Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike
Quantum Bellator Fire executive fires back after claims of theft
Steven Rondina
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive professionals have started speaking out about some of the speed bumps they’ve hit with sponsoring esports organizations during their careers. One of those players is Natus Vincere player Kirill “Boombl4” Mikhailov. In a series of Twitter posts, the player dropped thinly veiled hints that he had $95,000 stolen from him by his former organization, Quantum Bellator Fire. In an interview with HLTV, QBF co-owner Vyacheslav Solovyev spoke …
Counter-Strike
Cache update is now complete, possible release date teased
Steven Rondina
The renovation of popular Counter-Strike: Global Offensive map Cache is finally complete. ESL revealed that the long-awaited update to the Chernobyl-themed map has been finished in a post on Twitter. The fact that the revelation came from ESL instead of map creator FMPONE comes as a bit of a surprise. FMPONE has been reworking his signature map for over a year now and has generally kept fans in the dark …
Counter-Strike
Syman Gaming qualify for Berlin Major, told to change logo by Valve
Nina Forneloza
Syman Gaming, a team that recently celebrated qualification to the StarLadder Berlin Major, has had their celebrations cut short. The team currently ranked 40th in the world qualified for the major having finished in second place in the CIS Minor. After their qualification, the team announced on twitter that they had been asked to change their logo due to plagiarism accusations by StarLadder and Valve before the major begins on …
Counter-Strike
Major CS:GO patch includes update to Vertigo, two new maps
Steven Rondina
A big patch has arrived in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. With the professional scene cooling down en route to the StarLadder Berlin Major, a number of big changes have arrived in the game. A new matchmaking option has been implemented, two new defusal maps have been added to official servers, and Vertigo received yet another overhaul. Most players will immediately notice the new addition to Competitive mode. In addition to the …
Counter-Strike
StarLadder Berlin Major team lineup set after third-place play-in
Steven Rondina
The field for the StarLadder Berlin Major is now set. The Third-Place Play-In for the event has wrapped up with North, HellRaisers, and INTZ Esports rounding out the field of challengers, with MVP.PK falling short of qualifying. The former three join the previous field of qualifier winners, which includes top squads such as Furia Esports, NRG Esports, and Mousesports, as well as regional staples such as TyLoo and ForZe. Though …
Counter-Strike
Shroud on the idea of turning pro again: Absolutely not
M Alzamora
For many amateur gamers, going pro would be a dream come true. For Michael “Shroud” Grzesiek, it’s something he plans on avoiding. The popular sharpshooter dedicated an entire day to Overwatch in a recent stream. He was quick to shake the rust and play well enough to pass as a natural. Observing his potential for mastery, viewers asked Shroud whether he would consider making an Overwatch League career out of …
News
Former NiP staff join chorus of CSGO players in criticizing team
Steven Rondina
It isn’t just former players that are airing grievances with Ninjas in Pyjamas. Following accusations of exploitative contracts and lost wages from a number of former Counter-Strike: Global Offensive players, a group of former staff members have opened up on their own ugly dealings with the organization. The individuals worked with the company at different times in various roles, but the accusations are explosive all the same. More importantly, their …
Counter-Strike
Boombl4 hints he had $95,000 stolen from him by former team
Steven Rondina
Recent revelations made by Robin “Fifflaren” Johansson are sparking other Counter-Strike: Global Offensive players to come forward on their own unfortunate dealings with esports organizations. Current Natus Vincere player Kirill “Boombl4” Mikhailov stated on Twitter that $95,000 was “stolen” from him by an unspecified party. He goes on to list a pair of dates which mark the beginning and end of his days with the Quantum Bellator Fire. He remained …
New Cloud9 player TenZ demonstrates skill in record aim challenge
M Alzamora
Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive pro and new Cloud9 addition Tyson “TenZ” Ngo shattered the world record for an aim challenge in the game. He set the mark at 28.16 seconds during a recent stream after over 20 minutes of trying. It’s a difficult feat for any CSGO player. The aim challenge tasks you with locating and shooting groups of stationary targets in a series of rooms. Viewers cheered him on as …
Former NiP players join Fifflaren in critique, NiP responds
Steven Rondina
Counter-Strike
The whole world seemed to hear Robin “Fifflaren” Johansson coming forward with the truth. The former Ninjas in Pyjamas Counter-Strike: Global Offensive star sat down with journalist Richard Lewis for a lengthy discussion on his time with the organization and some of the rough patches he encountered along the way. The interview touched on a number of topics including withheld earnings, absurd contract terms, and public controversies. Unsurprisingly, Fifflaren was …
Team Liquid’s CSGO dominance continues as they tie another record
Nina Forneloza
Counter-Strike
Team Liquid is on the path to potentially becoming the most dominant CSGO team of all time. The squad’s dominant performances have already secured their HLTV world #1 ranking back in June, dethroning Danish team Astralis in the process. With their recent wins versus Team Vitality at ESL One Cologne and a particularly dominant showing versus ENCE at IEM Chicago, Team Liquid have equalled another Astralis record. These victories mean …
Fifflaren on NiP past: Bad contracts, withheld winnings, and more
Steven Rondina
Counter-Strike
Ninjas in Pyjamas has some explaining to do. In a lengthy interview with Richard Lewis, former Counter-Strike: Global Offensive player Robin “Fifflaren” Johansson opened up on issues within the organization from 2013 to 2015. Much of it focused on known controversies from NiP’s history, including the organization withholding winnings from its CSGO team to the infamous Go4Balkan charity tournament. Along the way, a number of other surprising revelations were made …
NRG Esports reveals new logo and fans are laughing about it
Steven Rondina
Counter-Strike
NRG Esports has a new look and fans are not being nice about it. The American esports brand has dropped its traditional black and red color scheme for something a bit more neon. The reveal of the organization’s new apparel came in the form of a video posted to social media, and the fan response was resoundingly negative. The video itself features a handful of NRG Esports players including Nairoby …
Team Liquid dominance continues versus ENCE at IEM Chicago
Jared Wynne
Counter-Strike
IEM Chicago took place last weekend and the grand finals saw Team Liquid face off against ENCE yet again. And after only three games in the best-of-five, Liquid would take a dominant win. This was Season XIV of IEM and a highly anticipated match between two of the world’s top Counter-Strike: Global Offensive teams. On Saturday, ENCE beat MIBR and Liquid won against Team Vitality. Then in the grand finals …
EliGE wins year supply of Chipotle for IEM Chicago MVP award
Steven Rondina
Counter-Strike
Jonathan “EliGE” Jablonowski had better like burritos. The Team Liquid star has been white hot over the last few months and he didn’t cool down at Intel Extreme Masters XIV Chicago. In honor of his performance, the player won the group stage MVP award at the event and a year’s supply of Chipotle food to go along with it. The moment where he was bestowed the honor of unlimited Mexican …
Top-down Counter-Strike riff now playable as custom Dota 2 game mode
Steven Rondina
Counter-Strike
Ever play Dota 2 and wish it was Counter-Strike: Global Offensive instead? Well, that wish may soon be granted. PolyStrike is a Dota 2 custom game mode that transforms the popular MOBA into a top-down shooter. The new perspective makes it look radically different from the first-person shooter, but the game draws heavily from CSGO including the same maps, weapons, and sound effects. A trailer for the game was released …
NRG Esports earns spot in StarLadder Berlin Major, win Americas Minor
Syed Mujtaba Naqvi
Counter-Strike
NRG Esports won first place in the Americas Minor and has successfully qualified for StarLadder Berlin Major 2019. The North American organization will begin its journey at the event in the New Challengers Stage after a convincing win over INTZ Esports. NRG has been the standout performer of the minors to this point, not losing a single map while playing against a long list of formidable Brazilian teams including Team …
Fnatic out of Berlin Major after Europe Minor loss to CR4ZY
Steven Rondina
Counter-Strike
Fnatic will not be heading to the StarLadder Berlin Major. The legendary Swedish organization has been on a skid through much of 2019, but things hit a new low at the Europe Minor. Despite a solid performance in the group stage, Fnatic was the first team ejected from the playoffs which means they won’t be showing up in Berlin. Fnatic started the event strong with a 2-0 run through their …
ESL declares Mtn Dew Game Fuel official beverage of IEM, EPL, ESL One
Syed Mujtaba Naqvi
Counter-Strike
Mountain Dew AMP Game Fuel has been appointed as ESL’s official global beverage partner for all major events. The new deal between the beverage brand and the tournament organizer will see Game Fuel featured at prominent esports event series including Intel Extreme Masters, ESL One, and ESL Pro League. The energy drink is specifically pitched to gamers as a tool to help improve performance, so senior vice president of brand …
MiBR helped at Berlin Major by late roster rule change
Steven Rondina
Counter-Strike
StarLadder is helping out MiBR. According to a report by HLTV, the organizer behind the upcoming Berlin Major has rewritten the event’s roster rules. Though the change was not explicitly made to help MiBR, the news certainly has the look of the organizer giving one of the most popular teams in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive preferential treatment. Per HLTV, StarLadder amended the roster rules for the major to allow organizations to sub …
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.
