Counter-Strike
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 …
Counter-Strike
Team Liquid out of IEM Katowice 2020 after loss to Natus Vincere
Steven Rondina
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 …
Counter-Strike
Fnatic clutch in multiple overtimes to beat 100 Thieves at IEM
Steven Rondina
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 …
Counter-Strike
swag announces retirement from CSGO, looks towards Riot’s Project A
Olivia Richman
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 …
Counter-Strike
CSGO patch changes Danger Zone meta, updates Trust Factor
M Alzamora
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 …
Counter-Strike
CSGO files leak official team and player patches, autograph sprays
M Alzamora
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 …
Counter-Strike
CSGO patch introduces patch customization, new crosshair generator
M Alzamora
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 …
Counter-Strike
Gen.G s0m “didn’t even notice” dropping 50 frags in DH Anaheim final
M Alzamora
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 …
k0nfig on FURIA: “They’re just another Brazilian team to take down”
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
Complexity Gaming has looked strong at DreamHack Open Anaheim. The team bested MiBR in both a best of one and a best of three series, with its sole loss coming at the hands of Gen.G. That 2-1 record secured Complexity a spot in the playoffs here in Anaheim. The solid outing continues what has been a strong upswing for the enduring North American organization. A major part of that growth …
Endpoint revives British CSGO with massive upset over forZe
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
Endpoint and forZe weren’t messing around at DreamHack Open Anaheim. The two teams took a showdown on Vertigo to quadruple overtime. Endpoint eventually took the map with a 28-26 victory. In the closest match of the event thus far, the two teams were even in nearly every category. Regulation saw each half split 8-7 and the teams were even through three overtime periods. After Vertigo, forZe clapped back and forced …
Flashpoint open qualifiers closed to teams outside select regions
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
Flashpoint may have championed offering a chance to everyone, but recent tests and two sources inside a South China team say that the qualifiers were not quite as open as they were purported to be. According to tests performed by WIN.gg, Flashpoint’s qualifiers were never open to teams outside the regions of North America, Europe, and South America. In addition, tournament rules stated that participating teams must have at least …
ESL Pro League Season 11 headed to Denver after ownership change
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
Denver will host the ESL Pro League Season 11 Finals later this year, according to an official press release from the company. The news comes just a day after Astralis and 12 other teams revealed that they were now part owners of the long-running league. More information on that ground-breaking shift can be found here. Starting on March 16, season 11 of the EPL will showcase 24 teams in a …
Counter-Strike’s Shattered Web walkthrough for Week 14
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
Week 14 of Shattered Web sees a few general missions, but Demolition is the weekly rotation for the first time this season, and the week’s Guardian mission offers an actual challenge. Almost exactly as they were data mined to be last week, here are the week 14 challenges for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’s Operation Shattered Week as the operation draws to a close. You Only Live Twice: Get 8 round wins …
Europe’s ESL Rio closed Minor qualifier will be a bloodbath
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
If there’s one thing that fans can count on, its that the European closed qualifiers for ESL One Rio’s upcoming minor is going to be a long and grueling affair. But it’s also going to be absolutely amazing to watch. Unlike the other regions, almost every team in Europe’s closed qualifiers are close in skill or have the potential to upset. Fans should thank their lucky stars that Valve hasn’t …
Astralis and 12 other teams become part owners of ESL Pro League
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
Astralis and twelve other top Counter-Strike: Global Offensive teams announced this morning that they have become majority stakeholders in the ESL Pro League. In an official press release, Astralis revealed that it and the twelve other teams had signed an agreement with ESL just under a month before the start of the league on March 16. The move is a major move in the Counter-Strike ecosystem, as ESL now holds …
Cloud9, Gen.G headline NA ESL Rio Minor Closed Qualifiers
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
The ESL One Rio open qualifiers are finally finished after half a month of streams, matches, technical pauses, and timeouts. Thankfully, today was the final day. CSGO fans finally know which teams will compete for the limited slots available for Rio’s upcoming minors. The Americas have a grand total of eight slots allocated to the region, with six going to North American teams and two reserved for South America. The …
You can get a real advantage by customizing your viewmodel in CSGO
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
The internet is full of guides claiming that they have the “best viewmodel” for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. In reality, the best viewmodel settings for CSGO are entirely up to each individual player, even though there are some safe ideas that users should generally stick too. The worst thing a player can do is take someone else’s viewmodel settings wholesale. While players can move their viewmodel just about anywhere, that doesn’t …
Coronavirus strikes CSGO, Tyloo replaces ViCi at IEM Katowice
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
ViCi Gaming will miss the upcoming IEM Katowice tournament due to visa issues, but these are far from the normal travel problems normally tied to esports. One of ViCi Gaming’s players had his visa appointment canceled due to the widespread quarantines across China due to the spread of the virus that has killed over 1,500 people. ViCi Gaming declined to name the player that was affected by the cancellation, but …
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.
