Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike
What are the most valuable skins in CS2 in 2024
William Davis
CS2 skins are worth their weight in gold, especially the rare ones that have become scarce over time. Here are the most valuable skins in CS2. Players worldwide have different views on skins in video games. For many, they are a way to add a personalized touch to their characters and in-game weapons, while others turn in-game items into collectibles or use them online to make money. Skin prices can …
Counter-Strike
PGL CS2 Copenhagen Major 2024 Viewer Pass explained
Fariha Bhatti
Counter-Strike 2 players can get their hands on coveted skins and in-game items by purchasing the PGL CS2 Major Copenhagen 2024 Viewer Pass and nailing their Pick’Ems. The 2024 Viewer Pass will allow players to participate in the PGL Major Copenhagen from home by making their picks. By making correct predictions, players can win valuable items, including souvenir tokens, event coins, and souvenir packages that house coveted skins and stickers. …
Counter-Strike
Strange CS2 bug makes players miss easy jumps
Fariha Bhatti
Has your movement in CS2 become cluttered in the last month? You’re not alone. A bug is causing bad jumps even for the best players in CS2. In February, Valve rolled out a new game mode alongside some other updates for Counter-Strike 2. The Arms Race update was a pleasant addition but has left some bugs in its wake. During the last 30 days, players have complained about failing their …
Counter-Strike
CS2 players unhappy with Copenhagen Major 2024 stickers
Fariha Bhatti
Valve has just unveiled the latest stickers for PGL Copenhagen Major 2024. However, it seems that the designs and theme of the stickers have not quite hit the mark with some players. PGL Copenhagen Major 2024 kicks off on March 17. While esports fans remain eager to watch their favorite teams battle it out for the lion’s share of $1,250,000, the skin community, eagerly awaiting the release of new stickers, …
Counter-Strike
CS2 players are unhappy with Deathmatch spawns
Fariha Bhatti
Counter-Strike 2 players are again upset at Valve, but it’s for a different reason – a refreshing change from the usual complaints about hacks. Players think CS2 Deathmatch needs another workshop visit for its broken spawns. DM mode is crucial in any shooter 5v5 game. Competitive players in CS2 used to look at community servers for their practice routines, but since Valve removed the 128 tick with sub tick, many …
Counter-Strike
Who is donk in CS2? All we know about the new rifler
Fariha Bhatti
Who is the young star behind Team Spirit’s historic clean sweep against FaZe Clan at IEM Katowice 2024? Here’s what we know about the Russian superstar Danil “donk” Kryshkovets in CS2. The Russian squad beat the FAZE Clan legends at the Grand Finals, taking home $400,000 out of IEM Katowice 2024’s US$1 million prize pool. A young rifler helmed Team Spirit’s smooth win at IEM Katowice. Following Team Spirit’s triumph …
Counter-Strike
Here’s how to change your mic in CS2
Fariha Bhatti
Communication is crucial in CS2, but new in-game settings are slightly complicated. If your mic isn’t picking audio in CS2, here’s what to do. Counter-Strike 2 is one of those FPS games that require constant communication and coordination among teammates. Without communication, you’re as good as dead. For that, you need a functioning microphone and headphones. Not just that, your mic should be crisp and clean. Otherwise, a simple misunderstanding …
Counter-Strike
Valorant map Haven is now playable in CS2 custom games
Fariha Bhatti
Have you ever wondered how Valve would design Valorant maps? This map creator has reimagined Valorant maps in CS2 style. An indie map creator has brought Haven into Counter Strike 2 using the latest Source 2 Engine. According to the creator, the project took two months to complete. Most Valorant recreations in CS2 maintain Riot’s style and color palette. Vibrant greenery and vivid objects are typical among all Valorant maps …
Counter-Strike players spent $1 billion on cases in 2023
Olivia Richman
Counter-Strike
The amount of money Valve made in Counter-Strike case sales in 2023 will possibly blow your mind — or maybe you expect it from the CS2 community. Skins are a big component of the Counter-Strike community. When gamers are not grinding competitive matches or complaining about Counter-Strike 2, they are trading and buying weapon skins. It’s now been reported that Valve netted around $1 billion in sales on Counter-Strike cases …
Retired pro player Tarik greeted with wallhacks in CS2
Fariha Bhatti
Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike 2.0 may be an upgraded, new game, but the hacking problems remain. But returning players like Tarik “Tarik” Celik don’t know that. Tarik, who rose to fame as the North American CS legend, now prefers Valorant. He has been playing and streaming Riot’s competitive shooter for more than two years, but the CS community still respects and idolizes him for his legacy. So, when Tarik announced he would give …
Twistzz returns to Team Liquid
Fariha Bhatti
Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike’s golden boy Russel “Twistzz” Van Dulken has returned to Team Liquid after spending three years in FaZe Clan. Dust2.us had earlier reported that Twistzz would be stepping down from FaZe Clan to return to his former team. On December 1, Twistzz made it official, announcing his departure from FaZe Clan. Now, the Canadian player has confirmed his return to Team Liquid. Twistzz will be joining the storied skipper Casper …
CS2 is raining Elo on players as Valve fixes rank
William Davis
Counter-Strike
Your CS2 rank may have gone up these past couple of weeks, and it’s not just due to your insane game sense and cracked aim. Ranking up was one of the best feelings in all of Global Offensive, but the new colored Rating system in CS2 doesn’t have quite the same impact. Still, seeing a number go up is one of gamers’ favorite activities, and Valve has acknowledged it. In …
Pro player s1mple praises underrated CS2 feature
Fariha Bhatti
Counter-Strike
It seems CS2 is finally growing on legendary player Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyljev as he finally praises an in-game feature. s1mple had a strong opinion about CS2 when it was released in September. He called it a “sh-t” game and asked players not to play it for at least three months. Soon after, he announced his competitive break, which many speculated had something to do with CS2 being poorly optimized. But …
Here’s how your CS Rating compares to the ranks in CSGO
Fariha Bhatti
Counter-Strike
Valve has completely changed the rank progression in CS2 by introducing the CS Rating. If you’re still confused about how you stack up, this latest stat-based rank comparison may help. CS Rating is simple, but it’s tough to tell precisely what number is considered decent. For example, you may see questionable plays at 5K Rating games, which can be confusing since it doesn’t seem like a terrible number. This rank …
G2 reportedly set to bench jks on CS2 roster
Tokoni Uti
Counter-Strike
European organization G2 Esports is set to make a major change to the Counter-Strike 2 roster with Australian player Justin “jks” Savage set to be benched, according to a joint report by HLTV and 1ptv. The move comes just days after star player Nikola “NiKo” Kovač was reportedly set to be leaving the roster to join Saudi Team Falcons, which recently signed former Astralis coach Danny “zonic” Sørensen. But this …
NiKo stickers sales explode after G2 Falcons scare
William Davis
Counter-Strike
Stickers are often a solid investment when particular famous players start teasing roster moves, and the pump-fake move to Falcons makes Nikola “NiKo” Kovač the latest example. Investing in Counter-Strike skins is almost as old as the game itself, but stickers have generally been the less explosive market. However, whenever big roster changes start brewing, would-be wolves of the Steam Market get busy. With G2 itself playing on rumors that …
CS2 players gain X-Ray vision with game-breaking flashbang bug
Fariha Bhatti
Counter-Strike
A new bug in CS2 makes you invincible to flashbang grenades, and it’s highly game-breaking. Remember the infamous smoke bug from 2016 in CSGO? Something similar is now happening in CS2, as a player highlights flashbang grenades not working as intended. In a video shared, the player can be seen running through an active flashbang without the stun effect. Flashbangs are used to blind enemies, and players heavily rely on …
CS2 players want Valorant-style knife skins after this visual bug
Fariha Bhatti
Counter-Strike
CS2 has a new visual bug that has players wishing for animated knives. Counter-Strike 2 is still new, so bugs and issues are a given. However, the player base is still annoyed at Valve for not fixing them right away, but there are a few bugs that they don’t necessarily hate. For example, this latest visual glitch has players wishing for Valorant-style knives in CS2. CS2’s direct competitor, Valorant, has …
Is NiKo leaving G2 for Falcons? The roster havoc explained
William Davis
Counter-Strike
Star G2 Esports rifler Nikola “NiKo” Kovač appeared to leave his team to join Falcons earlier today, leaving impatient fans confused. The CS2 esports community is in a tizzy over Falcons, a rumored superteam that will combine top players from several squads into a single stacked squadron. As one of the greatest riflers of all time, NiKo was an obvious hotspot for rumors, but G2 itself appears to confirm them …
Valve dev talks subtick servers in CS2, defends jump problem
William Davis
Counter-Strike
CS2 fans are still in an uproar about subtick servers, and a personal talk with a Valve dev has fixed some things while worsening others. Like it or not, subtick servers are here to stay. Valve put a lot of effort into creating a happy medium between 64 and 128-tick servers, but various little bugs have emerged in the process. One of the most sinister causes jumps to reach inconsistent …
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.
