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Berlin Major observers are from PUBG with little CSGO experience Counter-Strike Berlin Major observers are from PUBG with little CSGO experience By Olivia Richman NRG Esports shocks Team Liquid in Berlin Major with emphatic win Counter-Strike NRG Esports shocks Team Liquid in Berlin Major with emphatic win By Steven Rondina Natus Vincere start run at Berlin Major by dropping game to G2 Counter-Strike Natus Vincere start run at Berlin Major by dropping game to G2 By Steven Rondina
NRG edge past Renegades in Legends stage at Berlin Major Counter-Strike
NRG edge past Renegades in Legends stage at Berlin Major William Davis NRG had a slow start to the Challengers stage of the 2019 StarLadder Berlin Major, and has narrowly avoided the same result in the first round of the Legends stage.  The mixed squad survived a valiant effort from Renegades on Dust 2 to take a 16-14 victory in the stage’s first round of play. It took a heroic four-kill effort during a 3v5 that boiled down to a 1v1 situation from …
Team Liquid start Berlin Major strong with win over CR4ZY Counter-Strike
Team Liquid start Berlin Major strong with win over CR4ZY Steven Rondina Team Liquid are off to a good start at the StarLadder Berlin Major. The favorites to win the event are now 1-0 in the Legends Stage thanks to a 16-9 win over CR4ZY. While that score line might suggest the game was a rout, CR4ZY showed that it is a real threat to the top-ranked teams at the event. Liquid surprised the desk by taking the game to Mirage, historically …
Ancient roster dissolves after freddieb announces departure Counter-Strike
Ancient roster dissolves after freddieb announces departure Olivia Richman After Fredrik “freddieb” Buo announced that he is now a free agent, his former team Ancient declared that it was disbanding. It seems that his departure was the project’s breaking point, as André “BARBARR” Möller pointed out.  “In the end, disco doplan, freddieb and draken have been playing together for a (CSGO-speaking) very, very long time. And they did great things, as a core. But when thinking of it, the time had come for them …
StarLadder Berlin Major Legends opening matches scheduled Counter-Strike
StarLadder Berlin Major Legends opening matches scheduled Steven Rondina The StarLadder Berlin Major’s Challengers Stage has concluded and with that, the 16 teams set to compete in the Legends Stage have been decided. In anticipation of that, StarLadder has released the first round of matchups that will take place. The reveal was made on Twitter:   The Legends Stage will be competed using the same format as did the Challengers Stage. The 16 teams will compete in a swiss …
CSGO fans and s1mple are upset with observers at Berlin Major Counter-Strike CSGO fans and s1mple are upset with observers at Berlin Major By Nina Forneloza Berlin Major Challengers Stage concludes, eight teams advance Counter-Strike Berlin Major Challengers Stage concludes, eight teams advance By Steven Rondina Vitality head to Berlin Major Legends Stage, eliminate Grayhound Counter-Strike Vitality head to Berlin Major Legends Stage, eliminate Grayhound By Steven Rondina
Fnatic plans for younger CSGO roster with new in-game leader News
Fnatic plans for younger CSGO roster with new in-game leader William Davis Fnatic organized an AMA on Reddit to shed some light into the current situation with its Counter-Strike: Global Offensive team. Fnatic has announced the benching of Richard “Xizt” Landström and Simon “twist” Eliasson. The decision comes after a series of negative results that ultimately led to the team missing the 2019 StarLadder Berlin Major. Andreas Samuelsson, team director at Fnatic, and star player Jesper “JW” Wecksell took part in the AMA. According to Samuelsson, …
Complexity CEO Jason Lake aims to build a new CSGO superteam Counter-Strike
Complexity CEO Jason Lake aims to build a new CSGO superteam Syed Mujtaba Naqvi Complexity Gaming’s CEO Jason Lake turned to Twitter to announce an overhaul of the organization’s Counter-Strike: Global Offensive team after a disappointing run at the StarLadder Berlin Major 2019. Complexity’s CSGO team didn’t perform at the major. Even though not widely considered to be a top-tier team, it was expected of them internally to at least reach the New Legends stage, and they weren’t even close to doing so. They …
StarLadder responds to backlash over CSGO major copyright strikes Counter-Strike
StarLadder responds to backlash over CSGO major copyright strikes Olivia Richman Counter-Strike: Global Offensive content creator WarOwl took to Twitter to tell his 72,000 followers that giving StarLadder its own major was a mistake.  “Such a disappointment; I look forward to the Major every 6 months, but now I can’t make ANY content on it for fear of getting a DMCA. RIP any coverage of the Major,” WarOwl tweeted.  He made this tweet after the tournament hosts started striking streamers with copyright …
Mousesports defeats G2 Esports, advances to Berlin Major Legends Stage Counter-Strike
Mousesports defeats G2 Esports, advances to Berlin Major Legends Stage William Davis The hyped matchup between G2 Esports and Mousesports turned into one of the best matches of the StarLadder Berlin Major thus far. The match culminated in a fantastic game 3 on Vertigo, which was ultimately won by Mousesports. G2 struck first with a dominant 16-5 victory on Train. Audric “JaCkz” Jug led the way with a total of 24 kills, complemented by Kenny “kennyS” Schrub’s 11 opening kills. While G2 …
CSGO sets new record for average players, breaking 2017 mark William Davis Counter-Strike Counter-Strike: Global Offensive has reached its highest number of average players since its release in 2012. August has been a good month for the first-person shooter. The number of average players went over 402,000, a significant increase compared to the 393,000 in the month of July. The previous record was established in February 2017. The number particularly stands out at this time of the year. Historically, CSGO has had a …
Vitality face elimination at Berlin Major with DreamEaters upset Steven Rondina Counter-Strike Despite being regarded as a potential candidate to win the StarLadder Berlin Major, Team Vitality now finds itself on the brink of being eliminated from the Challengers Stage. In one of the opening series of day two, the heavily favored French squad once again found themselves struggling against an unheralded Russian squad. They were narrowly edged out by DreamEaters in a game on Inferno. The game started in awkward fashion …
G2 Esports starts strong at StarLadder Berlin Major, goes 2-0 Steven Rondina Counter-Strike G2 Esports is off to a strong start at the StarLadder Berlin Major. The enduring French squad ended day one of the Challengers Stage with a 2-0 record. The team scored impressive victories over TYLOO and DreamEaters. G2 started its day with a big showing versus TYLOO. The Chinese squad played a solid all-around game but were consistently flustered by heroics from the individual members of G2. After ceding a …
North out to 2-0 Berlin Major start after big opening day wins William Davis Counter-Strike We’re only one day into the Starladder Berlin Major 2019, and North have already made a serious statement to the rest of the field.  The Danish North squad managed a slight upset of INTZ on Train by a dominant score of 16-5, then squeaked by Syman 16-14 in another game on Train. The moral of the story may be to ban train against North, though it’s still very early into …
Six arrested in major CSGO match-fixing case in Australia Olivia Richman Counter-Strike The first major match-fixing case in Australian esports history has resulted in the arrests of six people.  A betting agency had tipped off officers about suspicious activity at a Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournament in March. By the time police got involved, five matches had been impacted by players who were “arranging to throw matches” in order to benefit from bets they had placed on those matches.  The six men arrested …
Vitality and NRG suffer shock losses to start Berlin Major Steven Rondina Counter-Strike The Pick’Em predictions for a substantial chunk of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’s fan base were shattered within an hour of the start of the tournament. The StarLadder Berlin Major Challengers Stage kicked off with a pair of massive upsets. CIS Minor Championship runners-up Syman Gaming and DreamEaters scored victories over Team Vitality and NRG Esports, respectively. The outcome sees two of the favorites to go 3-0 now playing from behind. Vitality …
ENCE make shock move to bench Aleksib, bring on suNny Nina Forneloza Counter-Strike Finnish Counter-Strike:Global Offensive team ENCE has signed former mousesports rifle player Miikka “suNny” Kemppi to the team. SuNny stepped down from mousesports in March and will replace Aleksi “Aleksib” Virolainen after the Berlin Starladder Major. This will be suNny’s second time representing ENCE, as in 2013 he was also a member of the team. In 2018 suNny would be named 16th best player in the world having won  a trophy …
StarLadder announces full broadcast talent for Berlin Major Olivia Richman Counter-Strike The StarLadder & i-League Berlin Major begins tonight, and viewers will be able to follow it easier than ever before thanks to the newly announced broadcast team.  StarLadder revealed the on-air team earlier in August, which includes two hosts and eight casters. Tres “stunna” Saranthus and Alex “Machine” Richardson will be the aforementioned hosts. Machine will also act as one of the casters.  Interviews will be conducted by James “BanKs” …
n0thing teases return of shroud and the classic Cloud9 lineup Syed Mujtaba Naqvi Counter-Strike Veteran player Jordan “n0thing” Gilbert has teased the comeback of Cloud9’s legendary 2015 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive roster during a recent stream. After one of his viewers said in the chat they would like to see the old Cloud9 roster come back, n0thing shared that the players have already established a WhatsApp group together and are looking to compete again soon, likely at one of the upcoming online tournaments. Besides n0thing, …
Fnatic bench Xizt and twist after falling short of Berlin Major Olivia Richman Counter-Strike After a disappointing showing over the past few months, Fnatic has announced that Richard “Xizt” Landstrom and Simon “twist” Eliasson will be moved to the bench effective immediately.  Before this year, Fnatic was the only orgnaization to have reached all 14 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Majors, but the team was unable to continue on that record with the Berlin Minor.  “For the first instance in Fnatic’s history, our efforts were not …
WESA conducting investigation into allegations aimed at NiP Olivia Richman Counter-Strike The World Esports Association is conducting an independent investigation into Ninjas in Pyjamas after players and staff members released statements against the organization.  Sports lawyer Ian Smith, a commissioner of the Esports Integrity Coalition, will be conducting the investigation and by the end of the month he will release a statement that discusses his findings.    On July 24, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive pro Robin “Fifflaren” Johansson opened up about his …
Luminosity bench HEN1 after trading twin brother LUCAS1 Olivia Richman Counter-Strike Luminosity has benched Henrique “HEN1” Teles. The Brazilian Counter-Strike: Global Offensive pro is now available to other teams as a free agent.  “We want to thank HEN1 for all his efforts while on the team. He has been nothing but professional and passionate,” Luminosity tweeted.  The team also urged teams to contact them if they’re interested in a buyout or trade for the benched player. “Everyone who follows me knows …

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.