Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike
Virtus.pro to acquire AVANGAR CSGO roster, reports indicate
M Alzamora
Reports point towards legendary Counter-Strike: Global Offensive team Virtus.pro purchasing AVANGAR’s roster in its entirety. Virtus.pro is in the latter stages of purchasing AVANGAR’s CSGO roster wholesale, according to a report from DBLTP’s Jarek “Dekay” Lewis. The AVANGAR organization currently fields an international team of players which includes a CSGO Major winner in Dauren “AdreN” Kystaubayev and the aggressive AWPer Dzhami “Jame” Ali. AVANGAR has existed since 2017, but burst onto the international CSGO …
Counter-Strike
s0m leaves Envy for Gen.G, sicK stands in for IEM Katowice qualifiers
M Alzamora
Team Envy has announced the transfer of Sam “s0m” Oh to Gen.G. In an official tweet from the organization, Envy announced that s0m’s transfer to Gen.G Esports’ Counter-Strike: Global Offensive team has been finalized. The 17-year-old player joins three other players on Gen.G’s first-ever CSGO roster. Gen.G announced the signing on Twitter while also revealing that Complexity Gaming rifler Hunter “SicK” Mims would stand in for the new team at the upcoming IEM Katowice North American …
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
StarLadder offers clarity on freelance talent payment policy
M Alzamora
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 …
Counter-Strike
Report says OG CSGO will play their first games at CS Summit 5
M Alzamora
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 …
Counter-Strike
KRIMZ breaks NiKo’s Dust 2 kill record with 44 kills before OT
M Alzamora
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 …
Counter-Strike
The easiest ways to complete Shattered Web’s Week 3 Missions
M Alzamora
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 …
As FACEIT bans Agents in pug games, Valve could intervene
M Alzamora
News
According to a tweet from FACEIT partnerships manager Cem Mollaoğlu, the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive server provider has disabled Operation Shattered Web agents from their servers entirely. FACEIT joins ESEA in banning the in-game Agent models from all of its servers, including solo queue and pickup games. The decision follows FACEIT’s November 21 announcement that they would prohibit the use of the new models in the ECS Season 8 Finals that Astralis …
We determine who is really the best CSGO player in the world
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
“Who is the best Counter-Strike: Global Offensive player in the world?” Fans ask the question in forums and among friends every year. In today’s CSGO landscape, many would immediately answer with Natus Vincere’s Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev, but it turns out that the true answer might be a little more complicated. The problem lies in that fans only remember the flashy plays, like s1mple’s famous flying no-scope double kill during MLG …
BLAST Global Finals part of problematic Middle East esports push
Steven Rondina
Counter-Strike
In December, RFRSH Entertainment is bringing one of the year’s biggest Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournaments, the BLAST Pro Series Global Finals, to the Kingdom of Bahrain. It’s an unfamiliar location for many esports fans, but the Bahraini government sees a promising future in esports. Cities and countries around the world have been interested in competitive gaming for reasons including economic windfalls, long-term investments, and potential tourism. Bahrain isn’t interested because …
Astralis once again defeat Team Liquid, win ECS Season 8 Finals
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
Astralis defeated Team Liquid 2-1 to take home the ECS Season 8 trophy and some momentum heading into the ESL Pro League Season 10 Finals. Everyone got what they wanted out of the ECS Season 8 grand finals as Astralis and Team Liquid showcased fantastic Counter-Strike every round. The grand final between the two teams kicked off the first of three high-profile tournaments in a matchup that might be hard to …
Astralis Group planning to go public, aiming for $22 million IPO
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
The Astralis Group has announced its plans to take the company public. The Astralis Group, which owns League of Legends team Origen, FIFA’s Future FC, and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’s Astralis, revealed plans to take the company public just months after its split from RFRSH Entertainment. The move marks the first time that an organization intimately involved in the management and ownership of esports teams has gone public. Astralis is currently the …
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.
