Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike
Endpoint revives British CSGO with massive upset over forZe
M Alzamora
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 …
Counter-Strike
Flashpoint open qualifiers closed to teams outside select regions
M Alzamora
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 …
Counter-Strike
ESL Pro League Season 11 headed to Denver after ownership change
M Alzamora
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
Counter-Strike’s Shattered Web walkthrough for Week 14
M Alzamora
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 …
Counter-Strike
You can get a real advantage by customizing your viewmodel in CSGO
M Alzamora
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 …
Counter-Strike
Coronavirus strikes CSGO, Tyloo replaces ViCi at IEM Katowice
M Alzamora
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
Concept art highlights the strong links between Half-Life and CSGO
M Alzamora
As the release of Half-Life: Alyx nears, old Counter-Strike: Global Offensive files highlight just how closely the two universes are connected and give a fun look at just how the two influential games are tied to one another. Images uploaded in early 2016 show prototype models for two unused Counter-Terrorist factions, the KSK and the Georgian Police force. They’re labeled as early concept art for Valve’s multiplayer shooter, but they …
Counter-Strike
SMASH upset Complexity, seal ESL Rio closed qualifier spot
M Alzamora
In a surprise result, SMASH Esports defeated Complexity Gaming today in the open qualifiers for the upcoming ESL One Rio Minor qualifier. SMASH punched way above their weight class, winning 2-1 against a Complexity team that has been unstoppable in recent weeks. While Complexity shocked the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive scene earlier this month by crushing Astralis 2-0 at the BLAST Premier Spring Series, they were on the receiving end today. …
Iconic CSGO map Dust 2 gets a new remake in Fortnite
Syed Mujtaba Naqvi
Counter-Strike
Iconic CSGO map Dust 2 is coming to Fortnite. Fans of first-person shooter games were excited to find out one of the most popular maps from Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is coming to Fortnite’s creative mode. Digital marketing brand Team Evolve, which focuses on designing custom content for the battle royale, has a Dust 2 game mode soon to be available for fans to try out in Fortnite. Dust 2 was …
Former Fnatic coach Jumpy finds new home, joins North
Nina Forneloza
Counter-Strike
Danish Counter-Strike: Global Offensive organization North has brought in Jimmy “Jumpy” Berndtsson as its new head coach. Jumpy will replace outgoing coach Torbjørn “mithR” Nyborg, who has coached North for the past year. In a statement on the North website, Jumpy stated he is excited by the potential within the team: “I’m super excited about the opportunity to come and coach a team like North. With the amount of inherent …
FLASHPOINT restarts EU qualifier, had banned tech pauses
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
FACEIT has issued a statement regarding the restarting of the second FLASHPOINT European open qualifier and its lack of technical pauses, amending its rules to ensure that teams have a fair chance to compete. Trouble started when Engin “MAJ3R” Küpeli and Turkey5 played seven rounds without one of their players in FLASHPOINT’s European qualifiers due to a technical issue. Unfortunately for Turkey5, FACEIT had disabled the ability to use technical pauses for the event. …
Leaks reveal last 3 weeks of Operation Shattered Web missions
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
There are some interesting tidbits buried deep inside the code for Counter-Strike Global Offensive. Some are small, like how CSGO’s volume settings reset after equipping a Music Kit. Some are bigger, like the names and objectives for the next two weeks of Operation Shattered Web. Barring sudden changes from Valve, CSGO players can plot out how they want to tackle the final three weeks of Operation Shattered Web. Starting with …
Shattered Web Week 13 brings big explosions and shields to CSGO
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’s Week 13 may be best used as a distraction from work, cleaning the kitchen, or finishing up some errands. It’s a laundry list of tasks to be crossed off. Instead of breaking away from the past weeks’ “kill things” challenges by making increasing the chance for clever tactics, Valve has opted for the “grind it out” route. WTB Earplugs: Get 5 kills with the Negev In Casual: …
Week 13 Guardian Missions have shields, point to de_dust return
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
As Operation Shattered Web winds down, some fans were wondered when Valve was going to kick it up a notch since SB wasn’t the content hog that Hydra was. Well, we’ve got good news. This week is going to be kind of crazy. While looking through the configuration files for Week 13, WIN.gg uncovered several details, including one that might mean the return of one of Counter-Strike’s classic maps. First, …
Net graph explained: How to measure CSGO FPS, ping, loss, and more
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
High FPS in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is an important thing for players to shoot for and can give them an edge in almost every fight. The net graph command included in CSGO is the best way to measure your ping, but it also shows a lot more than just that. CSGO’s net graph is by far the best way for players to measure their in-game FPS. It’s even better than …
ESL Katowice groups are headlined by Astralis, Liquid, mouz, EG
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
ESL has released the official groups for IEM Katowice, including the first and second-day matchups between the participating teams. The groups are likely going to be an absolute bloodbath. Group A consists of the following teams: Astralis Cloud9 Ninjas in Pyjamas Natus Vincere FaXe Clan Renegades Fnatic Group B will prove equally strong, especially with mousesports leading the charge in recent weeks: mousesports Vici Gaming 100 Thieves G2 Esports Team …
This is how to check if people you played with in CSGO have VAC bans
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
Almost every player has run into a cheater in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, whether they know it or not. The problem is so widespread that Valve’s anti-cheat routinely bans thousands of players each day. With cheats for CSGO so widespread, there’s an easy way to check your own match history players that have bans on their account, and you don’t have to upload match codes to do it. A plugin called …
CSGO breaks all-time record for highest concurrent player count
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive broke its own concurrent player count record on February 8 with 876,575 players. The previous record was set in April 2016 during the MLG Columbus Major, which hit a peak of 850,485 players. While breaking the record is big news for Valve’s flagship shooter, it’s not unexpected. CSGO has steadily grown since August 2019, in large part thanks to the introduction of Operation Shattered Web. Operation Shattered …
Agent skins will be allowed at ESL One Rio Major, says CSPPA
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
The Counter-Strike Professional Players’ Association revealed today that players at the game’s upcoming ESL One Rio Major will be allowed to use CSGO’s new character models. The models were a controversial subject in competitive play in 2019 due to the different models serving as camouflage in some areas.. In an odd exchange, professional player Olof “olofmeister” Kajbjer tweeted at the CSPPA asking for clarification on the model situation for the upcoming …
CSGO legends TaZ and NEO are coming back to form new Polish team
Olivia Richman
Counter-Strike
Filip “NEO” Kubski and Wiktor “TaZ” Wojitas are forming a new Counter-Strike: Global Offensive team. Very few details about the new team have been revealed thus far, but NEO and TaZ are reportedly already recruiting in hopes of filling their roster with the “most talented and promising players in the Polish CSGO scene.” In a statement, TaZ discussed how his long history with NEO was paramount to the new team’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.
