Counter Strike
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Betting
If you’re looking for the Global Elites of Counter-Strike betting, you’ve come to the right place. LV BET is your go-to Sportsbook for top-tier CS:GO betting markets with on-target CS:GO odds on the hottest tournaments of the year. Join us as we bunny hop through the ins and outs of the most influential first-person shooter of our time!
What is Counter-Strike: Global Offensive?
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, commonly known as CS:GO, is at the top of the food chain when it comes to competitive shooters. This multiplayer first-person shooter (FPS) is the fourth game in an incredibly successful series developed by Valve and Hidden Path Entertainment. Since its release in 2012, the game draws in 11 million players per month and remains one of the most played games on Steam, Valve’s video game distribution platform.
With a dedicated community of fans and players, CS:GO has an active presence in the esports scene. The world’s most talented teams compete in professional leagues and tournaments for massive prize pools, making Counter-Strike: Global Offensive the top dog when it comes to the best of the best in competitive FPS gameplay.
CS:GO History
CS:GO is part of the Counter-Strike series, which sprung in 1999 as a mod for Valve’s Half-Life. Given the immense popularity of the mod, Valve rushed to acquire its intellectual property right and turned Counter-Strike into a retail product. The original Counter-Strike was followed by Counter-Strike: Condition Zero, released in 2004 after four years of development by multiple studios, including Rogue Entertainment, Gearbox and Turtle Rock Studios.
Just eight months after the release of Condition Zero, Valve surprised the fans with a remake of the original — Counter-Strike: Source. The game was the first to run on Valve’s newly created Source engine and was developed by Hidden Path Entertainment, who later worked on CS:GO. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is the fourth game in the series and was released in 2012. Although CS:GO is now nearly a decade old — which is ancient in video game years — there are no immediate plans to shake up the series with a new release. This is in part due to Valve’s methodical balancing and visual updates over the years; to date, CS:GO is considered one of the most influential first-person shooters in history. Valve did drop hints about moving CS:GO to Source 2, an engine capable of rendering complex and detailed scenes with minimal framerate drops, but we wouldn’t hold our breath.
Counter-Strike Tournaments
As far as Counter-Strike’s presence in competitive esports goes, the game is a veteran with over 20 years of competitive history, beginning with the original CS. The first Major tournament was the 2001 Cyberathlete Professional League (CPL) Winter Championship held in Dallas, Texas. The tournament featured a $150,000 prize pool and was won by Ninjas in Pyjamas, a Swedish team that is active to this day. At the time, the game was referred to as CS 1.6 because the game’s most significant version was the 1.6 update.
Following the success of the first event, in which 16 competitive teams participated, the 2002 World Cyber Games and the 2003 Electronic Sports World Cup didn’t miss the chance to feature the up-and-coming FPS. In 2008, the Electronic Sports League (ESL) added Counter-Strike to its Intel Extreme Masters (IEM) series, which hosted international esports tournaments sponsored by Intel.
The booming triumph of competitive Counter-Strike inspired Valve to push the “outdated” CS 1.6 out of the way and bring in Counter-Strike: Source (CS:S) as the new competitive CS game. Unfortunately for Valve, the players disagreed with that decision. CS 1.6 was the de facto benchmark for the level of skill in pro play because of its high skill ceiling; the newly released CS:S was simply not up to par and was frowned upon by the community. Valve, sponsors and tournament organisers continued to push CS:S, but the majority of professional Counter-Strike players refused to play the game. The fractured competitive scene led to the gradual decrease in the game’s popularity in the late 2000s and early 2010s, ceding the esports crown to the up-and-coming MOBA genre.
CS:GO Leagues and Events
The release of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive in 2012 reinvigorated the series and reunited the competitive community. The initial release was bumpy, to say the least, but Valve did not want to miss this opportunity — the gameplay was drastically improved within a few short months. The onset of the live-streaming era also played a major role in propelling the game to new heights, as players and fans alike showcased their talent on platforms like UStream, Twitch and Youtube.
The first CS:GO Major Championship took place at DreamHack Winter 2013 in Sweden. Since then, Valve’s CS:GO Majors have been the most prestigious and significant tournaments in the Global Offensive Pro circuit.
To get up to speed on CS:GO betting, look into the following events:
BLAST Premier
BLAST Premier is a professional CS:GO league launched in 2020, based primarily in the US and Europe. The series is split into two four-month-long seasons — in the spring and fall — with 12 teams participating in the Group stage. The top six teams, along with the top two from Showdown events, advance to the finals. The winners of each season’s finals compete in the Global Finals at the end of the year.
CS:GO Major Championship
Commonly known as Majors, the CS:GO Major Championships are every esports punters favourite CS:GO events. These tournaments are hosted by the game’s developer, Valve, since 2013. In 2018, the number of participating teams was increased to 24, 14 of which earn automatic berths into the next Major. The rest of the participants are seeded into the other stages of the tournament: the Legends and the Challengers stages. The stages have seen quite a few changes over the years, but the playoffs — known as the Champions stage — consistently features eight teams at all Majors, which play in best-of-three, single-elimination series.
Unlike most esports leagues and traditional sports, Valve gives the Majors spots to the players rather than the organisation. This means that if a team received the automatic berth into the next Major qualifier but three of the members transferred before the tournament began, the entire team loses the spot.
ESL One Pro League
ESL One Pro League is CS:GO’s premier professional esports league. The league comprises 24 teams in Europe, Asia, Oceania and the Americas, including 12 permanent partners. The 12 partners automatically qualify, while seven of the remaining 12 qualify through ESL World Ranking — a point-based system ESL uses to measure team performance in all significant CS:GO tournaments (not just those hosted by ESL). The last five teams prove their worth through regional qualifications.
Unlike Valve’s CS:GO Major Championships, in which team spots are given based on player rosters, ESL awards the slots to the organisation; thus, it is not uncommon for a team to sell or outright give their Pro League licence to another organisation. The ESL Pro Tour spans dozens of events a season, so keep your eyes on our Sportblog for info on upcoming CS:GO matches with top-tier CS:GO odds.
IEM (Intel Extreme Masters)
Started in 2006 by ESL, IEM is a series of international esports tournaments held globally, including Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Starcraft II and other esports titles. IEM is considered to be one of the most prestigious esports events in the world, boasting impressive prize pools and offering a chunk of Pro Tour and Blast Premier points.
DreamHack Masters
DreamHack merged with ESL in 2020 but continues operating separately. This Swedish production company specialises in the hottest esports tournaments and gaming events, online and offline. The DreamHack Masters CS:GO tournament is a Master-level tournament that grants points on the road to IEM, so you’re bound to see the world’s best CS:GO talent competing on some of the biggest esports stages and arenas in DreamHack tournaments.
CS:GO Gameplay
CS:GO gameplay is broken down into objective-based game modes, where two teams of five compete for control over specific locations or objectives. The Competitive game mode is similar to what you see in professional CS:GO tournaments, with games lasting up to 90 minutes. Each team is tasked with specific objectives, and they must complete them while bringing down the opponent to meet the winning conditions. At the end of each round, the players are awarded in-game currency based on their — and their teams’ — performance, which can be spent on equipment and other utility items to be used in the following rounds.
CS:GO Game Modes
There are eight CS:GO game modes, many of which are enjoyed in competitive play. If you want to try your hand at CS:GO match betting, take a look at the CS:GO game modes below to familiarise yourself with the gameplay.
Deathmatch — Deathmatch (DM) is a versus mode with instant respawns and no money economy. Each match lasts 10 minutes and can be played on all CS:GO maps; the team with the highest points wins the round.
Arms Race — This is a progression-based mode featuring instant respawns and an emphasis on close-quarter combat. After earning two eliminations with one weapon, the player advances to the next firearm until they reach the infamous knife. A single elimination with the final weapon will secure the player’s win.
Demolition — Two teams take turns attacking and defending a single site in a series of maps designed for fast-paced gameplay. The progression functions similarly to Arms Race, but in reverse — only requiring one elimination and ending with snipers.
Danger Zone — Danger Zone is a fast-paced battle royale CS:GO game mode, similar to PUBG and Warzone in Call of Duty, featuring 18 players in squad play and 16 in solo. The mode is played on one of three maps — Blacksite, Sirocco or Jungle — and players start out with nothing but the clothes on their backs. Scattered throughout the map are various crates packed with equipment and resources. The objective is simple — be the last man (or squad) standing.
CS:GO Classic Casual & Competitive Game Modes
Classic modes are 5v5-oriented with best-of-30 CS:GO matches in Defuse and Hostage missions.
Competitive — In the Competitive mode, players climb up the ranks based on their performance. The first team to reach 16 wins out of the 30 matches wins the game. Ranks range from Silver I for the novices to the Global Elite, which accounts for less than 1% of the entire CS:GO player base.
Defuse Mode — Two teams, known as the T-team and the CT-team, compete against each other in Defuse. CTs win when the time runs out prior to the explosive’s planting, when they defuse it, or when all Ts are eliminated before the explosive is planted. Ts win if the explosive successfully detonates or if all CTs are eliminated prior to the time running out.
Hostage Rescue — In this CS:GO game mode, players participate in a hostage rescue mission. If CTs rescue all hostages before time runs out, they win; the Ts win if all CTs are eliminated. If a hostage is harmed during the mission, the player who inflicted the damage loses money.
Bet on CS:GO at LV BET!
Now that you know everything there is to know about Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and the biggest CS:GO events of the year, you’re ready to get started on CS:GO betting! Visit the LV BET Sportsbook to explore our extensive CS:GO markets with WOW-worthy CS:GO odds on all of the explosive CS:GO tournaments and international competitions. You can wager on Match Winner, Map Winner, Map Handicap, Rounds Handicap, Total Rounds, over/under Total Rounds or on some of the many unique CS:GO betting markets on offer. Have a look, and have fun!
