Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike
Fnatic bench Xizt and twist after falling short of Berlin Major
Olivia Richman
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 …
Counter-Strike
WESA conducting investigation into allegations aimed at NiP
Olivia Richman
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 …
Counter-Strike
Luminosity bench HEN1 after trading twin brother LUCAS1
Olivia Richman
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
CSGO legend pashaBiceps joins AGO on trial in comeback bid
Nina Forneloza
Veteran Counter-Strike: Global Offensive player Jarosław “pashaBiceps” Jarząbkowski has joined up with Polish team AGO on a trial basis. The organization announced on Twitter that they are observing a few players to fill three available slots with the team. Alongside pashaBiceps will be Patryk “Sidney” Korab and Adrian “SAYN” Łączyński. The pair are also trying out for AGO. They’ll be aiming to join Damian “Furlan” Kisłowski, Dominik “GruBy” Świderski, and …
Counter-Strike
StarLadder Berlin Major New Challengers matches revealed
Syed Mujtaba Naqvi
With just a few days left until the StarLadder Berlin Major 2019, one of the biggest Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournaments ever held, Valve has announced the matchups for the first stage, the New Challengers, as well as the full tournament schedule. The StarLadder Major will be starting on August 23 as the second CSGO major of the year. The tournament is beginning with the New Challengers stage, for which 16 …
Counter-Strike
Fifflaren accuses HeatoN of conspiring against players at NiP
Steven Rondina
The controversy surrounding Ninjas in Pyjamas is far from over. In an explosive thread on Twitter, former NiP player Robin “Fifflaren” Johansson leveled a series of allegations against Emil “HeatoN” Christensen regarding his time spent managing the team. The posts from Fifflaren follow weeks of ugly reports about the organization’s bad business practices. “We thought you were different, we thought since you used to be a player yourself and have …
Counter-Strike
erkaSt set to leave Grayhound Gaming after StarLadder Major
Olivia Richman
The StarLadder Major will be Erdenetsogt “erkaSt” Gantulga’s final tournament with Grayhound Gaming. The Counter-Strike: Global Offensive team took to Twitter to explain the dire situation. After being on the roster for two years, erkaSt was unable to obtain a Visa to live in Australia, either permanently or temporarily. Originally from Mongolia, he’d been residing in Australia as a student and professional CSGO player up until this point. “It pains …
Counter-Strike
StarLadder Berlin Major Pick’Em predictions for Challengers Stage
Steven Rondina
The StarLadder Berlin Major is just around the corner. In anticipation of the largest Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournament of the season, Valve has once again released the Viewer Pass to give players multiple ways to engage with the tournament and support their favorites. The Pick’Em predictions return, giving fans more reason to root for their favorite teams as they look to earn in-game rewards. Fans that don’t keep close track …
s1mple banned from Twitch after using a homophobic slur
Steven Rondina
Counter-Strike
If anybody is struggling to find the Twitch page of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive pro Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev, there’s a good reason for that. The Natus Vincere star was slapped with a ban on the streaming platform for using a homophobic epithet during a recent stream. While the slur was not apparently made in anger, it still violates Twitch rules and will keep him from streaming for a week, per Rod …
Valve briefly launches the wrong stickers for the Berlin Major
William Davis
Counter-Strike
All doesn’t seem well in the world of Counter Strike: Global Offensive. Several major organizations, including juggernaut Team Liquid, weren’t happy with their stickers for the Berlin Major. The mistake seems to have been fixed, and all the teams involved with the mix-up have since been given the correct sticker format. For a time, last year’s stickers showed up for purchase for several teams. Players can purchase stickers of their …
StarLadder Berlin Major Viewer Pass added in CSGO update
Steven Rondina
Counter-Strike
The StarLadder Berlin Major Viewer Pass is now available for sale. As with past majors, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive fans have the chance to engage with the biggest tournament of the season by earning in-game rewards and completing in-game challenges. The Viewer Pass starts at $9.99, but fans can also purchase extra cosmetic items to commemorate the event. There are no particularly surprising additions to the Viewer Pass this time. As …
oBo to become the youngest player ever at a CS:GO major
Syed Mujtaba Naqvi
Counter-Strike
Being only a bit over 16 years old, Owen “oBo” Schlatter is the youngest Counter-Strike: Global Offensive pro player to ever attend a major tournament in the game’s history. oBo is an American CSGO rifler currently representing Complexity Gaming. Heading into the StarLadder Berlin Major, oBo will be entering the tournament as the youngest contestant ever to play at such a high level. The young American breakout star was born …
coldzera reveals that four teams have made him new offers
Nina Forneloza
Counter-Strike
Star Counter-Strike: Global Offensive player Marcelo “coldzera” David has revealed that he has received a number of offers from different teams looking to sign the two-time player of the year. Having played for MiBR for the last several years, coldzera’s struggles with the team have been making headlines. He decided to step down from the active roster after a string of poor results, wanting to find a new challenge elsewhere. …
Shroud pulled off an intense retake while opening loot crates
Steven Rondina
Counter-Strike
Michael “shroud” Grzesiek knows how to make his games memorable. A recent stream saw Shroud return to his old Counter-Strike: Global Offensive stomping grounds, Cache. The stream showed that the former Cloud9 player’s aim remains quite sharp, but even sharper are his skills as a showman. He demonstrated this with a wild retake of the A bombsite. Following a plant on the A site, Shroud’s team begins to rotate towards …
OpTic Gaming replace refrezh with cajunb, aims for top 10
Olivia Richman
Counter-Strike
OpTic Gaming’s in-game leader Mathias “MSL” Lauridsen announced a major roster move on Twitter earlier today. The team has replaced Ismali “refrezh” Ali with Rene “cajunb” Borg in an attempt to have more consistency. This comes after a string of disappointing performances in recent tournaments, including an 11th-place finish at ESL Pro League Season 9. “After four months with ups and downs, we have decided to make a roster change. …
CSGO tournament Fragadelphia responds to shooting threat
William Davis
Counter-Strike
Fragadelphia 13 organizer John Fazio promised to heighten security at the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive event following an online shooting threat. Twitter user Droidcsgo posted a screengrab of a Counter-Strike game focusing on the in-game chat, where CSGO player “ohcgnor” mentions that they are considering “shooting up” the Fragadelphia event. Fazio responded to the tweet a few hours later and declared that the organizers were taking the matter seriously. “We are …
Famous streamer m0E interrupted by daughter turning off PC
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
Popular Twitch streamer Mohamad “m0E” Assad was playing Counter-Strike: Global Offensive on stream recently, but the fun came to an abrupt end when his daughter crept into the scene. It was just after a failed quick scope attempt that she innocently struck the power button on his PC. His team was winning the game 12-6 at the time of the accident. Thankfully, m0E has a separate streaming PC, so the …
Vexed Gaming reveals partnership with sportswear brand Kappa
Olivia Richman
Counter-Strike
Vexed Gaming just announced a partnership with Italian sportswear brand Kappa. The partnership will have Vexed Gaming’s players wearing Kappa apparel, both casually and while competing. The team wear and leisure wear will be available to purchase in September. Vexed Gaming chief gaming officer Mark Weller called Kappa’s first venture into esports a “step for the community and the industry.” He went on to call Kappa an iconic brand that has …
STYKO leaves Mousesports, joins NoChance on full-time basis
Syed Mujtaba Naqvi
Counter-Strike
Martin “STYKO” Styk is joining NoChance on a full-time basis. The Counter-Strike: Global Offensive player is parting ways with Mousesports after two years with the organization. The Slovakian player let his fans know of the switch on Twitter, stating he is “not part of Mousesports anymore” and is “now gonna represent NoChance after players’ break.” Both teams confirmed the news shortly thereafter. STYKO first joined Mousesports in 2017 after a …
coldzera takes mibr frustration public after fan meeting dispute
Nina Forneloza
Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive star Marcelo “coldzera” David has vented his frustration with esports organization MiBR over how they have treated him at a recent event at which coldzera met fans in São Paulo. This comes after a long period of frustration for coldzera surrounding his position with the team. The Brazillian, generally considered one of the best CSGO players in the world, had asked to leave the organization in July. …
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.
