Photo courtesy of Valve Corporation.
Bạn đang xem: Counter
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive doesn’t have that problem, though. CS:GO is two teams armed with guns, going after one another. It’s one of the most accessible games in esports và that fact has helped it grow into one of the cornerstones of the industry.
But while the game itself is easy to digest, there is a lot to take in. When it comes lớn the CS:GO pro scene, its teams, players & tournament structures define it.
With that in mind, it’s worth taking a deep dive into the trò chơi to discuss what it is. We also talk about who its most influential figures are and how you should approach it as a new fan.
How vì you Play?
At a quick glance, CS:GO looks like like any other first-person shooter out there.
That’s justified on some level, of course. The casual experience has all the standard game modes that can be found in a điện thoại tư vấn of Duty or Rainbow Six. It ranges from run & gun death matches khổng lồ “level up your weapon by getting kills before ending the game with a backstab” wackiness.
At the professional level, however, CS:GO is very quality due to lớn its one of a kind trò chơi mode, Bomb Defusal.
In Bomb Defusal the two teams, terrorists and counter-terrorists, spawn on opposite ends of the map. The Terrorists are tasked with planting a bomb in one of two designated areas while the Counter-Terrorists need to lớn prevent it from detonating. After the bomb is planted, it has a 40-second window before exploding where the Counter-Terrorist team can defuse it. If the bomb goes off or Counter-Terrorist side is exterminated, the Terrorist side wins. If the Counter-Terrorists defuse a planted bomb or prevent the bomb from being planted within the time limit, the Counter-Terrorists win.
Each phối has 30 rounds, with the competing teams switching sides after 15. The first to 16 rounds gets the victory, with overtime in pro games being decided in six-game blocks with teams playing three games on either side. For non-professionals, a phối that ends 15-15 is scored as a draw.
Those aren’t the only objectives, though.It isn’t just the bomb that sets CS:GO apart from other FPS esports, though. In addition khổng lồ those chất lượng win conditions, the game has a deep economic system that influences how a set can play out.
Players vày not simply spawn with their favorite guns in Bomb Defusal. Instead, everyone receives money at the start of a round that they need to ration as things progress. Extra cash can be earned in a variety of ways including getting kills and securing objectives, but winning rounds gives the biggest windfall by far. That makes for huge momentum swings over the course of a series as teams can quickly go from fully loaded khổng lồ wielding just pistols within just a few rounds, only khổng lồ climb their way back lớn better gear.
That extra layer of strategy, coupled with the frequent opportunities for clutch performances, makes CS:GO a particularly entertaining esport.
Who are the Best CS:GO Teams?
Esports as a whole is a volatile industry. CS:GO takes it to lớn another level. & CS:GO teams? Well, that’s like trying khổng lồ find stability in a pool of quicksand.
Indeed, despite having one of the most mature player bases & the continued investment of almost every major esports organization, CS:GO generally struggles lớn have even a basic cấp độ of continuity in its teams. At any moment, an organization can go from collecting trophies and paychecks at huge tournaments lớn struggling to lớn field a roster at minors.
That said, certain organizations have managed khổng lồ weather that storm và while few have been able lớn maintain a màn chơi of legitimate dominance over a prolonged period of time, several have managed to enjoy high-level status for years on end.
Fnatic, for example, enjoyed one of the greatest runs in recent esports history from 2013 khổng lồ 2015. Its loaded roster led by Robin “flusha” Rönnquist made it to the grand finals of four Majors, taking the championship in three. The team was rocked in năm 2016 when three of its players left for the newly formed Godsent team. However, it managed lớn rebuild in the following months. Despite all of this, Fnatic still stands as a world-class team và a regular contender at bigger tournaments.
Astralis set their sights on gloryThough Fnatic was the dynasty from 2013 until 2016, Astralis was the team that picked up in their stead. The all-Danish squad that split off from Team SoloMid in 2015 has enjoyed a fairly steady roster in the years since, & that has been made easy given how consistent its success has been. The team posted a number of solid performances in năm 2016 before truly breaking out during ELEAGUE season 2. From there, it took the đứng đầu prize at the ELEAGUE Atlanta Major & never looked back. Though the team hasn’t won any Valve-recognized Majors since then, it has raked in a slew of six-figure checks and filled its mantle with trophies from events around the globe.
Side-by-side with Astralis’ rise came SK Gaming. Founded in 1997 in Germany as a clan in Quake, it transformed into an esports organization. Eventually, it began sponsoring players in the original Counter-Strike. With time, it transitioned to lớn CS:GO and became a staple of the South American scene with an excellent Brazilian roster.
In năm nhâm thìn the team hit its stride in full, establishing itself as an elite contender at ESL One: Cologne 2016 by taking first-place. The team only sped up from there, posting a ludicrously good 2017 that saw it break a number of records for prize money in the game.
The wheels came off khổng lồ a degree in 2018, but some major roster acquisitions seemingly righted the ship. In June, however, SK Gaming fans were left stunned when its roster departed for the rebooted Made In Brazil (MIBR) organization. Does SK Gaming have a future in CS:GO? Will the ex-SK Gaming team be able lớn return to form under this new banner? That remains lớn be seen and, unfortunately, there’s nothing really protecting any other team from this exact situation.
Who are the best CS:GO Players?
As with any team thể thao (or esport), there is a lot of room for nuance. Like Lebron James’ first run with the Cleveland Cavaliers, a world-class player can be dragged down by flimsy teammates. Similarly, the esports equivalent of Terry Bradshaw can be carried to lớn multiple championships with the teammates.
Xem thêm: Ốp Lưng Hình Máy Ảnh Cho Oppo F1S, Ốp Lưng Máy Ảnh Oppo F1S
But of course, everyone still knew that Lebron was an all-time great talent before he left for the Miami Heat. Everyone also knew that Bradshaw was a ho-hum quarterback even with a fistful of rings. CS:GO is no different.
From a prize pool perspective, Gabriel “FalleN” Toledo stands as one of, if not the, winningest players of all time. The Brazilian AWPer has found regular success during his career, helping lớn establish Luminosity Gaming as a force in năm ngoái and then bringing his talents khổng lồ the aforementioned 2017 SK Gaming. He remains a đứng top talent today with MIBR và could be poised to hold onto his place at the vị trí cao nhất for a long while.
But what about the Champion title?From a championships perspective, few can match the accomplishments of Olof “olofmeister” Kajbjer Gustafsson. Arguably the vị trí cao nhất star on the Fnatic dynasty from năm trước to 2017, he collected a lifetime’s worth of trophies with the team before moving to FaZe Clan. Many wondered why he would leave after such a successful run. However, the reasons became obvious as FaZe began taking first-place finishes at LAN tournaments và didn’t slow down.
When one looks at pure technique, the best in the business today might be Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev. Initially a journeyman of the European circuit, he established himself as a legitimate talent with Team Liquid in 2016. He did this by helping the team claim second-place at the ESL One: Cologne 2016 Major. He found himself a more permanent trang chủ later that year with Natus Vincere & has thrived under that banner. Since then, earning a reputation as one of the world’s best AWPers & helping to lớn reestablish the organization as one of CS:GO’s best.
Of course, nobody rises to the đứng đầu on their own in CS:GO and these players are all surrounded by exceptional, possibly comparable talent.
What are the Biggest Events?
CS:GO is unique from other esports in terms of how its competitive calendar is structured.
Most games have a relatively defined season or a Super Bowl-like sự kiện that all teams strive to be a part of. However, CS:GO has an almost constant cycle of big tournaments worth paying attention to. There are three different leagues, tournaments from all the major organizers & plenty of grass roots events.
A strong case can be made that there is, quite simply, too much chất lượng CS:GO khổng lồ follow. Thankfully though, there is a fairly straightforward hierarchy to CS:GO tournaments that makes it easy lớn parse which ones are most deserving of your time.
At the đứng top is the biannual Valve Major tournaments. Hosted by a different prominent organizer each time và sponsored by the advertiser behind CS:GO, these shows tend to be the biggest and best on the calendar, featuring the largest prize pools, the most formidable teams, và the highest production values.
After that is a slew of other large events.The finals to the various regular leagues that inhabit CS:GO (more on them later) hold a special place on the calendar, given the high stakes and consistently high-level kích hoạt to be found. There are typically between five khổng lồ seven of these events annually, making them rare enough lớn be appointment viewing and just frequent enough khổng lồ not tune out on.
ELEAGUE events, meanwhile, stand out from the rest. The Turner và WME-IMG-owned outfit turned heads by bringing regular esports nội dung to North American televisions in 2016, rolling out as one of the premier leagues in the game. Though it has dropped its league in recent years, it remains active in the CS:GO scene by holding a few events each year.
Finally, ESL’s hãng sản xuất intel Extreme Masters tournament tour is a CS:GO institution, bringing the pro scene around the world in a way no other organizer has. Though IEM events aren’t the biggest, you can count on ESL to provide a solid experience, whether seen at trang chủ or in person.
What are the Biggest CS:GO Leagues?
The bread và butter of the CS:GO competitive scene is its league play & there are three noteworthy leagues. The ESL Pro League, FACEIT’s Esports Championship Series và StarLadder’s StarSeries i-League.
All three follow the same general format. They start with an intraregional round robin “season” that lasts four to eight weeks. The đứng đầu performers therein earn spots in a LAN tournament that will crown a champion.
ESL Pro League is the largest of the three, featuring four regions và the largest prize pool. ECS has a similar prize pool, but only features two regions. Finally, StarLadder features three but has the lowest payouts by a considerable margin.
That said, all three manage khổng lồ consistently attract world-class talent. While you may not stay abreast of everything going on, they’re the three to watch.
Where can I Watch?
Like most esports, the bulk of CS:GO kích hoạt can be found on Twitch.tv.
On a 24/7 basis, something of interest can be found on the site. Whether it’s pro players streaming their pub games, reruns of old events or analysts breaking down footage. Most importantly, the majority of tournament action can be found live on Twitch. Unlike many other titles, a notable chunk needs to lớn be found elsewhere.
ESL’s ESL One & ESL Pro League are some of the biggest events in the CS:GO scene. They can be found on Facebook and the official ESL website. That said, ESL’s intel Extreme Masters events can be found on Twitch.
ELEAGUE, meanwhile, has the bulk of its action live on Twitch. However, they also air some of their content on the cable television network TBS. Depending on the event, this may be aired live or via tape delay.
And of course, everything that takes place in CS:GO can be found in the actual trò chơi client và watched live. It can also be downloaded và watched as replays. Though this requires you khổng lồ watch at your PC rather than on-the-go over a mobile device. The game has strong spectator features that just might make it worth the inconvenience!