that the SG 556 had been bumped down a notch by Valve. Professional players and fans of Counter-Strike might be able to rest a little easier on CT side since the SG 556 has finally been nerfed. With the new …
Counter-Strike
Fnatic attaches sponsor Rivalry to its CSGO team’s name
M Alzamora
If you wondered why Fnatic was called Fnatic Rivalry over the weekend, you’re not alone. It’s something we haven’t seen in a while, and its return signals an expansion of marketing for some of the biggest esports bookmakers. As Counter-Strike esports started to grow, team sponsors were hard to come by. There were limited opportunities for organizations to monetize their teams, so they had to get creative. For fans who …
Counter-Strike
These tips and tricks will help you master CSGO’s demo viewer
M Alzamora
As far as Counter-Strike: Global Offensive has come since its release eight years ago, there are still parts of its Source Engine that are woefully behind the times. Unfortunately, one of the most important tools for a beginner player is CSGO’s demo viewer, an ancient relic that hasn’t changed much since Counter-Strike: Source. Even though it’s there to help players get better, CSGO’s demo viewer imight be the most frustrating …
Team Liquid, Fnatic take ESL Pro League Season 11 championships
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
ESL Pro League Season 11 crowned two champions. Fnatic defeated mousesports to hoist the EPL trophy in the European region, while Team Liquid overcame Evil Geniuses in a quick, two-map series. After thrashing mousesports once before in Season 11, Fnatic fought hard to come out on top of a back-and-forth series. On match point, mousesports let its lead slip away, robbing the team of the chance to become two-time ESL …
Mousesports and Fnatic even in EPL Season 11 finals, bookies say
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
Mousesports pulled off a surprising win in the ESL Pro League Season 11 semifinals, taking down an Astralis team that pummeled them just a match prior. Just a single match removed from an awful 2-0 loss against the Danish powerhouse, mouz’s in-game leader Finn “karrigan” Andersen took Astralis to their limits in a three-map romp. But they can’t afford to celebrate for long. A rested and dangerous Fnatic team waits for them …
New mod Polystrike released, combines Counter-Strike and Dota 2
Steven Rondina
Counter-Strike
Looking for more Counter-Strike: Global Offensive when you play Dota 2? Or maybe you want a bit more of a retro gaming experience when playing Counter-Strike? Polystrike has that covered. The Dota 2 mod is officially in open beta, giving fans to try out the game mode that captured the attention of both esports titles. Polystrike is an interesting take on Dota 2 and Counter-Strike, transforming the game into a …
Astralis is the big favorite in EPL semi after trouncing mouz
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
After an up and down season, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’s Astralis finally found their form against mousesports. During the last game before the ESL Pro League’s season 11 playoffs, Astralis delivered a dominant 2-0 win against mouz, who only managed four rounds total over two maps against the number one team in the world. When all was said and done, it was the less mentioned players on Astralis, such as Lukas “gla1ve” Rossander …
New CSGO patch nerfs Krieg, buffs Deagle, and changes entire CT meta
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive just received its most game-changing update since its economic overhaul, with several underpowered weapons receiving buffs and the often maligned SG-553 getting hit with a big nerf. The weapon changes have the potential to be meta-defining. The Krieg’s rate of fire has been lowered significantly, finally answering pleas from the community and pro players alike to nerf the Terrorist-exclusive weapon. The rifle’s rate of fire affects its …
This new pop flash blinds almost every angle in Inferno’s B site
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
Every once in a while, a new grenade toss appears for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. Whether it’s Astralis’ crouch walk-throw from T spawn to smoke the mid window on Mirage, or Janusz “Snax” Pogorzelski’s long range connector smoke on Cobblestone, a good throw lineup is worth its weight in gold. It seems there’s at least one more grenade players can add to their list of god-teir lineups. A reddit user found what …
CSGO players want Krieg nerfs, but it’s only getting stronger
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
The SG 556 has become the dominant force in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’s meta, and with Valve seemingly otherwise occupied, it may stay that way for a while longer. Ahead of Riot Game’s closed beta launch of their Counter-Strike and Overwatch hybrid Valorant, streamer Jared “summit1g” Lazar hopped onto CSGO to hone his FPS skills. He wasn’t impressed with what he found. summit was consistantly dominated by users of the Krieg, …
JW’s knife kills vs FaZe prove that knives aren’t always worth it
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
There are few things that are as satisfying as a knife kill in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. In a game filled with gunplay, it’s rare to get close enough to use CSGO’s decorative knives, so players rarely pass up the opportunity to literally stick it to their enemies. Professional players are no different. During Fnatic’s showdown against FaZe Clan on April 5, Jesper “JW” Wecksell managed to slip past the lone …
shroud says Valorant is easier than CSGO, and here’s why
Olivia Richman
Counter-Strike
More and more streamers are weighing in on Valorant days before the closed beta becomes available to the gaming public. Former Counter-Strike: Global Offensive pro Mike “Shroud” Grzesiek is the latest content creator to voice his opinion on Riot’s new FPS title. He said that the game is easier to play than CSGO, and it’s mostly due to the simplified map. “The time to kill is one-to-one with CS. It just …
ImAPet cites tarik, stanislaw, “hypocrisy” as reasons to leave EG
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
Evil Geniuses has released head coach Chet “ImAPet” Singh after almost seven months with the team. The famous North American organization returned to Counter-Strike: Global Offensive in September 2019 when they purchased NRG’s CSGO roster outright following its success at the StarLadder Berlin Major. From the beginning of his tenure with NRG to his release on April 3, Singh spent nearly two years with the roster. During his time with EG, Singh …
Fortnite pro says competitive CSGO is better because players enjoy it
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
During an episode of the Fortnite podcast Hotline FN, pro Fortnite player Bumpaah gave a frustrated take on the current Fortnite competitive scene while claiming that the passion fans of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’ have for their game is what competitive Fortnite is missing. During a discussion surrounding Fortnite, its viewer base, and pro players dropping out of the game’s competitive scene, Bumpaah blamed the slowing of Epic Game’s battle royale …
Did Riot Games copy CSGO’s weapon spray patterns for Valorant?
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
Riot’s new first-person shooter might have borrowed more than just its general concept from the granddaddy of competitive shooters. Valorant, the developing FPS from League of Legends developer Riot Games, got its live reveal during a Twitch Rivals event as esports pros and personalities took part in some friendly competition. During the reveal, there was a consistent theme by the casters. “Like in Counter-Strike” was a phrase anyone watching Rivals …
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.
