Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike
One key smoke on every map that all CSGO players need to know
M Alzamora
There are few things more important than utility when it comes to winning a game of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. There’s nothing worse than getting only silence in return when you ask your matchmaking team if anyone knows any smokes. The problem can be even worse when third-party platforms offer better servers than Valve’s at attractive rates for free players and subscribers. There, the hardcore Counter-Strike Community meets the casual, and …
Counter-Strike
Former CSGO pro facing life in prison for embezzlement crimes
Olivia Richman
A former Counter-Strike: Global Offensive pro could be spending the rest of their life in prison. Brazilian influencer and former pro Shayenne “shAy” Victorio was sentenced to 116 years in prison for embezzlement, according to Column of Leo Dias. The conviction stems from a retail company shAy managed as a partner. From 2013 to 2017, customers didn’t receive the products they purchased, meaning shAy will also have to pay a …
Counter-Strike
ALEX splits from Vitality ahead of ESL Pro League Season 11
M Alzamora
Team Vitality and Alex “ALEX” McMeekin have officially parted ways. Both the team and the player have issued statements confirming the split. In a post on Twitlonger, ALEX cited the exhaustive travel and intense schedule of competitive Counter-Strike: Global Offensive as the reason for the split. Team Vitality officially announced the news today on the team’s official Twitter account, confirming yesterday’s rumors that ALEX had left the team. Vitality took the …
Counter-Strike
Flashpoint Global LAN schedule detailed as competition starts
M Alzamora
Flashpoint’s Global LAN qualifiers start today and run through Wednesday, March 5. The winning teams from across the European, North American, and South American regions will compete in two groups to decide who will represent their region at Flashpoint. Eight teams are participating in Flashpoint’s Global LAN qualifiers named the Pinnacle Open, started this morning. With the results in, fans now know the matchups for each group’s elimation and deicder …
Counter-Strike
Natus Vincere shreds Astralis, faces G2 in IEM Katowice 2020 finals
M Alzamora
Natus Vincere and Astralis squared off in a best-of-three that saw the number one team in the world crumble beneath the crushing weight of a frightening Russian squad. Dust 2 and Nuke were the staging grounds for a defeat that seemingly broke Astralis after the team cruised to the semifinals without dropping a single map. Natus Vincere took the series in two decisive maps and booked their tickets to the …
Counter-Strike
CSGO just set a new record for number of players in the game
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive hit another milestone this morning, smashing its previous concurrent player count record and setting a new standard for itself with 933,748 concurrent players. Since the StarLadder Berlin Major, Counter-Strike has seen a steady increase in players bolstered by its growing esports scene. While professional teams battle it out for prize pools in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, Valve has taken a renewed interest in its flagship …
Counter-Strike
kennyS hammers Fnatic, sends G2 to IEM Katowice 2020 finals
Steven Rondina
G2 Esports is headed to the grand finals of IEM Katowice 2020. The fan favorite organization edged out Fnatic in the semifinals with a 2-1 score. The victory put G2 in position to post arguably its best tournament finish to date. G2 Esports got on the board first on Inferno with a clutch defusal by Audric “JaCkz” Jug, but it took a while before either team gained momentum. The two …
Counter-Strike
Dupreeh: “I’ve never been a fan of the best-of-five format”
M Alzamora
Astralis took to the podium today to talk about their perfect run to the IEM Katowice 2020 semifinals, coach Danny “zonic” Sørensen’s book, and how the absence of Katowice’s crowd is a sad but smart decision from the people in charge of the event. Astralis came into IEM Katowice after bombing out of BLAST Premier’s group B while losing to both Complexity and Natus Vincere by a combined map score of …
Team Liquid out of IEM Katowice 2020 after loss to Natus Vincere
Steven Rondina
Counter-Strike
Natus Vincere sent North American squad Team Liquid home from IEM Katowice 2020. Liquid came up short against the CIS side, losing the series 2-0 and landing in sixth place at the event. Natus Vincere, Team Liquid, and Dust 2 historically combine for great games, and this showdown at IEM Katowice 2020 was no different. Denis “electronic” Sharipov came up huge for Natus Vincere in the opening pistol round, but …
Fnatic clutch in multiple overtimes to beat 100 Thieves at IEM
Steven Rondina
Counter-Strike
100 Thieves is out of IEM Katowice 2020 after a disappointing loss to Fnatic. The teams faced off in the playoffs semifinals with Fnatic coming out on top 2-0. The loss is undoubtedly a devastating one for 100 Thieves, who failed to complete a massive comeback before punting away a considerable lead. 100 Thieves got on the board first on Mirage with a successful opening pistol round, but Fnatic denied …
swag announces retirement from CSGO, looks towards Riot’s Project A
Olivia Richman
Counter-Strike
After a controversial Counter-Strike: Global Offensive career, Braxton “swag” Pierce is retiring. In a Twitter post, the American CSGO pro stated that he may stream CSGO in the future, but his focus is now on Riot Games’ upcoming tactical shooter, Project A. In fact, he already has pretty lofty goals for the upcoming game. “I am no longer with Swole Patrol. I have decided to take a step back from competitive …
All IEM Katowice tickets cancelled amid coronavirus concerns
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
The permit for Intel ExtremeMasters and ESL to hold a “mass event” for the IEM XIV World Championship has been revoked by the Polish government just a day before the event was to start its playoff matchups. According to ESL, officials cited health and safety concerns over what would be a large, international gathering. Though it was not explicitly stated by ESL, this likely stems from the global outbreak of the …
Flashpoint announces global LAN qualifiers, dates, and teams
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
Flashpoint released the group draws for its Global LAN qualifiers yesterday, but declined to provide an official press release. Instead, the league confirmed a report published by HLTV. The North American league’s closed qualifiers, named the Global LAN Qualifiers, will feature two groups of four teams that won their spots in the open qualifiers earlier this month. In total, two out of the eight teams will join Flashpoint’s ten franchised …
Aleksib’s revenge complete as OG passes ENCE in world rankings
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
With OG’s top-notch performance in BLAST Premier’s group C and ENCE’s catastrophic failure at DreamHack Anaheim, ENCE is probably regretting their decision to let the young in-game leader go. OG is maturing, and quickly. While Aleksib is young, he’s clearly able to mold the players around him into a cohesive force. That trait is special, and there were flashes of Danylo “Zeus” Teslenko’s fire in him during BLAST. Somehow, the 22-year-old …
CSGO patch changes Danger Zone meta, updates Trust Factor
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
In a followup to Monday’s big patch, Valve has released another update for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive last night that made some small changes that could have a big impact. Valve made changes to Danger Zone and CSGO’s matchmaking trust factor while adding in two new options for reporting players and the buy menu. There was only one gameplay change in Tuesday’s patch. Valve has added the chance for late-game paradrops …
CSGO files leak official team and player patches, autograph sprays
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
Depending on who you talk to, the big news from Monday night’s Counter-Strike: Global Offensive patch was either the crosshair generator or the new Panorama buy menu. But there were two other big additions that slid by in the chaos. The surprise patch came ten days after Valve released an update that tidied up the developer’s shooter internally. While no new content was added, Valve had clearly taken the time …
CSGO patch introduces patch customization, new crosshair generator
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
Today’s Counter-Strike: Global Offensive patch introduced three changes to Valve’s first-person shooter including customizable agent patches, a crosshair editor, and a brand new buy menu. CSGO has been getting a ton of attention recently and today’s patch introduced some new cosmetic items for fans to drop their money on. The patch introduced patches to the game. These patches feature all nine operation icons and several other graphics beloved by the …
Gen.G s0m “didn’t even notice” dropping 50 frags in DH Anaheim final
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
Gen.G managed to win its first international tournament at DreamHack Open Anaheim, overcoming a field that included such big names as MiBR, ENCE, and Complexity. Gen.G swept Brazilian opponent FURIA in the grand final to seal the win. That 2-0 series victory completed a dominant run for Gen.G that saw the recently completed roster win every map played at the event, potentially setting the North American side up for a …
Gen.G defeats FURIA to take the top spot at DreamHack Anaheim 2020
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
Even though the series only lasted two maps, Gen.G’s contest against FURIA at DreamHack Open Anaheim was one the team will always remember. In his first LAN tournament with Gen.G, Sam “s0m” Oh rose to the occasion, dropping 50 frags against FURIA and propelling the roster to their first big win outside of qualifier circuits. The grand final began on Nuke, where just minutes before FURIA had stifled Complexity in …
Gen.G, FURIA face off for spot in DreamHack Masters Jonkoping
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
Gen.G and FURIA have advanced to the grand finals of DreamHack Open Anaheim 2020. Gen.G took down North 2-0 in the first of Sunday’s matches, while FURIA defeated Complexity in a reverse sweep to book their own ticket to the grand final. Anaheim was full of storylines going in. Will Endpoint pick up a single map? Will MiBR finally take home a tournament win after a brutally long drought? And …
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.
