Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike
Astralis once again defeat Team Liquid, win ECS Season 8 Finals
M Alzamora
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 …
Counter-Strike
Astralis Group planning to go public, aiming for $22 million IPO
M Alzamora
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
Liquid beat Fnatic at ECS Final, set finals date with Astralis
M Alzamora
Team Liquid channeled their summer Intel Grand Slam run and defeated Fnatic 2-1 for an ECS Season 8 grand final spot. Team Liquid’s 2-1 win against Fnatic at the ECS Season 8 Finals could have gone either way. In spite of some lopsided scores, both teams combined smart strategies with precise aggression to take each other’s map picks. But the final score doesn’t tell the story of just how great this …
Counter-Strike
Fnatic shows off Hello Kitty crossover jerseys at ECS Finals
M Alzamora
Fnatic fans got a good look at the new “Fnatic X Hello Kitty” crossover merchandise during the team’s matches at the Counter-Strike:Global Offensive ECS Season 8 Finals. For the first time, Fnatic’s CSGO team showed off their limited edition Hello Kitty-branded jerseys during their match on November 28 against MIBR. Sporting the beloved Hello Kitty character, the Fnatic jerseys drew even more attention to a team that has returned to form in …
Counter-Strike
Mousesports to play at EPICENTER Moscow after Fnatic drops out
M Alzamora
In an odd mirror of last year’s EPICENTER, a top team has withdrawn from the tournament at the last minute. Fnatic’s Counter-Strike: Global Offensive squad announced this morning that the team will not attend EPICENTER Moscow 2019 in a tweet from their official Twitter account. “Sadly, we today announce that we won’t be attending @epicentergg 2019 this December. We hope you understand why we’ve reevaluated the remainder of our 2019 …
Counter-Strike
Dignitas pursuing GeT_RiGhT as potential fifth for CSGO return
M Alzamora
A November 27 report indicates that Dignitas is not only continuing to pursue much of the famous Ninjas in Pyjamas core, they’re now also setting their sights on Christopher “GeT_RiGhT” Alesund. Following the report that Dignitas was eyeing Richard “Xizt” Landström, Patrik “f0rest” Lindberg and Adam “friberg” Friberg as the potential core of their return to Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, a report from Jarek “DeKay” Lewis points to GeT_RiGhT as a …
Counter-Strike
CSGO update introduces Halo stickers and music kit to the game
Olivia Richman
The latest Counter-Strike: Global Offensive patch includes a new collaboration with Halo, bringing together two of the biggest first-person shooting franchises in all of gaming. A cross-promotion with Halo developer 343 Industries has brought some unique updates to Operation Shattered Web’s second week of action. CSGO now features a Halo sticker capsule and a new music kit inspired by the Master Chief Collection. CSGO fans can purchase the sticker capsule …
Counter-Strike
Na’Vi, Fnatic, and Evil Geniuses headline EPICENTER Moscow 2019
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is the perfect way to start a Christmas vacation and EPICENTER Moscow 2019 has fans covered. Eight teams will face off in the Crocus Expo Hall in Moscow for the $250,000 top prize. The event will include eight teams, with Natus Vincere, Fnatic, Evil Geniuses, Team Vitality and AVANGAR receiving direct invitations while Team Heroic, forZe, and EHOME worked their way in through regional qualifiers. EPICENTER hasn’t released the format of the tournament …
Budapest Five and Chaos EC cruise in WINNERS League Week 5
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
WINNERS League week five was full of action, with a Chaos Esports Club comeback against eUnited and a European match between MAD Lions and Budapest Five. With Week 5 all wrapped up, fans are starting to get a good feel for which teams are strong candidates to come out on top in the playoffs. This week, Chaos Esports Club overcame a 9-1 deficit to post an overtime win. Budapest Five …
ECS Season 8, ESL Pro League 10 Finals previewed in Asia Championships
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
Mousesports took home the top prize at the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Asian Championships while Vici Gaming pulled up the rear in last place. Though the event was largely lost in the shuffle of the hectic CSGO tournament calendar, it was an excellent opportunity to see how teams stacked up ahead of the ECS Season 8 Finals and the ESL Pro League Season 10 Finals. Asian CSGO teams have pulled off several …
Dignitas scouting f0rest, other legendary Ninjas in Pyjamas stars
M Alzamora
News
Dignitas is reportedly scouting Richard “Xizt” Landström, Patrik “f0rest” Lindberg, and Adam “friberg” Friberg. According to DBLTAP’s Jarek Lewis, the organization is looking to return to Counter-Strike: Global Offensive by reuniting three of the players from the legendary 2012-2015 Ninjas in Pyjamas roster. Although Dignitas currently has a female Counter-Strike team called Dignitas Female, the organization has not fielded a men’s CSGO squad since August 2018. Most of that legendary roster has been spread across the …
100 Thieves out of DreamHack Open Winter, GODSENT steps in
Olivia Richman
Counter-Strike
100 Thieves will not be competing at DreamHack Open Winter. Fans of the Australian squad were surprised and disappointed when DreamHack tweeted that the fifth-ranked team was backing out of the tournament. DreamHack also stated that they would be announcing a replacement soon. CSGO fans started dropping their favorite teams in DreamHack’s mentions but with just a few days left before the event, the organizer had to fill the hole quickly. With …
FMPONE talks Valve’s agent skins fix after CSGO update
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
The burden of fixing the problems caused by the new Counter-Strike: Global Offensive character skins seems to be falling to map creators. FMPONE discussed the November 22 CSGO update on social media. The famous Cache co-creator views them as a call by Valve for community map creators to fix instances of character models serving as camouflage. FMPONE stated that he would be looking to fix these issues on the updated Cache, …
ECS Season 8 Finals bans new CSGO models, uses latest patch
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
Due to potential visibility issues with the newly added changeable character models in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, FACEIT has disallowed their use in the upcoming ECS Season 8 Finals. According to a tweet from FACEIT’s director of esports, Roald Van Buuren, players will not have the option to use the new agent models. The decision was made in partnership with the Counter-Strike Professional Player’s Association. While the initial reactions to Operation Shattered …
CSGO’s new player models show Valve’s focus on monetization
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
A story has unfolded slowly through October and November 2019, and the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’s first operation in two years has finally confirmed it. Valve’s decisions over the past months have shown that the company has shifted more than ever before towards increasing profits and away from their founding mission. At the 2014 Games Developer Conference, Valve gave a presentation on the CSGO economy. Monetizing CSGO was the main focus, …
CSGO’s Agents are hard to see, especially for the colorblind
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
Shattered Web is Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’s first operation in two years, and its release has brought out the helpful side of the CSGO community. As players band together to help each other with the operation’s first week of missions, some fans and pros are concerned about the new agent models and their visibility on competitive maps. Some models models, like the FBI SWAT Operator, tend to disappear into the background …
CSGO observer Rushly works EPL Season 10 blindfolded, nails it
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
The most impressive thing seen in CounterStrike: Global Offensive this week wasn’t Robin “flusha” Rönnquist’s ace on Inferno. No, it was veteran CSGO observer Alexander “Rushly” Rush’s performance on November 18 during a meaningless game in the ESL Pro League Season 10 Europe Division. By the time Team Vitality and HellRaisers faced off, both had been mathematically eliminated from qualifying for the EPL Season 10 Finals. ESL and Rushly had something prepared for fans that stuck …
Tricked Esports sell CSGO team to unknown buyer for massive sum
Olivia Richman
Counter-Strike
Tricked Esports has sold its Counter-Strike: Global Offensive for $300,000. The Danish organization has not yet revealed who the buyer is, but claimed on their official press release that “the sale bears good news” for the roster. According to Tricked Esports, the players will “take a seat much higher within the esports ecosystem” while being able to “hold onto every asset they own.” “In other words, they will not be …
100 Thieves crush FURIA, take last ESL Pro League Finals spot
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
100 Thieves took the final spot in the ESL Pro League Season 10 Finals by defeating FURIA eSports. What analysts predicted to be a competitive matchup wasn’t even close as 100 Thieves bested FURIA in impressive 2-0 fashion. In victories on Vertigo and Inferno, 100 Thieves earned their EPL Finals spot with some help from the top-performing player in the North American region this season. Justin “jks” Savage has lived up …
Chaos Dominates as WINNERS League passes halfway point
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
Week 4 of WINNERS League Season 3 gave viewers plenty of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive action to enjoy. The top game of this week was an exciting match between Vexed Gaming and Team UNiQUE on Nuke. Alongside this, a beautiful play by Se7en’s Algat “Smiley13-” Abdul and a dominant win by Chaos Esports Club highlighted the action. In WINNERS League’s wildest game of the season so far, the match between Vexed and Team …
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.
