Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike
Flusha departs Cloud9 just as captain Golden returns
gabhernandez
Cloud9 is making yet another roster change. The former major championship team has been rocked by repeated issues over the past year. After the sudden hiatus of their in-game leader Maikil “Golden” Selim due to a heart condition, veteran Counter-Strike: Global Offensive player Robin “flusha” Rönnquist has departed from the team due to the sudden passing of his mother. Flusha joined Cloud9 shortly after his removal from Fnatic’s active roster …
Counter-Strike
HellRaisers to bench DeadFox after IEM Katowice Major
Olivia Richman
HellRaisers has reportedly benched Bence “DeadFox” Borocz after a disappointing run at the IEM Katowice Major. Even though HellRaisers secured Legends status after the FACEIT London Major, the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive team couldn’t maintain its momentum in the tournament. HellRaisers finished 12th in the New Legends Stage, ending with a 1-3 record. DeadFox averaged only a .77 rating through the major. The Hungarian Counter-Strike: Global Offensive pro is the longest-standing member …
Counter-Strike
Meme song inspired by ENCE CS:GO team hits Finnish music charts
Olivia Richman
Once a humble meme, the phrase “EZ4ENCE” recently became the title of a hit song in Finland. “EZ4ENCE” is a Finnish-language song by The Verkkars about Counter-Strike: Global Offensive team ENCE, first released in February. The song recently reached the Top 50 on Finland’s national music chart. It was also number four on the nation’s Spotify chart, and the YouTube video has over 500,000 views. The song’s music video, posted …
Counter-Strike
Astralis takes trash talk lessons from Dr. Disrespect in new video
Steven Rondina
Astralis may be the greatest team in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive today, but it’s not yet perfect. For all of its trophies, medals, and major victories, the team hasn’t really engaged fans seeking drama or controversy. While a Natus Vincere can keep fans on the edges of their seats with rumors of infighting, Astralis just keeps plodding forward and winning every tournament it competes in. How boring! Enter Herschel Beahm IV, …
Counter-Strike
Dupreeh opens up on father’s death after major victory
Steven Rondina
Peter “dupreeh” Rasmussen’s time in Poland was both successful and therapeutic. Just days before the 2019 Katowice Major, the Astralis rifler suffered the tragic loss of his father after an eight-year battle with cancer. With the tournament now behind him, the player opened up about his father’s final days and what it was like playing shortly afterwards. “Obviously losing my father was really tough and I had a really big …
Counter-Strike
Astralis demolish ENCE to become Katowice Major champions
Steven Rondina
Astralis are the 2019 Katowice Major champions. Facing ENCE in the grand finals of the year’s first Counter-Strike: Global Offensive major, the consensus favorite lived up to the hype with a dominant 2-0 victory. The win gave the team its latest in a long string of victories and a third CS:GO major title. ENCE was positioned for early success as it opened the series on the team’s best map, Train. …
News
Astralis advance to Katowice final with win over MiBR
Steven Rondina
Astralis is headed to the finals of the 2019 Katowice Major, just as predicted. Facing MiBR in the playoff semifinals, tournament favorite Astralis posted a convincing 2-0 victory. That seals for the team a spot in the grand finals of the event. MiBR initially had the look of being a legitimate threat to Astralis on its map pick, Overpass. Though Astralis got out to a hot start courtesy of Emil …
Counter-Strike
ENCE head to Katowice Major final with upset over Natus Vincere
Steven Rondina
ENCE are headed to the grand finals of the 2019 Katowice Major. The Finnish underdogs posted another big upset in the Champions Stage with a dramatic win over Natus Vincere. The victory makes them the first team to lock up a spot in the grand finals of the tournament. The series kicked off on Train and in awkward fashion for Na’Vi. An opening ace for Ioann “Edward” Sukhariev set up …
Astralis advance to Katowice Major semifinals over NiP
Steven Rondina
News
If there were any doubts about Astralis at the 2019 Katowice Major, the Danish team quashed them with a dominant semifinals performance. Astralis rocked Ninjas in Pyjamas in the Champions Stage quarterfinals. Though the series was not without drama, it still ended in a convincing 2-0 sweep for Astralis. The match opened with Astralis in complete control. Emil “Magisk” Reif led Astralis to a 15-0 first half on Mirage, immediately …
MiBR end the Renegades run at the Katowice Major
Steven Rondina
Counter-Strike
Renegades’ magic run in Katowice is over. The Australian squad captured the imaginations of fans with their early heroics at the 2019 Katowice Major, but their swagger wore off in the Champions Stage playoffs. Facing MiBR in the quarterfinals, “the boys” were knocked out courtesy of a 2-0 series loss. Though Renegades had some big moments in the group stages, the difference between the teams was clear from the start …
ENCE stun Team Liquid at Katowice Major
Steven Rondina
Counter-Strike
Team Liquid is heading home from Katowice after a major upset. The North American squad fell in the quarterfinals of the Champions Stage playoffs of the 2019 Katowice Major. Playing against Finnish underdogs ENCE, Liquid was handed a shocking 2-0 series loss to end their tournament run. From the beginning, it was clear that something was off with the fan favorite team. Despite a solid start on Mirage, Liquid wound …
Natus Vincere advance to major semifinals over FaZe
Steven Rondina
Counter-Strike
Natus Vincere is headed to the semifinals of the 2019 Katowice Major, while FaZe Clan is headed home. Facing off in the quarterfinals of the Champions Stage playoffs, the CIS squad posted one of its best showings of the tournament thus far in a 2-0 win. The first game on Mirage was an intense affair. While both FaZe and Na’Vi are built around star players in Nikola “NiKo” Kovač and …
Tarik joins NRG after major disappointment
William Davis
Counter-Strike
NRG Esports is recruiting one of the biggest names in North American Counter-Strike. Following a subpar performance at the IEM Katowice Major, NRG has been looking to shake up its roster. According to a report from Steven Cropley and Kevin Hitt of VPesports, that change is going to come in the form of former major champion Tarik “tarik” Celik. NRG impressed early in the major, running through the Challengers Stage …
FaZe Clan boots Cloud9 from major, next faces Natus Vincere
Steven Rondina
Counter-Strike
FaZe Clan is moving on in the 2019 Katowice Major while Cloud9 is going home. The two fan favorite organizations faced off in the final series of the New Legends Stage, with the Europeans taking the win 2-0. That knocks Cloud9 out of the event with a 2-3 record, while FaZe advances to the Champions Stage playoffs at 3-2. Both squads look shaky in the decisive series. Game 1 on …
Ninjas in Pyjamas return to CS:GO major playoffs
Steven Rondina
Counter-Strike
Ninjas in Pyjamas are headed to the playoffs of a major once again. Facing Vitality in the fifth round of the 2019 Katowice Major, the team earned a place in the Champions Stage playoffs with a 2-1 win. This is the organization’s first time in a major’s playoffs in three years. NiP opened the series strong on Cache. Led by a monster performance by Patrik “f0rest” Lindberg, the team bullied …
Cloud9 run over HellRaisers, set up showdown with FaZe Clan
Steven Rondina
Counter-Strike
There is still hope left for Cloud9. Playing in the fourth round of the 2019 Katowice Major Legends Stage, the fan favorite organization scored a key win over HellRaisers. The victory helps the team to avoid elimination and advances them to the final round of the group stage. Though Cloud9’s entire run in the major to this point has been defined by inconsistency, the squad managed to look good from …
NiKo carries FaZe Clan past CompLexity in Katowice
Steven Rondina
Counter-Strike
FaZe Clan will fight on. After putting on mixed performances in the first three rounds of the 2019 Katowice Major Legends Stage, the European squad came up big when it counted in round four. Facing CompLexity Gaming in an elimination best-of-three, FaZe barely managed to stay alive with a 2-1 series victory. Though the team will compete in the final round of the Legends Stage, its fate was often in …
Natus Vincere rebound to advance to Katowice playoffs
Steven Rondina
Counter-Strike
If Natus Vincere has some interpersonal drama going on, it isn’t yet affecting the team’s play. The Ukrainian squad took a strong win over Avangar on day three of the Katowice Major’s Legends Stage, exploiting the Kazakhstani team’s timidity to seal up a 2-0 series win. The victory was a much-needed return to form after Na`Vi struggling against Team Liquid on day two. Na’Vi sent a powerful message to its …
Renegades take big step forward, qualify for major playoff
Steven Rondina
Counter-Strike
The Cinderella story of Renegades is continuing on. Opening day three of the Katowice Major’s Legends Stage, the Australian team secured a spot in the top eight with a dramatic win over Vitality. The victory represents the best performance in a Counter-Strike: Global Offensive major by an Australian squad, and a major milestone for both the region and the organization. The series opened on Dust 2 with a dominant showing …
NRG Esports wash out of Katowice 0-3 in major shocker
Steven Rondina
Counter-Strike
NRG Esports is going home way ahead of schedule. Following a devastating day that saw the team drop maps to Ninjas in Pyjamas and Avangar, NRG was bested 2-0 by CompLexity Gaming in round three of the Legends Stage. That dropped the team’s record to 0-3, knocking them out of the Katowice Major. Both games between NRG and CompLexity went to overtime, with the first being a double overtime marathon …
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.
