Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike
Battle between ESL and B Site for CSGO’s top teams goes public
M Alzamora
The CSGO community contended with a massive blowout this weekend when ESL revealed invites for Season 11 of ESL Pro League, confirming rumors that it had relegated 24 teams from the popular circuit to Mountain Dew League. ESL did not inform the transferred teams of the change beforehand, sparking mass outrage and kicking off CSGO’s whirlwind weekend. On January 25, Twitter became a heated battlefield among the who’s who of …
Counter-Strike
Report says B Site signs six franchise teams for March start
M Alzamora
An ESPN report says that six teams have signed contracts to compete in the “B Site” league, according to unnamed sources. Set to begin in March of 2020 and conflict with the ESL Pro League, the new team-owned league operating under the codename “B Site” welcomed six teams to the league’s franchise slots and a partial ownership stake in the league, according to the report. Those teams reportedly include the …
Counter-Strike
Espada wins WINNERS League with amazing comeback against Nemiga
M Alzamora
Espada surprised an entire region on Friday by defeating Nemiga Gaming to become the WINNERS League Season 3 European champions. Neither fans saw this one coming. Espada beat Nemiga 2-0 with a 16-13 win on Nemiga’s map pick, Nuke, while managing to take their own pick as well in a miraculous comeback on Overpass. Given how DreamHack Open Leipzig’s opening matches were a snoozefest, WINNERS League Season 3 likely offered fans the best …
Counter-Strike
Swole Patrol, INTZ face off in WINNERS League Season 3 NA finals
M Alzamora
The final matchup of the WINNERS League Season 3 North America division is now set. INTZ Esports and Swole Patrol will go head-to-head for the Season 3 title. Both teams finished the regular season with 6-1 records, but INTZ has been the standout performer during the playoff stage. The Brazillian team hasn’t dropped a map throughout the playoffs, defeating Team Divine, Triumph, and Riot Squad 2-0 in the stage’s best-of-three …
Counter-Strike
Some of CSGO’s biggest names and casters join new B Site league
M Alzamora
B Site officially unveiled its first season’s talent pool last night while revealing that the league will start in March 2020. There was even more information available to fans if they knew where to look. B Site is scheduled to start sometime in March 2020, according to the tweet. The timeframe lines up with initial reports stating that the league would overlap with Season 11 of ESL’s Pro League. The …
Counter-Strike
Xyp9x, EliGE to lead CSPPA as CSGO tournament wars begin
M Alzamora
The Counter-Strike: Professional Players Association announced that its player board has elected Andreas “Xyp9x” Højsleth and Jonathan “EliGE” Jablonowski to Chairman and Vice-Chairman positions. In an official press release, the CSPPA announced that the Astralis and Team Liquid stars now hold the top positions available at the association. The CSPPA Chairman and Vice-Chairman positions are elected by a board of active Counter-Strike players. The board is currently made up of …
Counter-Strike
Fifflaren joins Dignitas as coach, completing NiP reunion
M Alzamora
Alongside the news that Dignitas had signed Patrik “f0rest” Lindberg, Christopher “GeT_RiGhT” Alesund, Adam “friberg” Friberg, and Richard “Xizt” Landström to its roster, Robin “fifflaren” Johansson has now joined the team as its coach. Fifflaren announced the news on his Twitter account today, bringing together all five of the original members of the Ninjas in Pyjamas under one banner. The former professional Counter-Strike: Global Offensive player competed with NiP from August 2012 to November 2014, He …
Counter-Strike
Shattered Web’s Week 10 challenges are the most difficult yet
M Alzamora
Valve has released the Week 10 challenges for CSGO’s ninth operation, and they’re a doozy. Week 10 will have players making the rounds between almost every playable mode in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. While there aren’t any Danger Zone challenges this week, players are going to have to get crafty to complete some of these objectives. Practice Makes Perfect: “Get 15 default pistol kills in Deathmatch: Defusal Group Sigma.” Solid Fundamentals: …
f0rest rejoins GeT_RiGhT and former NiP teammates with Dignitas
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
Dignitas has announced the signings of four members of the legendary Ninjas in Pyjamas roster through a post on their official Twitter account. Dignitas revealed that the organization has signed Patrik “f0rest” Lindberg, Christopher “GeT_RiGhT” Alesund, Adam “friberg” Friberg, and Richard “Xizt” Landström to the team’s new Counter-Strike: Global Offensive roster. This returns Dignitas to CSGO for the first time since dissolving its CSGO division in August 2018. The signing confirms the rumors earlier this …
f0rest leaves Ninjas in Pyjamas as Dignitas rumors swirl
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
Patrik “f0rest” Lindberg has left Ninjas in Pyjamas, setting the stage for a reunion with his former teammates on Dignitas. Update: Dignitas has confirmed the addition of f0rest and other ex-NiP players Ninjas in Pyjamas has officially released f0rest this morning, according to a blog post on the team’s official website. f0rest’s release means that all of Dignitas’ rumored players are no longer under contracts with other teams. Dignitas teased adding f0rest …
Gen.G, Complexity, and forZe make DreamHack Open Anaheim
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
Gen.G, Complexity Gaming, and forZe took the final three spots at DreamHack Open Anaheim. Gen.G defeated Choas Esports Club and Riot Squad to earn their spot at the event. With Hansel “BnTeT” Ferdinand finally in the server, Gen.G’s long-awaited roster rolled through the closed qualifiers with ease to snag their first tournament spot this year. The squad only lost a single map, thanks in part to a tremendous performance from …
Zyw0o beats s1mple to become the top-ranked player of 2019
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
Team Vitality member Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut is the number one player in HLTV’s rankings for 2019. ZywOo beat out Natus Vincere’s Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev for the number one spot. The 19-year-old French player impressed throughout 2019, growing into a dangerous presence on any server. Since he joined Team Vitality in October of 2018, ZywOo helped Vitality win DreamHack Open Atlanta 2018, Charleroi Esports 2019, cs_summit 4, and ECS Season 7. ZywOo and …
CR4ZY sends roster, ESL One Rio Major spot to c0ntact Gaming
Steven Rondina
Counter-Strike
The previously rumored transfer of CR4ZY’s Counter-Strike: Global Offensive roster has turned out to be true. The organization released a statement confirming that its successful squad is being sent to c0ntact Gaming. “My first reaction was ‘there’s no way this is happening again.’ However, I also realized the opportunity for the players and decided this would be the best for them. I would never do anything to stop them from …
DreamHack Open Anaheim qualifiers includes Gen.G, Complexity
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
DreamHack has revealed the opening matchups for the 2020 DreamHack Open Anaheim closed qualifiers. With only three total spots up for grabs, 16 teams will go head-to-head for the chance to compete in California. North, MiBR, ENCE, and FURIA Esports received direct invitations to the event. Another team, Endpoint, earned the chance to compete through an ESL-run regional tournament. Team Heroic to win the DreamHack Open Anaheim European qualifiers. Heroic will kick off …
Singularity shorthanded for DreamHack Open Anaheim qualifiers
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
Team Singularity announced the release of Will “dazzLe” Loafman and Jordan “Zellsis” Montemurro. This leaves the team shorthanded ahead of its DreamHack Open Anaheim closed qualifier match against Riot Squad. The team made the announcement on Twitter. An official blog post covered the subject in more detail, attributing the release of the players to “dynamics.” “We have not been able to grind the results we would have liked to accomplish, …
Mythic Reborn adds DAVEY, confirms polen before DreamHack Anaheim
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
Mythic Reborn has added David “DAVEY” Stafford to its official ESEA roster, and confirmed current player Adam “polen” Polen for Season 33 of the Mountain Dew League. The announcement was made on the team’s official Twitter account. Polen returns for another year on the Mythic squad, while DAVEY steps in to replace Samuel “SileNt” Portillo. The fan-favorite stream team is headed by Eric “fl0m” Flom and made waves with the …
Valve making big changes to CSGO majors with circuit qualifiers
Nina Forneloza
Counter-Strike
According to a report from HLTV, Valve is planning big changes to the qualification system for official Counter-Strike: Global Offensive majors. This will end the previous format, where 14 teams received an invitation based on their performance in the last major while 10 more qualified through regional minors. The new approach will involve a point system where teams can work their way into the major through strong performances in multiple …
Swole Patrol, Riot Squad reach WINNERS League Season 3 NA semifinals
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
In the first matchups of the North American WINNERS League quarterfinals, Riot Squad defeated Mythic and Swole Patrol stomped Station 7 to advance to the Season 3 semifinals. WINNERS League lets up and coming teams make their mark and gain international recognition that may help them break out onto the national stage. In the North American division’s quarterfinal matchups, all four teams managed to post attention-grabbing plays. Both Swole Patrol …
FACEIT scraps ECS and partners with B Site, reports say
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
Reports say that FACEIT will no longer put on its ECS tournament series and will instead partner with B Site. FACEIT will no longer run its tournament circuit ECS, and will instead throw its hat in the ring with the North American league codenamed B site, according to a report from DBLTAP. FACEIT’s ECS was the main competitor to ESL’s ESL Pro League, now part of the ESL’s larger tournament …
The best T side strats and grenades for Shortdust in CSGO Wingman
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
Shortdust is one of the most popular maps in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, and it’s an easy map to win with the right strategies and grenades. The miniature version of CSGO’s Dust restricts players to a central site, but much of the action takes place around the outside of the map. The site itself has four entrances, and each side has two that favor their starting spawns. Winning Wingman matches on …
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.
