Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike
New Swole Patrol roster finds a sponsor in Lazarus Esports
Steven Rondina
One of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’s most recognizable North American teams is no longer without an organization. North American staple Swole Patrol is now Lazarus Esports. The entirety of the team has transferred to the Canadian organization, which returns to men’s Counter-Strike for the first time since 2017. Originally founded in 2011, Swole Patrol has existed in many different forms over the years. In 2018 it became a proper team with …
Counter-Strike
Renegades angry with interfering fan during win over NiP
Steven Rondina
Renegades’ debut in the StarSeries & i-League CS:GO Season 7 playoffs was successful, but it didn’t come without controversy. Playing opposite Ninjas in Pyjamas, Renegades AWPer Sean “Gratisfaction” Kaiwai was seen flipping off the crowd following a key clutch round for his team. The reason? A fan of Ninjas in Pyjamas was shouting his location out in an attempt to help the Swedes. The incident has been clipped on Twitch. …
Counter-Strike
Shroud shows off X-rays from elbow surgery, discusses procedure
Steven Rondina
Michael “shroud” Grzesiek has been through a whole lot over the last few weeks. That was plain to see on the popular streamer’s latest broadcast, as he showed off x-rays featuring his surgically repaired elbow. Though he has been open about the severity of the injury, this shines a whole new light on just much work needed to be done to fix him up. The x-rays show off a lengthy …
Counter-Strike
Latest CS:GO update brings big changes to Vertigo, Abbey
Steven Rondina
When people claimed that the latest addition to the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive map pool wasn’t fit for high-level play, they were right. That’s what Valve seems to think, as Vertigo received another set of tweaks in the latest update to the game. This is the fourth set of adjustments to the map since March 19. For the most part, the tweaks to the skyscraper-themed map were minor fixes including remedying …
Counter-Strike
MiBR wash out of StarSeries Season 7 groups with TyLoo, Vici Gaming
Steven Rondina
There is just something about China that brings out the worst in MiBR. Brazil’s top team posted another disappointing performance at StarSeries & i-League CS:GO Season 7. Despite being one of the strongest bets to win the event, the squad washed out of the group stage with a 1-3 record after suffering a defeat at the hands of North. Things were initially trending in a good direction for MiBR. Playing …
News
Cloud9 adds CajunB to complete CS:GO roster ahead of BLAST Miami
Steven Rondina
Cloud9 has completed its Counter-Strike: Global Offensive roster with a surprising final addition to the team. The organization announced on its website that it has added former OpTic Gaming player René “cajunb” Borg to its lineup. This rounds out the team’s new roster following massive turnover in the weeks since the 2019 Katowice Major. “I’m excited for a veteran like cajunb to begin playing with Cloud9,” Cloud9 team manager Jonathan …
Counter-Strike
Two teams out at StarSeries Season 7, two more advance to playoffs
Steven Rondina
The first three rounds of the StarSeries & i-League CS:GO Season 7 group stage has been completed, and with that comes the first set of eliminations. South America’s PaiN Gaming and China’s Panda Gaming have been knocked out of the tournament with 0-3 records in the group stage. They share a 15th-place finish and will walk away with $4,000 prizes. The pace for PaiN’s run in the event was set …
Counter-Strike
Shroud gets second surgery, still recovering from scooter injury
Olivia Richman
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive streamer Michael “Shroud” Grzesiek recently announced a second surgery on his left elbow after a scooter accident on March 11. Shroud’s latest surgery involved inserting a plate into his elbow, which will have him in a cast and sling for the next few months during recovery. “Well, surgery is done and my arm hurts like hell. I won’t be streaming for a while, that’s for sure. Sorry …
Cloud9 releases veteran KioShiMa in yet another roster shakeup
Steven Rondina
News
Star Counter-Strike: Global Offensive player Fabien “kioShiMa” Fiey once again finds himself without a team. Cloud9 announced on its website that it is releasing the French player from his contract, sending him into free agency. The move comes a few weeks after the departures of Robin “flusha” Rönnquist and Jordan “Zellsis” Montemurro. “We’re so grateful to have had kioShiMa with the team during this time. The skills and qualities he …
New NRG era highlighted by 16-0 win over North at StarSeries Season 7
Steven Rondina
Counter-Strike
The competitive debut of the new NRG Esports Counter-Strike: Global Offensive roster went exceptionally well. The North American team competed in its first tournament since a flop at the 2019 Katowice Major by attending StarSeries & i-League CS:GO Season 7. Kicking off its time in Shanghai with a series against North, the new NRG looked rock solid against a formidable opponent. NRG initially looked ready to to crush North as it …
Vici Gaming upsets Na`Vi even as s1mple dominates the field
Steven Rondina
Counter-Strike
Natus Vincere’s run at StarSeries & i-League CS:GO Season 7 is off to a bad start. Despite entering the event as the favorites to win, the Ukrainian squad opened in Shanghai with an upset loss at the hands of Vici Gaming. Not only was the loss an upset, but Na’Vi was stomped twice during the three-game series. Right from the start on Inferno, things seemed off for Na’Vi. Despite winning a …
Veterans Ex6TenZ and ScreaM find new home in Team GamerLegion
Steven Rondina
Counter-Strike
Esports organization Team GamerLegion has entered the world of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. The brand announced the signing of the European team Uruguay3 on its website. The squad is headlined by veteran talents Adil “ScreaM” Benrlitom and Kevin “Ex6TenZ” Droolans, alongside former OpTic Gaming player Kevin “HS” Tarn, former GODSENT captain Hampus “hampus” Poser, and coach Christian “Chrille” Lindberg. The team previously competed with William “draken” Sundin, who recently split from …
NRG Esports at full strength for StarSeries after visa resolution
Steven Rondina
Counter-Strike
NRG Esports’ Counter-Strike: Global Offensive team will be able to compete at full strength at StarSeries & i-League CS:GO Season 7. After two days of worrying, NRG confirmed that AWPer Cvetelin “CeRq” Dimitrov will be able to compete in Shanghai. Visa troubles threatened to scuttle the new NRG’s first big event together, but the team revealed that the Bulgarian was able to make the trek to China. This is great …
As CajunB’s contract with OpTic Gaming ends, team adds Niko and MSL
Steven Rondina
Counter-Strike
OpTic Gaming has begun a heavy restructuring of its Counter-Strike: Global Offensive team. The organization announced the departure of René “cajunb” Borg after 13 months with the side. “Today we wish CajunB well as he makes his departure from our CSGO roster,” OpTic said on Twitter. “We look forward to seeing his continued success in Counter-Strike.” Shortly thereafter, OpTic announced the signing of former Rogue players Mathias “MSL” Lauridsen and …
Cache removed from tournament map pool, EZ4ENCE music kit arrives
Steven Rondina
Counter-Strike
A small but surprisingly meaty patch has dropped in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, and it’s one that will be instantly felt at the pro level. In a surprise move, fresh map Vertigo has been added to the Active Duty group. This puts it back in the tournament rotation, with longtime favorite Cache being bumped out as a result. The update also includes a number of minor bug fixes and other additions. …
Astralis convinces Danish armed forces that they need more gamers
Olivia Richman
News
The Danish armed forces is looking for gamers. The Danish Defense, or Forsvaret, feels that gamers could make great pilots, flight commAanders, and radar operators. “Gamers have certain skills in remaining calm under pressure, faster reactions than other young people, quick decision making, good teamwork skills, orientation, and strong ability to visualize,” Major Anders Bech, head of section with the Danish Ministry of Defense’s Personnel Agency, said. The assessment that …
Vertigo rejoins CS:GO competitive map pool, Cobblestone removed
Steven Rondina
Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’s competitive map pool has been changed once again. Two months removed from the addition of community maps Zoo and Abbey, Vertigo has been added to the competitive rotation. This comes at the expense of Cobblestone, which has been moved into the reserves. Vertigo is one of the oldest maps in Counter-Strike, but is likely an unfamiliar one for many modern fans. Added in Counter-Strike version 1.1 in …
Former Counter-Strike pro gets caught hacking live on stream
Olivia Richman
Counter-Strike
Former Counter-Srike pro player Kristoff “faken” Andersson lived up to his gamer tag in a recent stream when he was caught using wall-hacking cheats. While streaming a game on Mirage, Twitch users noticed a peculiar reflection in faken’s glasses. In a widely shared clip from the stream, viewers noticed a red player model moving in the reflection of his glasses, despite the player in question being behind a wall. Faken …
Team Envy adds 16-year-old s0m, ex-NRG player FugLy to roster
Steven Rondina
Counter-Strike
Team Envy has finished retooling its roster in the wake of its Katowice Major flop. The organization revealed its new lineup on Twitter. Joining Josh “jdm64” Marzano and Noah “Nifty” Francis on the team are former CompLexity Gaming members Sam “s0m” Oh and Bradley “ANDROID” Fodor, as well as ex-NRG Esports lurker Jacob “FugLy” Medina. The lineup is an intriguing one, but leaves some unanswered questions. FugLy joins following a …
Counter-Strike player Atta Elayyan a victim of New Zealand attack
Olivia Richman
Counter-Strike
Former competitive Counter-Strike player Atta “crazyarab” Elayyan was confirmed as one of the 50 victims of the Christchurch shooting in New Zealand. The 33-year-old Palestinian man won local and online Counter-Strike tournaments in the early 2000s, as part of the New Zeland team NewType. Elayyan recalled his teammates being “insanely hell bent on winning.” Their practice schedule of seven hours per night seemed to pay off when they began to …
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.
