Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike
Social media drama over Renegades CSGO roster plans
Steven Rondina
Australia’s top Counter-Strike: Global Offensive team is set to explode. Either that, or everything is fine. Shortly after Renegades’ elimination from the Berlin Major, Dexerto published a report by Jarek Lewis that suggested the players’ contracts were set to expire. This meant that there was a good chance of the popular squad either breaking up and heading to different teams, or staying together and transferring to a new organization. However, …
Counter-Strike
Avangar and ForZe in, Vitality out at BLAST Pro Series Moscow
Syed Mujtaba Naqvi
Team Vitality has withdrawn from the BLAST Pro Series Moscow tournament. Following rumors regarding their status for the event, the organizer has confirmed that the team is out due to their inability to finalize a new roster. The team benched Nathan “NBK-“ Schmitt after its StarLadder Berlin Major run ended in the quarterfinals of the playoffs. “Following recent change, we’re unable to present a complete CSGO roster for the BLAST …
Counter-Strike
s1mple, Natus Vincere roast DreamEaters over poaching allegations
Steven Rondina
Roster poaching seems to be one of the hottest topics in esports these days and apparently, some teams actually want to be a part of that discussion. Russia’s DreamEaters got a bit of shine at the StarLadder Berlin Major. The squad advanced out of the Challengers Stage thanks to surprise wins over NRG Esports and Team Vitality and, despite a quick 0-3 exit from the Legends Stage, established themselves as …
Counter-Strike
GuardiaN reportedly returning to Natus Vincere to replace Zeus
Steven Rondina
Natus Vincere is soon saying goodbye to Danylo “Zeus” Teslenko, but they reportedly have his replacement already lined up. According to a Twitter post by Don Haci, the organization is looking to bring back former player Ladislav “GuardiaN” Kovács. Haci refused to comment past that, but the post follows recent rumors discussing a potential split between GuardiaN and his current team, FaZe Clan. Two weeks ago, FaZe posted a disappointing …
Counter-Strike
dupreeh explains how Astralis captured fourth CSGO major title
Steven Rondina
Astralis made history on Sunday when the Danish team came out victorious at the StarLadder Berlin Major, breaking the record for most major championships won by a team and becoming the first ever to win three in a row. It’s a special achievement and one that likely won’t be replicated in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive any time soon. How did Astralis manage to pull it off? What drove them through the …
News
Cache map designer FMPONE shows CSGO fans preview of rework
Olivia Richman
It may be a month until Cache returns to competitive Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, but map designer FMPONE is already giving fans a sneak peak at some of the location’s changes. FMPONE put a photo of Cache as his Twitter header, which only made CSGO players even more excited to see the totally reworked map after it was pulled from the active duty map pool in March. The art in this …
Counter-Strike
HellRaisers coach lmbt now a free agent after roster benched
Olivia Richman
HellRaisers coach Sergey “lmbt” Bezhanov is now a free agent. lmbt’s announcement comes shortly after HellRaisers benched their entire roster. Four days ago, the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive team benched their whole squad after leaving StarLadder Berlin Major in defeat. HellRaisers couldn’t make it past the New Challengers Stage, where they were eliminated with a 1-3 record. This unfortunate result was sadly nothing new for HellRaisers, who finished in fifth place …
Counter-Strike
Coldzera, Aleksib reportedly to join FaZe Clan after Berlin Major
Steven Rondina
Big changes might be coming to FaZe Clan. According to a report by EGamers World, the organization is set to retool its Counter-Strike: Global Offensive team. Per Alexei “OverDrive” Biryukov, Filip “NEO” Kubski and Ladislav “GuardiaN” Kovács are set to depart the organization and will be replaced by MiBR star Marcelo “coldzera” David and former ENCE Esports in-game leader Aleksi “Aleksib” Virolainen. Neither FaZe Clan nor the individual players have issued …
Astralis capture Berlin Major title by defeating Avangar
Steven Rondina
Counter-Strike
Astralis have made Counter-Strike: Global Offensive history. The Danish squad won the StarLadder Berlin Major with a 2-0 victory. The team becomes the first to ever to win three consecutive major titles, following their wins at the FACEIT Major: London and the IEM Katwoice Major. It also gives the team their fourth major title, breaking the record of three that they previously held with Fnatic. They accomplished this by defeating …
Vitality bench NBK- after early elimination from Berlin Major
William Davis
Counter-Strike
Following a disappointing end to their run in the Starladder Berlin Major 2019, Team Vitality is making some changes to their CS:GO team. Specifically, the organization has removed Nathan “NBK-” Schmitt from his role on the starting roster and will be exploring other options for a fifth player. The team released a statement on the matter on their Twitter page. “The team has shown amazing results but a change was …
15 tips to play like a pro in CSGO
Jared Wynne
Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is one of the most popular games in the world today. But only a small number of its players are able to play at the highest levels. Why is this? Because many players do little or nothing to effectively improve their in-game skills. People play games to relax after a hard workday or a tough week at school. Not everyone wants to strain and sweat during the …
G2 Esports allegedly caught poaching CR4ZY CSGO players
Steven Rondina
Counter-Strike
G2 Esports is starting to get a bit of a bad reputation in the esports management world. CR4ZY CEO Antonio Meić is accusing the organization of attempting to poach players from his Counter-Strike: Global Offensive team on Twitter. He publicized the accusation with an image that shows a Kenyan anti-poaching unit approaching a suspect. Each member of the unit have the CR4ZY logos superimposed over their faces, while the poacher’s …
Astralis’ Magisk talks critics, haters before Berlin Major final
Steven Rondina
Counter-Strike
Astralis is headed to the grand finals of the StarLadder Berlin Major. That shouldn’t be too much of a surprise, but it is for some Counter-Strike: Global Offensive fans. The Danish squad captured another major title earlier this year by winning the IEM Katowice Major but went into a decline from there which saw them lose their spot as the consensus best team in the game. It was a far …
Astralis faces AVANGAR in Berlin Major finals, beats NRG Esports
Steven Rondina
Counter-Strike
The grand finals to the StarLadder Berlin Major are now set. After besting NRG Esports 2-0, Astralis will take on Avangar in the final series of the event. The Berlin Major has seen an emphatic return to form from Astralis, who punched their ticket with a statement victory over a hot North American squad. NRG Esports surprised many by deciding to open the series on Train, the map where they …
Avangar coach talks Berlin Major finals berth, mother watching CSGO
William Davis
Counter-Strike
In the battle of the Cinderella stories at the Starladder Berlin Major 2019, Avangar reigned supreme over Renegades. Avangar defeated Renegades 2-0 and will move on to the Grand finals to face the victor of Astralis vs. NRG Esports. For Renegades, the tournament is over. Avangar have been the statistical underdog throughout the tournament, but coach Dastan “dastan” Akbaev doesn’t see his team that way. “I know that we can …
AVANGAR earn spot in Berlin Major finals by beating Renegades
Steven Rondina
Counter-Strike
Avangar is the first entrant into the StarLadder Berlin Major. The Kazakh team took a strong win over Renegades in the semifinals, winning 2-0. Renegades started off Mirage strong with a successful pistol round and conversion, but a pair of losses stemming from early frags by Dzhami “Jame” Ali allowed Avangar to even the score. Both teams started to get aggressive in hopes of asserting dominance, with Renegades doing quick …
Godsent returns to esports by merging with The Final Tribe
Steven Rondina
Counter-Strike
A recognizable esports brand is making a surprise return. Godsent is being resurrected by Swedish esports organization The Final Tribe. A Counter-Strike: Global Offensive brand largely built around former Fnatic players, Godsent previously ceased operations in 2018. “The Final Tribe…today announces the official merger with the Swedish CSGO brand Godsent, founded in 2016 by Swedish three time major winner Markus “Pronax” Wallsten,” the organization said in a statement. “The Final …
dev1ce talks Astralis on Vertigo, Renegades and Avangar upsets
William Davis
Counter-Strike
Astralis took down Team Liquid in the quarterfinals of the 2019 Starladder Berlin Major, and Nicolai “dev1ce” Reedtz seemed to be very pleased with his team’s performance, specifically with their new approach to tactics. dev1ce spoke to WIN.gg on his team’s performance on Vertigo, a surprise pick that ended in a 16-8 stomp in their favor. “We had a lot of time to prepare,” dev1ce said. “We didn’t really know …
Astralis eliminate Team Liquid from Berlin Major, face NRG Esports
Nina Forneloza
Counter-Strike
Team Liquid will not be adding a major title to their resumes quite yet. The North American squad lost to rivals Astralis 2-0 in the quarterfinals to the StarLadder Berlin Major. The loss ends their run in the event, landing them in 5th-8th place. It’s also a victory that reestablishes Astralis as a strong candidate to win the event after a rocky stretch where they were unseated as Counter-Strike: Global …
Stewie2k had account hacked, skins stolen before Astralis match
Olivia Richman
Counter-Strike
Just before Team Liquid’s 2019 StarLadder Berlin Major playoff match against Astralis, Jake “Stewie2k” Yip’s Steam account was hacked. An unfortunate distraction from one of the biggest Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournaments of the year, Stewie2K noticed that he was locked out of his Steam account. This made it impossible for him to access the account or to see what was happening during the time he couldn’t get in. “No idea …
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.
