Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike
shroud says Valorant will become more popular than CSGO
Olivia Richman
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 …
Counter-Strike
MIBR versus MAD Lions in Flashpoint’s Season 1 grand final breakdown
M Alzamora
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 …
Counter-Strike
Valve reveals ESL One Rio Major’s Regional Major Rankings
M Alzamora
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 …
Counter-Strike
New CSGO major rules spell trouble for Astralis’ six-man roster
M Alzamora
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. …
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
CSGO teams being sued for “negligence” after former pro passes away
Olivia Richman
Team Reapers and Imperial Esports are being sued by the family of Matheus “bruttJ” Queiroz, a former Counter-Strike: Global Offensive pro who passed away in December 2019 at 19 years old. Imperial Esports had announced the sad news at the end of last year, citing “health complications” in the tweet. bruttJ had taken a 10-day hiatus from professional CSGO before his untimely death. During that time he was suffering from …
Counter-Strike
New CSGO update changes Vertigo, makes it easier to copy crosshairs
Steven Rondina
Big updates just keep arriving in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. Less than a week after Valve delivered a major shakeup of the CSGO arsenal, which included the long-awaited nerf of the Krieg, the publisher has shipped another update that includes various map changes, upgrades to spectating, and a new experimental warmup game mode. While map changes are usually the centerpiece of big patches like this, the so-called “Change Your Tune” update …
Counter-Strike
Valve trolls CSGO players with Office changes and Inferno wall bangs
M Alzamora
Since the release of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’s Shattered Web operation in November, there has been a steady stream of hints that all seemed to point in one direction – the return of the Office to competitve CSGO. While the map has been available to CSGO players for years, it has never seen competitive play on an esports stage. CSGO’s most recent patch moved the mystery forward slightly when developers included …
summit thinks CSGO’s tournaments are a problem, warns Valorant
Olivia Richman
Counter-Strike
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 …
CSGO pros are already in love with the SG 556 Krieg nerf
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
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 …
These tips and tricks will help you master CSGO’s demo viewer
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
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 …
Fnatic attaches sponsor Rivalry to its CSGO team’s name
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
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 …
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 …
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.
