Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike
Tarik joins NRG after major disappointment
William Davis
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 …
Counter-Strike
FaZe Clan boots Cloud9 from major, next faces Natus Vincere
Steven Rondina
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 …
Counter-Strike
Ninjas in Pyjamas return to CS:GO major playoffs
Steven Rondina
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 …
Counter-Strike
Cloud9 run over HellRaisers, set up showdown with FaZe Clan
Steven Rondina
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 …
Counter-Strike
NRG Esports wash out of Katowice 0-3 in major shocker
Steven Rondina
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
Dupreeh finds success at Katowice Major despite loss of father
Olivia Richman
Astralis’ Peter “Dupreeh” Rasmussen opened up to his fans on Twitter, announcing that his father had passed away after battling cancer for eight years. “Yesterday marked the loss of my role model and the best father one could ever wish for. My father is finally at peace. You’ll forever stay with me, and I’m happy I got to show you my world. I love you forever,” Dupreeh said. The Counter-Strike: …
Counter-Strike
Team Liquid advance to major playoffs after sweeping Na`Vi
Steven Rondina
Team Liquid has a real chance to win its first major. The North American organization proved as much in its Legends Stage showdown with Natus Vincere, posting a convincing 2-0 win. By overcoming Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev, Liquid advanced its record to 3-0 and punched a ticket to the Champions Stage playoff. The match initially seemed destined to be the most competitive of the Katowice Major. Facing off on Mirage, Na’Vi …
News
Astralis earns first spot in Katowice Major playoff
Steven Rondina
Astralis is living up to its favorite status at the 2019 Katowice Major. On Day 2 of the New Legends Stage, Astralis scored a 2-1 victory over Renegades. That win advanced the team’s record to 3-0 and establishes it as the first to qualify for the Champions Stage playoffs. The opening contest on Mirage was shaping up to be a squash. Despite dropping both pistol rounds, Astralis managed to rack …
Astralis shut out Cloud9 with second ever 16-0 major score
Steven Rondina
Counter-Strike
Cloud9’s first day in the Katowice Major’s Legends Stage took a nasty turn against the world’s best team. Shortly after starting its day with a dominant victory over MiBR, the fan favorite squad was pitched a 16-0 shutout by tournament favorite Astralis. This is just the second time a 16-0 score has been posted in CS:GO major history. Train has proven to be a tricky map for every team at …
Cloud9 demolish revamped MiBR in Katowice
Steven Rondina
Counter-Strike
Cloud9 are off to a hot start in the Legends Stage at the Katowice Major. Following a shaky but ultimately successful showing in the Challengers Stage, Cloud9 started its run in the next round by thrashing MiBR, cruising to an easy 16-3 win. From the start of the match on Inferno, MiBR was raising eyebrows with the team’s passive play on the T side. Some of this passivity can be …
Team Liquid and Natus Vincere get off to quick starts in Katowice
Steven Rondina
Counter-Strike
Natus Vincere and Team Liquid are off to a strong start in Katowice. The veteran teams both took clean wins to start their runs in the New Legends Stage, besting G2 Esports and Avangar, respectively. But while both managed to advance to 1-0, they reached that point in very different ways. Na’Vi entered Katowice with a number of questions about the CIS team’s status. Despite being heavily credentialed and retaining …
Death threat meme gets Windigo CEO banned from Twitter
Olivia Richman
Counter-Strike
Windigo Gaming’s CEO’s Twitter account was suspended after he responded to a former player with a “death threat” meme. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive player Teodor “SPELLAN” Nikolov stated in a Twitlonger that Windigo didn’t pay him his salary for eight months while he was benched. He also accused the esports organization of not sending him prize pool money he’d won while a part of the team. SPELLAN mentioned that CEO Maksym …
ESL extends streaming rights deal with Facebook
William Davis
Counter-Strike
Esports tournament organizer ESL is extending its content streaming deal with Facebook through 2019. Fans around the world will be able to tune in to Facebook in order to watch the Intel Extreme Masters, ESL One, and CS:GO Pro League on Facebook’s gaming platform. The distribution began on January 16 with the regional qualifiers for the IEM Katowice CS:GO minors. At that time, ESL announced an exclusive deal with Facebook …
Cloud9 survive, advance to New Legends Stage at Katowice Major
Steven Rondina
Counter-Strike
Cloud9 is moving forward in the 2019 Katowice Major. Facing Winstrike Team in the final match of the New Challengers Stage, the fan favorite organization avoided elimination with a 2-0 victory. This advances the team’s record in the group to 3-2, which qualifies them for a spot in the Legends Stage. The opening showdown on Nuke hinged on either teams’ use of the AUG. Though the map has always been …
Ninjas in Pyjamas eliminate Vici Gaming, move to New Legends Stage
Steven Rondina
Counter-Strike
Ninjas in Pyjamas is staying alive at the 2019 Katowice Major. The Swedish squad survived an elimination series opposite China’s Vici Gaming in the final round of the New Challengers Stage. Vici did not know how to handle NiP on Train. Despite the popularity of the AUG skewing the map in favor of the CT side in Katowice, NiP’s rushes to the A bombsite got the better of Vici and …
Allu leaves Katowice Major to tend to family matters in Finland
Steven Rondina
News
Aleksi “allu” Jalli is taking a break from the 2019 Katowice Major to tend to something even more important. The ENCE sniper announced on Twitter that he was headed home to Finland because his girlfriend was about to give birth. “I’m going home for a couple of days because my first born child is about to come to the world,” Allu said. “It’s been tough after hearing my girlfriends water …
Cloud9 come back from 1-16 start to fend off Furia and advance
Steven Rondina
Counter-Strike
Cloud9 stayed alive in the 2019 Katowice Major, but it wasn’t easy. Cloud9 narrowly defeated Furia in a three-game series to prolong the team’s tournament run. The match opened on Mirage in embarrassing fashion for Cloud9. Throughout the first half, the squad struggled with a lack of coordination and weapon accuracy. This resulted in botches and misplays that Furia took advantage of, culminating in a 16-1 loss for Cloud9. While …
G2 eliminates Fnatic from Katowice major
Steven Rondina
Counter-Strike
Fnatic’s run in the 2019 Katowice Major has come to an end. Facing G2 Esports in the fourth round of the New Challengers Stage, the Swedish team fizzled en route to a 1-2 loss. That pushed their record to 1-3 in the phase, eliminating them from the event. Things initially looked up for Fnatic. Playing on Mirage, the team opened the series with strong performances from its top stars. After …
ENCE moves to New Legends stage after tight Winstrike series
Steven Rondina
Counter-Strike
Though it wasn’t elegant, the Finland’s top Counter-Strike team got the job done in Katowice. In one of the wildest series of the major thus far, ENCE defeated Winstrike Team 2-1. That victory, coupled with ENCE’s wins over G2 Esports and Team Spirit, advances ENCE to the New Legends stage. What this series said about their chances there is up for debate. The first frame, Dust 2, started in ugly …
NBK and Vitality advance while G2 struggles in Katowice
Steven Rondina
Counter-Strike
Nathan “NBK-” Schmitt hasn’t played against Richard “shox” Papillon in the 2019 Katowice Major, but he still scored a big win over his former teammate. In round four of the New Challengers Stage, Vitality achieved a 3-1 record to earn a berth in the New Legends Stage. It did so by beating Vici Gaming in a best-of-three series. Vitality looked shaky to start game one on Inferno. Vici Gaming, propelled by …
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.
