

As audiences grow, it’s expected that eSports will see a significant increase in investment in years to come. The future of CS:GO within eSports is very exciting-not only for players, but for fans too. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournament, St Petersburg, October 2017 © Roman Kosolapov/Alamy Stock Photo With a game that tens of millions of people love, teams of incredibly skilled players, and national pride on the line, the game has created an industry that now rivals more traditional sporting events.
Counter strike blogs professional#
Players can frequently be seen drinking energy drinks during live tournaments, but some have also been known to take drugs such as Adderall and Propanolol, which are prescribed to treat anxiety, to help them remain calm under the pressure of competitive games.ĭespite these controversies, the professional CS:GO scene remains extremely popular worldwide the next major tournaments in September 2018 and February 2019 are set to have the largest online audience in history. In 2015, members of the team ‘iBuyPower’ were banned for life after throwing a competitive game in order to collect over $10,000 from online betting. There have been several major scandals in the world of Counter-Strike. It will come as no surprise, however, that like any other highly competitive sport that involves celebrity players receiving massive financial rewards, the world of eSports has often been rocked by controversy.

Famous players can amass millions of followers and hundreds of millions of views. The fact that many of these well-known teams have such dedicated backing from their fans, combined with the competitive nature of Counter-Strike, means that players become celebrities. Just like in traditional sports, professional teams are followed by huge numbers of fans, with teams from around the world becoming icons of the professional Counter-Strike scene. Followers of these teams support them by attending live events, buying branded merchandise and donating to players’ online accounts. This ease of accessibility resulted in over 1.8 million people tuning into the finals of the ELEAGUE Major this year. Streaming is undoubtably one of the main reasons why CS:GO is one of the largest eSports titles. Tournaments are watched by audiences of thousands who attend the events live, but also by millions more through online streaming services such as Twitch. These tournaments run alongside ‘Minor’ events where the winners receive over $250,000. CS:GO ‘Major’ events such as ESL One and DreamHack occur only a few times every year, with professional teams from around the world competing for prize funds of over $1,000,000.

Professional play began in 2012 and since then, tournaments have grown in both popularity and scale. When better weapons cost more, strategy and teamwork can make the difference between winning and losing. The game incorporates its own in-game currency, and actions can be rewarded with money. The basic premise is that two teams of five players-terrorists and counter-terrorists-battle across a small map to plant or defuse a bomb. Counter-Strike is a very easy game to understand. The franchise’s popularity grew quickly, partly due to its core nature and also through community-led developments. Counter Strike: Global Offensive, better known as CS:GO, was released in 2012.
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Since then there have been three further main releases in the series, plus a number of spin-offs.
Counter strike blogs series#
The first game in the Counter-Strike series was released in 1999, and in 2000 rights to the game were acquired by American game developer Valve Corporation. The Counter-Strike franchise has a long-standing history and has become one of the biggest games series within eSports, with over 25 million units sold. One of the games at its core is Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. The eSports industry is an incredibly fast-growing digital business, with an estimated worldwide audience of nearly half a billion people. Thomas Llewellyn delves further into the world of eSports with a detailed look at one of the industry’s biggest success stories:
