Counter-Strike: Global Offensive — the Main Shooting Game in the World of Esports!

CS:GO is a game that continues the glorious traditions of its series. Its essence was laid down at the end of the last millennium. At that time, an amateur mod for Half-Life appeared, which was called Counter-Strike. Then the modification grew into an independent game, which later became a full-fledged franchise.

The CS series took on a new lease of life in 2012, when Counter-Strike: Global Offensive was released. The game was a real breakthrough. Players who loved the classic Counter-Strike 1.6 and didn’t want to leave it started looking at the new version. So, it gained worldwide popularity, even more than the legendary classics.

The rules and essence of the game are very simple to understand — even a person who is far from the world of video games can understand them. A classic match is played by 2 teams of 5 people. They alternately play for 2 sides: terrorists and special forces. The first is to plant the bomb, and the second is to prevent it or clear it. Also, the team that destroys all five opponents first wins. A CS:GO match consists of 30 rounds, but it is played until one of the sides scores 16 points.

For almost 10 years of its existence, Global Offensive has become one of the most popular shooters in the world. It is played by tens of millions of people in all parts of our planet. The popularity is attributed to many factors. Firstly, this is the revival of the classic CS in a new shell, with updated, modern graphics. For 20 years Counter-Strike 1.6 has become obsolete, but GO breathed new life into the series. Secondly, the game offers many modes, besides the classic one: hostage taking, sniper battles, war games, deathmatch, maps from the workshop. Cases and skins are another reason for their popularity. Thanks to all this, CS GO eSport is also developing.

CSGO Esports: From Computer Clubs to the World Stage

Counter-Strike had the potential to become a professional sport from the very beginning. In the early 2000s, computer clubs were packed with teenagers spending hours on end playing CS. The most skillful gamers participated in tournaments with symbolic prizes, but then the industry began to offer players serious money as prize money.

Counter Strike Global Offensive eSports began to develop immediately with the release of the game. At first, esports players were not very eager to leave CS 1.6, but then, having tried the new game, they finally began to move to the Global Offensive. One of the first major tournaments was the IEM VI Global Challenge Kiev, which was won by the legendary five Natus Vincere.

Soon, Intel Extreme Masters VI was held with an impressive prize pool of $ 100,000. Such a lot of money helped develop CSGO esports and popularize the game — it became finally clear that the time of CS 1.6 is gone.

Over the years of the existence of the professional scene, the industry has grown significantly. CS:GO attracts millions of viewers, fans who willingly watch matches live, visit LAN competitions, read news and follow updates. Major CS GO tournaments take place in large sports arenas that can accommodate tens of thousands of spectators.

Impressive amounts of money also come into the game with great popularity. Modern eSport CSGO offers players a variety of tournaments. Even amateurs can qualify for competitions with prize money in the tens of thousands of dollars. As for the best teams in the world, they fight for hundreds of thousands, and sometimes for millions. The top esports players in Counter-Strike have long been dollar millionaires.

Such teams as Natus Vincere, Gambit and Virtus.Pro show a high level of play. They are the strongest teams not only in the CIS region, but all over the world.