The low-down on the biggest and most popular eSports title in the world, and a handy betting guide for those looking to get in on the action.
Counter Strike: Global Offensive barely needs any introduction. One of the most popular games of the last decade, particularly within streaming and eSports communities, this gem from 2012 is still going strong.
Having gone free-to-play back in December 2018, CS: GO offers up a stellar, no-frills, competitive First-Person-Shooter experience. Counter Strike: Global Offensive is possibly the world’s most popular eSports title, with 24 Premier Tournaments being held in 2018, nine of which had grand prizes of over $500,000, and 4 of those having grand prizes of over $1,000,000.
The standard game mode, and certainly the most popular mode in the competitive scene, is the Bomb Scenario. This has two teams, the Terrorists and the Counter-Terrorists face off. The terrorists need to plant a bomb and make sure it detonates before the time runs out, while the Counter-Terrorists need to stop the bomb from being planted in the first place, disarm the bomb if it has been planted, or have the timer run out before it explodes.
A Counter Strike: Global Offensive match is played over 30 rounds, 15 a half, with each round lasting 1 minute and 55 seconds. The first team to win 16 rounds wins. In order to win a round and score a point, a team has to either complete their map objectives or successfully eliminate every member of the opposing team.
CS:GO has its own economy, with players able to purchase weapons and equipment in between rounds. Players earn this money by performing well in the game. In-game actions such as kills, assists, and objective completion rewards players with in-game currency that can sway the tide of the next round.
Counter Strike: Global Offensive was released in 2012, and to be perfectly honest, the visuals of the game reflect that. That’s actually a good thing, though, as the lack of particle effects and complicated liquid and smoke physics make the game accessible on even very low-end PCs or PCs not specifically built for gaming.
From the arid desert of the Mirage, the old-timey Mediterranean Inferno, to the infamous, industrial Dust II, CS:GO provides a decent variety of locales in its map selections to avoid the game feeling too repetitive or “samey”.
CS:GO looks realistic enough that players and viewers can immerse themselves in it, though unrealistic enough to make it suitable viewing for young people too. Colors are relatively accurate, menus are clearly laid out, and it’s easy to dive into as both a player or a punter.
When a game is the number 1 eSports title for as long as CS:GO has been, there definitely is no shortage of top-tier streamers.
Shroud is an ex-CS:GO-pro and one of the biggest streamers on Twitch. He was one of the highest ranked players in the world during his time in the competitive CS:GO scene. Head to our in-depth streamer profile to learn more about him.
Jaryd ‘Summit1G’ Lazar is has been a CS:GO streamer since 2012. His legacy in competitive Counter Strike: Global Offensive lives through the memorable moment of him being slain by a Molotov in a tournament match with Splyce – now known as getting 1g’d by fans and pros alike.
Counter Strike: Global Offensive is the most popular eSports title for people to bet on. There are dozens of operators who support CS:GO betting, such as Bet365, ArcaneBet, Betway, GG.bet, and many more.
CS:GO betting is surprisingly accessible, even to new bettors, even though it’s been around for as long as it has. Premier Tournaments are the name of the game when it comes to CS:GO betting. As we said above, dozens of Counter Strike: Global Offensive tournaments take place each year, meaning there is slight variation in how these tournaments take place.
The most common format, however, is to have a group stage made of best-of-1 matches between four teams, followed by a best-of-3 knockout playoff stage between the final two teams.
During the group stage, many follow the rule that the team with the best outcomes in early rounds is the most likely to win the match. However, early defeats can be recovered from as the ‘losing’ team rallies together and the ‘winning’ team gets cocky or doesn’t manage their item spending properly.
Early victories, however, can set a team up to have round-winning equipment early on, and even weaker teams have been known to use that advantage to push through to victory.
Where it gets easy to maximize your CS:GO betting success in the group stage, though, is that Counter Strike: Global Offensive is a game that doesn’t rely on very much random chance, unlike games such as Fortnite. Bettors who have done their research into the game and the teams that are playing are likely to be able to predict the outcome of the match after the first four or five rounds, as CS:GO is a game of skill.
The best-of-3 knockout stages of a tournament, however, is where CS:GO betting can really serve the informed punter. The factors of luck or chance become relatively non-existent in the knockout stage, as up to 90 rounds can be played here.
Handicap bets become possible during this stage, meaning the team that’s bet on would need to win the match 2-0. This type of bet will greatly increase the odds in a match where one team is the clear favorite, meaning you can still make some good returns on what’s likely a sure deal.
Pro Tip! When betting on CS:GO Premiere Tournaments, it’s always best to use a betting site that includes the live stream of the event. As Counter Strike: Global Offensive matches can last a long time, it’s essential to keep track of what’s going on. We recommend using either Unibet (for fiat payments), Unikrn (for CS:GO skins payments), or OneHash (for Bitcoin payments).
For anyone who’s curious about eSports betting, we recommend starting with Counter Strike: Global Offensive.
It’s likely that any betting platforms you already use support CS:GO betting, and there are tons of operators with fantastic welcome offers, bonuses, and promotions to take advantage of when first starting out.
It’s a game that’s easy to follow, fun to watch, and runs on even low-end PCs so most punters can even play a few matches themselves.