Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike
Cache update changes, release date revealed at ESL One New York
Steven Rondina
At long last, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive fans have seen the updated version of Cache. The revisions to the Chernobyl-themed map were unveiled at ESL One New York in a show match featuring players from Team Liquid, G2 Esports, Evil Geniuses, and more. The creators of the map opened the final day of the event by discussing the changes and their creative process. The Cache update is primarily a visual one, …
Counter-Strike
Astralis head to ESL One New York finals, beat Team Liquid
Steven Rondina
Astralis has proven that the team is still an absolute force. Team Liquid learned that the hard way as they once again came up short against the Danish squad, losing to them in the semifinals at ESL One New York. While Liquid had the opportunity to undo some of the damage Astralis did to Liquid’s reputation at the major, they instead wound up taking another loss in front of a …
Counter-Strike
Twist officially replaces GeT_RiGhT on NiP CSGO roster, leaves Fnatic
Syed Mujtaba Naqvi
Simon “twist” Eliasson has officially joined Ninjas in Pyjamas’ Counter-Strike: Global Offensive team. The organization confirmed the signing on its official website. News of twist’s signing came alongside initial reports that NiP was set to split from its longtime leader, Christopher “GeT_RiGhT” Alesund, following his decision to step down from the team. NiP confirmed GeT_RiGhT’s departure, but did not initially acknowledge twist’s signing. In its statement, NiP shared a warm …
Counter-Strike
Shox officially joins Vitality, ends lengthy run with G2 Esports
Steven Rondina
After weeks of rumors, Richard “shox” Papillon has officially left G2 Esports for Team Vitality. The Counter-Strike veteran announced the news in a post on Twitter. “It is with unspeakable joy that I take a new course, I hoist the sails towards a horizon tinged with superb tricolour colors since I join a French structure,” Shox said. “The biggest, I join the Team Vitality hive with the fierce desire to …
NRG Esports CEO H3cz discusses how to improve CSGO esports
Nina Forneloza
Counter-Strike
Hector “H3CZ” Rodriguez, the newly minted co-CEO of NRG Esports, has given his thoughts on how he would improve the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive esports scene. Before joining NRG Esports, H3CZ spent over a decade as the CEO of OpTic Gaming. He decided to leave the organization earlier this month and joined up with NRG Esports shortly thereafter. H3CZ discussed CSGO on the latest installment of “The Eavesdrop Podcast” with Counter-Strike …
Complexity Gaming adds ex-Cloud9 player Rush, Heroic’s blameF
Nina Forneloza
Counter-Strike
Complexity Gaming has announced two new roster signings for its Counter-Strike: Global Offensive team. First, the organization announced that Benjamin “blameF” Bremer will be joining the team as the new in-game leader. BlameF parted ways with Heroic after eight months with the team. The run with Heroic was a decent one for both sides, highlighted by appearances at the ESL Pro League Season 9 Finals and ESL One Cologne, as …
Fortnite passes CSGO on list of total esports prize money awarded
Nina Forneloza
Counter-Strike
Fortnite has overtaken Counter-Strike: Global Offensive to take the number two spot on the list of total prize money awarded by games in esports competitions. Fortnite is already on pace to overtake Dota 2 as the top esport in terms of prize money awarded. With only 495 tournaments played thus far, Fortnite has awarded an average of $167,493 per tournament. Dota 2 averages $173,828 per tournament. If you’ve followed esports …
FaZe Clan to team up with Manchester City football club
William Davis
Counter-Strike
In a surprise announcement, esports organization and self-proclaimed gaming and lifestyle brand FaZe Clan has partnered with popular football club Manchester City, according to a press release. The release states that the pair will be collaborating on content together and will work on bridging the gap between their respective fanbases. This isn’t Manchester City’s first foray into esports. The club sponsors two FIFA players, Kai “deto” Wollin and Shaun “xShellzz” …
GeT_RiGhT stepping down from Ninjas in Pyjamas lineup, future unclear
Steven Rondina
News
It might just be the end of an era for Ninjas in Pyjamas, and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive as a whole. According to a report by Dexerto’s Jarek Lewis, Christopher “GeT_RiGhT” Alesund is officially preparing to step down from the NiP roster. The organization had previously teased that it was looking for a suitable long-term replacement for him following the StarLadder Berlin Major in a now-deleted statement. He will be replaced …
EliGE talks teammates, s1mple, and training ahead of ESL One New York
William Davis
Counter-Strike
Ahead of ESL One New York 2019, Team Liquid’s Jonathan “EliGE” Jablonowski hosted an AMA on Reddit. Team Liquid is heading to ESL One New York 2019 after a disappointing result at the StarLadder Berlin Major. The squad was considered the favorite to win the event, but were upset in the quarterfinals by archrivals Astralis. EliGE reflected on the team’s performance at the event, discussed past and present teammates, and …
FaZe Clan officially signs coldzera ahead of ESL One New York
Olivia Richman
Counter-Strike
After weeks of speculation, FaZe Clan has announced the official signing of Marcelo “coldzera” David. The team posted a coy tweet just a few hours ago, simply saying, “We have an announcement to make.” This was followed by the Brazilian flag. A hype short was also attached to the official roster addition tweet. The announcement was well-received by coldzera’s fans, as well as FaZe’s followers. But it wasn’t too much of …
G2 Esports reportedly looking to add CR4ZY players nexa, huNter-
Steven Rondina
Counter-Strike
G2 Esports might be in for significant roster changes. According to a report by French outlet 1pv, the organization is looking to replace Richard “shox” Papillon and Lucas “Lucky” Chastang with Nemanja “nexa” Isaković and Nemanja “huNter-” Kovač. This follows repeated rumors regarding G2 making serious changes to its roster in the aftermath of the StarLadder Berlin Major. Per 1pv, G2 is looking to have Nexa take over in-game leadership …
NRG Esports roster reportedly leaving to join Evil Geniuses
Steven Rondina
Counter-Strike
Evil Geniuses is getting back into the Counter-Strike business. According to a report by Dexerto’s Jarek Lewis, the roster of NRG Esports is set to depart the organization. They will remain together, but will begin competing under the Evil Geniuses umbrella. This could come into effect as soon as ESL One New York, which begins on September 26. If true, the news comes as a major surprise. NRG Esports has …
Female CSGO player Katie gets attention for all the wrong reasons
Olivia Richman
News
Who is Katie? In a male-dominated esport like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, it’s surprising to see a name like “Katie” popping up on CSGO subreddits and on the game’s leaderboards. But she’s there for a reason. Kaitlin “Katie” Boop first gained massive attention from the CSGO community in April, when she qualified for ESEA MDL Season 31’s Relegation Tournament with the team slashLEVEL. The team ended up placing third. This made Katie …
Esports corruption scandal rocks Australian CSGO, Overwatch scenes
William Davis
Counter-Strike
A number of Australia-based esports organizations are suspected of shady dealings. An explosive report from Nino Bucci and Sarah Curnow of ABC Investigations discussed a police investigation into rigged matches of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. It also hones in on an unnamed Overwatch Contenders team whose ownership has “organized crime links.” The news has rocked the Australian esports scene and more cases could come to light. The report does not get …
FURIA sign HEN1 to roster for DreamHack Masters Malmo
Olivia Richman
Counter-Strike
FURIA has officially signed Henrique “HEN1” Teles to its Counter-Strike: Global Offensive roster. The former Luminosity player will have his debut with his new squad on October 1 at DreamHack Masters Malmo. HEN1 is taking Rinaldo “ableJ” Moda Junior’s spot on the main roster. ableJ, who was promoted from the academy team in October of last year, has been moved to a substitute role. This is FURIA’s first roster change …
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.
Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike
