Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike
summit1g apologizes to Sweet Anita for his girlfriend’s comments
Olivia Richman
Twitch personality Sweet Anita was in the spotlight earlier this week after she was called out by another streamer for yelling racial slurs and anti-semetic statements. Some agreed with the streamer, wondering why Sweet Anita was yet to be suspended from the platform for using racial epithets when other streamers saw harsh punishments for the same explitives. The difference? Sweet Anita has Tourettes syndrome, which causes her to have uncontrollable tics. …
Counter-Strike
Christmas comes early for CSGO snipers in Shattered Web week 4
Steven Rondina
Operation Shattered Web continues on with the start of week four and it’s going to delight any snipers out there. The latest roundup of missions revolves around the AWP and the SSG 08 rifles. The two weapons are used in each of the missions, which allow players to earn up to six total stars. The stars earn credit towards the higher value rewards from Shattered Web, most notably the agent …
Counter-Strike
Astralis’ Xyp9x, k0nfig talk ghosting and crowd impact on events
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike features a long history of excited fans cheering on players live. Several incidents with these excitable crowds over the years have brought one issue to the forefront of the CSGO community time and time again. The problem is that fans like to see their team win. It’s an understandable feeling, one that every sports fan can identify with. Unlike in most traditional sports, however, fan support in CSGO can …
Counter-Strike
2020 Service Medal revealed as winter patch comes to CSGO
M Alzamora
When Counter-Strike: Global Offensive players are throwing snowballs more than they’re throwing smoke grenades, it’s officially December in CSGO. Valve released the annual holiday patch on December 9, and it’s filled with everything that a Counter-Strike holiday update is usually filled with a few small exceptions. The map’s chickens have their Christmas sweaters on once again, it’s snowing in the main menu, and there are piles of snowballs stacked around …
Counter-Strike
Mousesports win ESL Pro League Season 10 with sweep of Fnatic
M Alzamora
The ESL Pro League Season 10 Finals wrapped up with a showdown between Fnatic and mousesports. The grand finals matchup that few were expecting took a surprising turn of its own, as mousesports scored a quick, clean, 3-0 victory to take home the top prize. The match could’ve gone either way in theory, but Fnatic started slowly and never really hit a higher gear. Mousesports was composed both emotionally and strategically, and …
Counter-Strike
shroud down to one third of his viewers since moving to Mixer
Olivia Richman
Stream Metrics has just revealed that popular streamer Michael “shroud” Grzesiek has seen a drastic decline in viewership since he moved to Mixer at the end of October. The tweet declared that their own data shows shroud’s livestream audience in November was one third the size of his Twitch reach in October when it came to US viewership. In fact, shroud’s viewership on Twitch before moving platforms was 1.62 times larger …
Counter-Strike
Fnatic, mousesports face off for ESL Pro League Season 10 championship
M Alzamora
After a wild week of action, the ESL Pro League’s Season 10 grand final is less than a day away. Surprisingly, the final showdown won’t feature top teams Team Liquid or Astralis. Instead, Fnatic and mousesports will face off in a best-of-five where brains will meet brawn for the lion’s share of a $600,000 prize pool. Fnatic and mousesports had oddly similar runs in the event. In an odd coincidence, both teams struggled …
Counter-Strike
Map drawing returns to CSGO in 2019 after being gone for a year
M Alzamora
After almost more than a year, Counter-Strike: Globel Offensive developers have again enabled the ability to draw on the in-game map for players. Players are understandably happy after CSGO developers reactivated a long-time feature of the game. The ability to draw on the map was removed with the introduction of the Panorama user interface update in June of 2018. While technically a beta, fans flocked to the update to check …
Autimatic, daps, koosta leave Cloud9 for new Gen.G CSGO team
Steven Rondina
News
Gen.G Esports has officially entered the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive scene. The organization confirmed the addition of former members of the Cloud9 roster in Timothy “autimatic” Ta, Damian “daps” Steele, and Kenneth “koosta” Suen. The team also added Cloud9 assistant coach Chris “Elmapuddy” Tebbit, who will seemingly take on head coaching duties. “We are honored to join the CSGO community and welcome three veteran players as the core of our CS …
StarLadder offers clarity on freelance talent payment policy
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
In 2018, members of the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive freelance talent circuit accused tournament organizers of failing to pay them for their work. Over one year later, two more esports freelancers have hit out for similar reasons. On November 25, esports host and broadcaster James Banks posted a series of raw and emotional tweets in which the esports veteran publicly worried about making ends meet and supporting his family. He wasn’t …
Report says OG CSGO will play their first games at CS Summit 5
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
A report released December 4 indicates that Counter-Strike: Global Offensive fans will get their first look at the OG CSGO roster in action very soon. A report from Finnish website yle.fi says that OG CSGO will play their first games as a squad at CS Summit 5. WIN.gg recently speculated that CS Summit 5 could be the first tournament for the new roster, especially given that many top teams are will …
KRIMZ breaks NiKo’s Dust 2 kill record with 44 kills before OT
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
Freddy “KRIMZ” Johannsan broke the world record for kills on Dust 2 during regulation in Fnatic’s ESL Pro League Season 10 finals group stage match against MIBR earlier today. The 25-year-old rifler slammed MIBR on the classic map, putting up 44 kills on the Brazillian team before the map went to overtime. KRIMZ’s performance broke the previous world record of 40 kills set by Nikola “NiKo” Kovač almost two years …
The easiest ways to complete Shattered Web’s Week 3 Missions
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’s third week of missions is live for Operation Shattered Web, and one of them is the mission that shows up every operation and everyone really dislikes. There’s nothing more frustrating opening up Counter-Strike Global Offensive, excited to take a crack at that week’s missions and seeing that you have to get 25 kills in a deathmatch. A Valve deathmatch. With a Nova. Shattered Web’s missions have been …
Renegades returns to CSGO, signs Grayhound Gaming roster
Syed Mujtaba Naqvi
Counter-Strike
Renegades announced its return to Counter-Strike: Global Offensive on Twitter, revealing that it has acquired the roster of Grayhound Gaming. The organization returns to the game after just a few weeks away. The Renegades roster was transferred to 100 Thieves at the end of October, soon after its third-place finish at the StarLadder Berlin Major. Just a month later, the organization is back in the scene with the acquisition of Grayhound’s roster. …
Reports say MIBR to replace LUCAS1 with Sharks Esports’ Meyern
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
Six months after borrowing Lucas “LUCAS1” Teles from Luminosity, MIBR is in discussions with Sharks Esports to find his replacement. According to reports, MIBR is pursuing Sharks Esports’ Ignacio “meyern” Meyer to replace Lucas “LUCAS1” Teles prior to the start of CS Summit 5 on December 12. If MIBR makes the move, it would be the sixth roster change the organization has made in less than a year. Meyern’s recent performances …
OG Esports looks set to announce CSGO roster with Aleksib, NBK
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
After months of rumors, longtime top Dota 2 team OG seems ready to announce its inaugural Counter-Strike: Global Offensive team. The organization teased the reveal on Twitter, stating it has a big announcement for December 4, but didn’t want to “rush (b)” its announcements. This was preceded by a change to its username on Twitter, which now reads “unnamed team.” This is a reference to news articles discussing the transfer …
The complete viewer’s guide for CS Summit 5
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
CS Summit 5 is approaching quickly and there’s a lot to look forward to for Counter-Strike fans. Hosted by Beyond the Summit, CS Summit is a spinoff of BTS’s popular set of Dota 2 tournaments. It’s unlike any other tournament in the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive circuit. Talent and players mingle and eat lunch in the background while games are casted by players from a comfortable couch. The relaxed atmosphere is …
North send Valde to unnamed team, clues point to new OG CSGO team
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
North has announced the transfer of Valdemar “valde” Bjørn Vangså today in an official blog post thanking the long-time member of the team. On December 2, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive team North announced that they had transferred valde to a “yet unnamed team.” Both valde and North have stayed quiet on the transfer, but all signs point to OG Esports as the player’s likely destination. The transfer occurred just before North will …
ESL Pro League S10 Finals will feature CSGO’s best teams
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
Everything is in place for the ESL Pro League Season 10 Finals to be an absolute showdown. ESL Pro League’s Season 10 Finals start December 3, and there’s more Counter-Strike: Global Offensive to unpack here then fans have seen in a while. The ECS S8 finals were a great primer, but the ESL Pro League Finals are literally double the size. Sixteen teams will duke it out in Odense over …
Stewie2K is first NA CSGO player to reach $1 million in prizes
Steven Rondina
Counter-Strike
Jacky “Stewie2K” Yip has joined Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’s illustrious millionaires club. Courtesy of his team’s performance in the ECS Season 8 Finals, the Team Liquid player jumped over the $1 million mark for career earnings in tournaments. He is the first North American player to achieve this and the only player from outside the current lineup of Astralis to do so. Though the number doesn’t accurately represent how much Stewie2K …
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.
