Counter-Strike: Global Offensive

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
Studio	Valve Hidden Path Entertainment
Publisher	Valve
Erstveröffent- lichung	August 21, 2012
platform	Windows , macOS , Linux , Xbox 360 , PlayStation 3 , Xbox One
Game engine	Source
genre	Ego shooter
Game mode	Multiplayer
control	Mouse & keyboard , game controller
medium	Download
Current version	1.37.5.9 (as of July 18, 2020)
Age rating	USK PEGI
information	The PEGI age rating only applies to the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions.

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (abbreviated CS: GO ) is a computer game in the genre of online - tactical shooter . It was developed by Valve and Hidden Path Entertainment and is the fourth installment in the Counter-Strike series. The game was released on August 21, 2012 for Windows , Linux , macOS , Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 . A publication for the PlayStation 3 in Europe was not available for unknown reasons. Global Offensive achieved a metascore of 83 points. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive has also been available in China via the Perfect World Client since September 14, 2017 . In December 2018, the game was switched to a free-to-play model, which drew criticism.

Game content

As is usual in Counter-Strike games, a battle on a limited playing field ( map ) between two groups, terrorists (T for short) and an anti -terrorist unit (CT for short), with weapons and tactical equipment ( e.g. protective vests). The type of battle varies depending on the game mode. The player has the option to play online on official servers or on servers created by the Steam community. In addition, the player can host a server himself, on which he can play alone, privately with other players and / or with bots .

Game modes

On the official game server, the player can choose one of eight game modes (death match, wingman, flying scout shooter, arms race, destruction, casual game, danger zone and competition). Then a suitable server with the specified settings is assigned to him. In the private area and on the community servers, the game modes may differ from these. Apart from official competitions, players can join or leave a server at any time and determine the next map at the end of a game.

Classic

The classic mode is divided into rounds. A side must win a certain number of rounds (different depending on the setting and game mode) in order to emerge as the winner of the game. Depending on the side, the players are set up on separate spawn places (T or CT spawn) at the beginning of a round . In this area indicated on the radar, the player may also buy firearms , grenades and equipment at the beginning of a round . In classic mode, one of the two sides has to complete a task in a certain time. This side is obliged to act, as it would lose the respective round if the time ran out. If all opponents are eliminated before the time runs out, you have usually won the round automatically.

The classic mode is again divided into two types:

• Bomb disposal scenario : During the bomb disposal , the terrorists have the task of placing C4 on one of two bomb sites (bomb spots) given on the radar. The bomb placement takes about three seconds. The anti-terrorists must prevent this very goal and defend the bomb spots. If the Ts succeed in planting the bomb, the CT side must defuse the bomb in order to achieve a round victory (even if all opponents have been eliminated). The disarming time takes 10 seconds without equipment. Bomb defusing maps have the prefix “de_” (for “defuse”; German: defuse).
• Hostage rescue scenario : In the case of hostage rescue, the counter-terrorists have the task of rescuing at least one of two immobile hostages placed on the map. The Ts must protect the hostages. If a counter-terrorist successfully reaches a hostage, he can save it and bring it to the hostage rescue zone, which is usually located within the CT spawn. The rescue process takes 4 seconds without equipment. If a CT manages to carry a hostage into the hostage rescue zone, his team has won the round. The hostages cannot die themselves; a player who injures a hostage is still deducted money. Hostage rescue maps have the prefix "cs_".

For maps without a specific task (only possible in the community), the only goal in classic mode is to kill all opponents. Here a round ends in a draw if the time has elapsed.

competition

A CS: GO team prepares for a game in a huddle .

The competition is the main mode of the game. Professional Counter-Strike matches are played almost exclusively in this mode. Each side consists of exactly five players who have to form a team and thus stay together for the rest of the competition. If a player leaves the competition, he will be replaced by a bot in the following round. In such cases, the game is paused or even canceled in professional competitions. The winning team is determined in the " Best-of -30" system. Before the start, there is a warm-up phase of up to 5 minutes in which the players should join and can already practice. At esports events that are not played online, it is customary to warm up tactically and mentally to the game in a huddle . A game begins in these tournaments when all players are ready to play. Since many maps are easier to play on one side than the other, the sides are swapped after half of the rounds (after 15 rounds). The choice of side is often determined in the professional area with a knife. The players are only allowed to inflict damage with the knife . The winner gets to choose his side for the first half. In normal competitions the choice of side is determined randomly. If one team has reached 16 points so that the other team can no longer catch up, the competition ends (prematurely). If no winner is determined after the 30th round, the match ends in a draw . In professional competitions in which a winner is necessary, the number of laps is extended by a certain number of even numbers. Here again the change is made at half time. If there is no winner after an extension, there is another extension. In the e-sports area, several competitions are also common, which are usually held one after the other in "Best-of-3" or "Best-of-5" mode. Many professional tournament organizers allow participating teams to take a certain number of timeouts between rounds.

Valve wants the competition to be taken seriously by amateurs as well. That is why the players are asked to take part in the full game. If a player drops out of a competition, he has a few minutes to reconnect to the competition server. If he does not succeed or if he breaks off voluntarily, he will be banned from the competition . During this suspension, which lasts up to 7 days, the player is not allowed to participate in official competitions. The maps on which a player wants to play can be determined beforehand. The standard maps and community maps of the current operation are available for official competitions. Then after a search time you will be assigned to a server together with the other nine players, the settings of which match the ones given. The servers try to keep the overall strength of both teams balanced with the help of so-called skill groups , into which the player is divided after ten competitive wins. In November 2017, a new system was introduced with which the servers divide the players together for a game, the so-called trust factor . The servers not only analyze game-related properties such as hours of play, competition wins and ranks, but also behavior on Steam in general. This is intended to further reduce the number of cheaters and smurfs . At the Game Developers Conference 2018, Valve confirmed that they are using a deep learning system with 1700 server processors called "VACnet" to combat cheating.

In competition mode, team fire (the possible wounding or even killing of your own team members) and team collision (your own team members act like obstacles and must be walked around). The latter can be used to form ( boost ) robber ladders .

Casual game

This form of the classic mode has no binding for the player and is suitable for competition preparation. A maximum number of 10 players per side is permitted there. If the teams are quantitatively unevenly distributed, the teams are balanced. In addition, the players have the option to change teams. The side that won eight rounds first has won. Team fire and team collision are switched off.

Deathmatch

See also : Deathmatch

The expansion Deathmatch introduced with Source , in which the turn-based system is canceled and the only important thing is to earn as many points as possible in ten minutes, was introduced in Global Offensive on January 23, 2013 . For eliminating an opponent with a firearm you get 10–12 points. The weapon desired for the game can be specified by the player on request or randomly determined by the server. The stabbing of a counterparty brings 20 points. The aid ( assist ) for neutralization gives the player six points. In addition, you can get one point per chicken for killing chickens running around freely on the map . If the character is killed, it is revived. The spawn location is chosen at random. Several times within a death match there is a thirty second time in which all players receive six additional points for eliminations with a weapon (“bonus weapon”) displayed during this time. During these times you can respawn once with the bonus weapon. The player with the most points after the elapsed 10 minutes becomes the best player and wins the deathmatch.

arms race

In the arms race , the player is equipped with a given weapon and receives another after two deaths caused by an opponent. The player is assigned 3 submachine guns in a predetermined order , followed by 4 rifles , 2 shotguns , 2 sniper rifles , a heavy machine gun and 4 pistols . After 16 such levels, he must kill one of the opponents with a gold knife to win the game. Alternatively, the opponents can be killed beforehand with the knife. In such a case, the killed opponent is moved back one round, and you also advance to the next weapon. The leading players on both sides are made visible to the opponents when they fire shots. If the leading opponent is killed by the player, the player also immediately advances to the next weapon. This mode is played without a secondary weapon . This mode has been unofficially available since Counter-Strike 1.6, which is implemented by means of a mod on the server and is called Gun Game there .

destruction

The scenario of destruction is similar to that of a bomb scenario. However, it is not possible to buy weapons here, as the weapons are given in a fixed order. There is no secondary weapon. In addition, there is only one bomb site in the destruction . The game is played in 5 against 5 mode . By killing one or more opponents, you get a new weapon in the next round. After ten rounds, the teams are switched. This turn-based game mode normally ends after twenty rounds; if one team has eleven points, it wins because the other side cannot catch up. If there is no winner after twenty rounds, the destruction ends in a draw.

Wingman

The Wingman game mode was introduced with the beginning of Operation Hydra and is played according to the bomb disposal scenario . In this mode, which is similar to the competition , teams of two play to conquer or defend a single bomb site. Up to 16 rounds are played. If a team wins the ninth round, the game ends prematurely. After eight rounds, the side change takes place. If there is no winner after the 16 rounds, the match ends in a draw . As in the regular competition, there is the option of buying weapons, grenades and other equipment.

Flying scout shooter

The mode Flying Scout contactors ( English : Flying Scoutsman ) is at the Mod Scoutzknivez ajar and was the beginning of the Operation Hydra introduced. The game mode is played in the bomb disposal scenario . The player only has the knife and the sniper rifle SSG 08 (also called Scout ) available. The hit accuracy has been increased for the game mode and gravity has been greatly weakened. This allows the player to jump much higher and take precise shots during those jumps. A maximum of 12 players play on one server. A game is over when a team has won eight rounds.

Danger Zone

In December 2018 the new game mode Danger Zone was introduced. This is a Battle Royale game mode in which up to 18 players compete against each other on the Blacksite , Sirocco or Jungle map with up to one player. Depending on the content, there are different boxes, bundles of money or wallets on the entire card. With a tablet, the money found can be spent on items that are delivered to the current position with a drone after a certain time. If you are killed by an opponent, you can re-enter the game as long as the other player is still alive. The team that survived last won.

weapons

The weapons in CS: GO are divided into the categories of pistols , heavy weapons, submachine guns and rifles . In addition to the firearms , the player always has a knife in his equipment. This can be used for a quick chop with little damage or a slow chop with a lot of damage. If the enemy is hit from behind, the damage is doubled. A severe blow from behind is always fatal if in full health. The parameters given in the table below show the advantages and disadvantages of each individual weapon. The parameters can change after new updates of the game. The automatic of the weapons depends on the game mechanics.

Pistols
Weapon name	Picture of a real specimen	costs	Ammunition (shot / spare shot)	Shooting bonus	damage	Rate of fire	Recoil control	Precise range	Armor penetration	Penetrating power	Man stopping effect	comment
Glock 18		$ 200	20/120	$ 300 (150%)	30th	6th	83	22 m	94	1	50	Can be switched to 3 bursts , standard terrorist pistol (T) (does not have to be bought), can only be bought by the Ts
P2000		$ 200	13/52	$ 300 (150%)	35	5	73	24 m	101	1	50	Standard pistol of the Counter-Terrorists (CT) (not to be bought must), only by the CTs purchasable, with USP-S interchangeable
USP-S		$ 200	12/24	$ 300 (150%)	35	5	70	22 m	101	1	50	With unscrewable silencer, standard counter-terrorist (CT) pistol (does not have to be bought), can only be bought by the CTs, interchangeable with P2000 , introduced into the game on August 14, 2013
Dual berettas		$ 400	30/120	$ 300 (150%)	38	8th	68	18 m	115	1	50	Akimbo pistol
P250		$ 300	13/26	$ 300 (150%)	38	6th	70	15 m	128	1	50
CZ75 car		$ 500	12/12	$ 100 (50%)	31	10	59	12 m	155	1	50	Fully automatic pistol, replaceable with Tec-9 on the T side, replaceable with Five-SeveN on the CT side , introduced into the game on February 12, 2014
Tec-9		$ 500	18/90	$ 300 (150%)	33	8th	74	24 m	181	1	50	Only by the Ts purchasable, with CZ75 car replaceable
Five-SeveN		$ 500	20/100	$ 300 (150%)	32	6th	70	15 m	182	1	50	Only from the CTs purchasable, with CZ75 car replaceable
Desert Eagle		$ 700	7/35	$ 300 (150%)	63	4th	9	27 m	186	2	60
R8 revolver		$ 600	8/8	$ 300 (150%)	86	2	81	67 m	186	2	60	Rapid fire
Heaviness
Weapon name	Picture of a real specimen	costs	Ammunition (shot / spare shot)	Shooting bonus	damage	Rate of fire	Recoil control	Precise range	Armor penetration	Penetrating power	Man stopping effect	comment
nova		$ 1050	8/32	$ 900 (450%)	234	1	1	3 m	100	0	540	Forearm repeater
XM1014		$ 2000	7/32	$ 900 (450%)	120	2	1	3 m	160	1	360	Semi-automatic shotgun
Sawn off shotgun		$ 1100	7/32	$ 900 (450%)	256	1	1	2 m	150	1	480	Can only be bought from the Ts
MAG-7		$ 1300	5/32	$ 900 (450%)	240	1	1	3 m	150	1	480	Forend bolt action shotgun, only available from CTs
M249		$ 5200	100/200	$ 300 (150%)	32	12	72	17 m	160	2	60	Fully automatic
Negev		$ 1700	150/300	$ 300 (150%)	35	13	79	13 m	142	2	60	Fully automatic
Submachine guns
Weapon name	Picture of a real specimen	costs	Ammunition (shot / spare shot)	Shooting bonus	damage	Rate of fire	Recoil control	Precise range	Armor penetration	Penetrating power	Man stopping effect	comment
MAC-10		$ 1050	30/100	$ 600 (300%)	29	13	83	12 m	115	1	100	Fully automatic, only available from the Ts
MP9		$ 1250	30/120	$ 600 (300%)	26th	14th	81	17 m	120	1	100	Fully automatic, can only be bought from the CTs
MP7		$ 1500	30/120	$ 600 (300%)	29	12	85	15 m	125	1	100	Fully automatic, with MP5-SD replaceable
MP5-SD		$ 1500	30/120	$ 600 (300%)	27	12	85	15 m	125	1	100	Fully automatic, can be replaced with MP7
UMP-45		$ 1200	25/100	$ 600 (300%)	35	11	76	11 m	130	1	100	Fully automatic
P90		$ 2350	50/100	$ 300 (150%)	26th	14th	85	11 m	138	1	100	Fully automatic
PP-Bizon		$ 1400	64/120	$ 600 (300%)	27	12	83	11 m	115	1	100	Fully automatic
Rifles
Weapon name	Picture of a real specimen	costs	Ammunition (shot / spare shot)	Shooting bonus	damage	Rate of fire	Recoil control	Precise range	Armor penetration	Penetrating power	Man stopping effect	comment
Galil AR		$ 1800	35/90	$ 300 (150%)	30th	11	79	18 m	155	2	60	Fully automatic, only available from the Ts
FAMAS		$ 2050	25/90	$ 300 (150%)	30th	11	80	16 m	140	2	60	Switchable to 3 bursts of fire, otherwise fully automatic, can only be purchased from the CTs
AK-47		$ 2,700	30/90	$ 300 (150%)	36	10	68	24 m	155	2	60	Fully automatic, only available from the Ts
M4A4		$ 3,100	30/90	$ 300 (150%)	33	11	77	30 m	140	2	60	Fully automatic, just from the CT scans purchasable, with M4A1-S interchangeable
M4A1-S		$ 3,100	25/60	$ 300 (150%)	33	10	71	30 m	140	2	60	Fully automatic, with unscrewable silencer, only available from CTs, exchangeable with M4A4 , introduced into the game on August 14, 2013
SSG 08		$ 1700	10/90	$ 300 (150%)	88	0	44	52 m	170	2	65	Repeating weapon with telescopic sight (2x zoom), play figure repeats automatically
SG 553		$ 3000	30/90	$ 300 (150%)	30th	11	68	39 m	200	2	60	Fully automatic, reflex sight , only available from the Ts
AUG		$ 3,300	30/90	$ 300 (150%)	28	11	76	38 m	180	2	60	Fully automatic, reflex sight , can only be bought from the CTs
AWP		$ 4,750	10/30	$ 100 (50%)	115	0	1	76 m	195	2	65	Repeater rifle with telescopic sight (2x zoom), play figure repeats automatically
G3SG1		$ 5000	20/90	$ 300 (150%)	80	4th	63	73 m	165	2	50	Fully automatic, with telescopic sight (2x zoom), only available from the Ts
SCAR-20		$ 5000	20/90	$ 300 (150%)	80	4th	62	73 m	165	2	65	fully automatic, with telescopic sight (2x zoom), only available from CTs
(As of August 25, 2018)

Grenades and equipment

In addition to the weapons, it is possible to buy the following grenades and equipment in the classic mode:

• Molotov cocktail for $ 400 (can only be bought on T-side)
• Incendiary grenade for $ 600 (only available on CT site)
• Smoke grenade for $ 300
• Stun grenade for $ 200: a maximum of two in competition, one in casual play
• High explosive grenade for $ 300
• Bait grenade for $ 50
• Kevlar vest without a helmet for $ 650
• Kevlar vest with helmet for $ 1000
• Helmet (only if kevlar vest has already been purchased and is undamaged) for $ 350
• Entschärfungskit for 400 $ (condensed defusing time from 10 to 5 seconds only on CT side purchasable)
• Hostage Rescue Kit for $ 400 (shortens hostage rescue time from 5 to 1 second, can only be purchased on the CT page)
• Zeus x27 (stun gun) for $ 200

Objects

In the game itself it is possible to receive certain items, either through micro transactions , through drops (given away to randomly selected players after a game round or when a new experience level is reached, see ranks ) or as a mission reward .

The following items exist:

• Weapons skins : recolored versions of the weapons applicable in the game; available from boxes or weapon collections named after the maps ; the latter are not available in regular boxes
• Stickers: Only available via capsules (in special cases can also be purchased directly in the game); these can be applied to weapons as decorations and scraped off to either appear more worn or to be removed entirely
• Boxes: boxes of weapons; there are different boxes, each with its own collection
• Souvenir packages: A special appearance of boxes that are distributed to random spectators at large events ( major tournaments ) during a game; these do not require a key and contain weapons with special stickers that relate to the respective game and come from the weapon collection of the map being played
• Capsules: Contains stickers, some can be used with or without a key
• Key: Keys with which you can open the mentioned boxes and capsules; only available for purchase in-game
• Passports: access to certain operations (events); only available for purchase during the operation
• Music kits: only available by purchasing from the menu; these change the game music
• Graffiti: Either from boxes or as a drop; Graffiti patterns can be sprayed on walls or the floor in the game (as decoration) and are consumable items

Each of these can be traded on Steam's own community market . In order to stop money laundering , however, the trade in keys was stopped.

The money raised is used for various purposes; z. B. for the prize money in competitions (e.g. ESL ) or for the creators of the maps for the respective operations.

criticism

With the introduction of the Arms Deal Update in August 2013, Valve introduced these valuables, which are regularly traded on the market within Steam. In addition to the fees incurred, the sales proceeds can only be reused within the sales platform. After the most coveted of these items exceeded the maximum sales price of US $ 400 set by Steam, new third-party websites opened and linked the inventory of Steam users via the Steam API . These websites also enable the transfer of sales proceeds to other payment systems such as PayPal and at the same time bypass the taxes on Steam.

The ability to trade and sell these items make them attractive for betting games . On sites operated independently by Valve , it is possible to participate in sports betting or, regardless of the actual source of the items, in lottery or roulette-like games. These sites are criticized for being unregulated and therefore not in conformity with the law in many countries. In addition, there is the lack of age restrictions d. H. even those not of legal age can participate. However, legislators have not yet fully developed the area of ​​online sports betting, so this abstract form has so far escaped them. Due to the connection between virtual objects and physical money, Valve itself has come under criticism for tolerating problematic sites or, in isolated cases, even maintaining contact with them. The reason given is that Valve benefits from this because the trade in skins made Counter-Strike: Global Offensive popular and a discount of 15% (at least 2 cents) goes to Valve itself for every market transaction.

Another form of website that uses Steam's interface for gambling are so-called "case opening" websites. By opening boxes of keys, these offer the same service at a lower price than the main game. The websites are not subject to any control, whereby the operator can artificially lower the chance of winning for desirable items to 0 or only release items for profit that are below the stake value. In addition, certain sites offer free trial openings with higher chances of winning. It is possible to sell won items to the site for a sum of an internal currency in order to pay for further attempts. This sum is higher than the value of the item on the steam internal market, but with existing manipulation it is still lower than a further attempt. This offer and manipulated advertisements that list which (valuable) items have recently been won are intended to create the impression that the site operator is benevolent towards the user. These sites have also been promoted by web video producers and streamers who are also hiring higher odds.

A French consumer protection organization obtained in court that Valve had to display the contents of the boxes before opening them. Valve then implemented an X-ray machine for players from France , which can only be used again after opening the box and must be purchased once. In addition, French players are no longer allowed to buy unopened boxes on the Steam marketplace. After pressure from the Belgian and Dutch gambling authorities, Valve had to completely remove the loot boxes in the countries.

Sports betting events

In 2015 a betting scandal surrounding the professional US team iBUYPOWER became public. They lost 16: 4 in the CEVO Professional Season 5 against NetcodeGuides.com in 2014 , although the game was considered an easy win for them. What was noticeable was the "strange" behavior of the players during the game and that they laughed at the defeat. The next day, excerpts from a dialogue appeared showing that the game had been rigged, but the person involved refused to comment on it. The discussion about the game dried up. Half a year later, SMS messages were published in which an iBUYPOWER player described the plans for game manipulation and for betting fraud via a third person mentioned by name. An admin of the betting site csgolounge.com investigated the third person and discovered his connection to the team and various accounts, some of which were created especially for this one bet. The total win is more than $ 10,000 in the form of skins. As a result, Valve banned various participants in the betting scandal, including the players, from all major tournaments that are sponsored by Valve.

The Washington-based Quinault , like Valve , filed a lawsuit alleging that Valve continued to allow unlicensed gambling.

Events in games of chance

In the summer of 2016, web video producers Trevor "TmarTn" Martin and Tom "Syndicate Project" Cassell were found to be the owners of the CSGO Lotto site , which they used for their videos without disclosing their actual relationship with the site. While Cassell publicly apologized on Twitter after the exposure, Martin insisted that his co-ownership of the site had never been a secret and that he used his own page to promote it. Tom Phillips from Eurogamer says, however, that in the videos the website would be presented as if it was just discovered by them and on which one could make money. This is to encourage the audience to take part, too, says Phillips. In September 2017, a comparison was made between the American consumer protection agency, the Federal Trade Commission, and Martin / Cassell. This states that neither will be penalized, but from now on they will have to disclose any support or application and pay a fine of up to $ 40,654 for each non-compliance. The FTC also did not enforce any public admission of wrongdoing. The authority justified its decision with the fact that its goal is not to be a “punitive or draconian agency”, but to inform consumers about new markets.

In other cases, confessions from web video producers have shown that the results of the game of chance have been manipulated in favor of those producers.

After Valve was confronted with a lawsuit for "deliberately allowing [...] and helping to enable, create and maintain a market," they publicly distanced themselves from these websites and warned that it was not allowed to use the API provided for operating games of chance. In the event of a violation, Valve would contact the site and take further action if necessary.

Ranks

In Counter-Strike: Global Offensive there are a total of 18 ranks, also known as skill groups, from "Silver I" to "The global elite". These ranks are used to allow players to play together with equal opponents and teammates in official competitive matchmaking. The competitive matchmaking system automatically searches for players with a suitable rank. Ranks can be automatically upgraded or downgraded after victories or defeats in competitive, the game uses a modified version of the Glicko-2 system . The ranks in ascending order are:

• Silver I.
• Silver II
• Silver III
• Silver IV
• Silver Elite
• Silver Elite Master
• Gold Nova I.
• Gold Nova II
• Gold Nova III
• Gold Nova Master
• Master Guardian I
• Master Guard II
• Master Guardian Elite
• Excellent master guard
• Legendary eagle
• Legendary eagle master
• First class supreme master
• The global elite

As soon as a player has won ten competitions, the player is placed in an appropriate rank. If you don't take part in a competition for a month, you lose your rank and only regain it after you win. However, for every month in which one was without rank, one descends one group; z. B. with the rank of Master Guardian Elite and a game break of three months one would be assigned to the group Gold Nova Masters .

With the Operation Bloodhound update, Valve introduced an experience system in CS: GO. Players get experience for kills, round wins or match wins, whereby the experience awarded depends on the game mode. In contrast to the skill groups listed above, the level of experience cannot decrease. A level 2 experience level is required to take part in official competitive matchmaking.

In the Wingman game mode, a rank can also be achieved which is independent of the competition and Danger Zone rank.

Skill groups have also been available for the Danger Zone game mode since July 22, 2019. The ranks in ascending order are:

• Laboratory Rat I
• Laboratory rat II
• Sprinting Rabbit I.
• Sprinting Bunny II
• Wildlife explorer I
• Wildlife Explorer II
• Wildlife explorer elite
• Hunter Fox I
• Hunter Fox II
• Hunter Fox III
• Hunter fox elite
• Wood grinder
• Emberwolf
• Wildfire wolf
• Howling alpha wolf

Trust Factor System

In Counter-Strike: Global Offensive , there is the Trust Factor system, which was introduced in order to let players with a similar level of confidence in a competitive game play together. This is an attempt to ensure that players who have similarly positive gaming behavior can play in competition mode. It also tries to contain the problem with cheaters .

Players who have consistently received no negative attention in the past achieve a higher trust factor than players who have received negative attention. In addition, the quality of the Steam account increases the trust factor and whether a player has added their mobile phone number. Exactly which criteria are used for the trust factor is unclear, just as the player cannot look up his own trust factor. In general, the developer publishes little about the system. He justifies this with the fact that players should not change their behavior in order to achieve a higher trust factor.

Game bans

In Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, players can be temporarily or indefinitely excluded from multiplayer play on official servers. The exclusion from the game, a so-called ban, serves to protect the game from abuse by cheaters and trolls . Bans are usually non-negotiable, so they are not lifted by Steam support. If a player is banned for cheating, all recent achievements such as victories in competitive matchmaking, rank-ups and XP of his fellow players are reset. If you report a player in the in-game reporting system, you will receive a notification if the player should be banned.

Automatic cooldowns

In CS: GO there are automatic mechanisms that assign a cooldown ban to a player (in German roughly: to let off steam ). In the competitive game mode, new players who have achieved fewer than ten victories are excluded from the multiplayer game for one day after every second victory in order to calibrate the skill group ( i.e. a distortion of the classification due to a particularly good or bad day of the player avoid). There are other automatic bans in competitive play for the following offenses:

• Demolition of a game ( Abandoning )
• Causing more than 300 points of damage to fellow players (points of damage shortly after the start of the round count twice)
• Three team kills
• Inactivity in the game (being AFK )
• Voting too often about the expulsion of other players
• Getting kicked out too often
• After the 7th self-elimination

A player who operates a dedicated CS: GO server with his Steam account will also be temporarily excluded from competitive matchmaking if his server login token is banned.

The automatically assigned blocking time is extended after each new offense and subsides again after a certain time. The gradations are 30 minutes, 120 minutes, 24 hours and 7 days. After 7 days of ban, the next ban level follows invisibly, which, however, is again occupied with 7 days. If a player is excluded from the game for 30 minutes after giving up a game for the first time, the ban is occupied with 120 minutes the next time he gives up and 24 hours with the next but one. If a player does not behave as listed above for a week, the potential cooldown time drops again. If the offense was repeated, the player would be given 30 minutes of rest time.

Semi-automatic bans

There is another, semi-automatic ban system to punish more serious offenses. This system, called Overwatch , relies on the voluntary cooperation of experienced players. If a player is reported for cheating (cheating) or griefing , a player who participates in the Overwatch system is shown a game sequence of the alleged game disruptor. The Overwatcher can slow down or speed up the sequence as desired, as well as watch every moment in individual images . In the end, the Overwatcher has to decide whether the alleged disruptor commits one or more of the following offenses:

• Aiming aid used ( Aimbot )
• A vision aid used ( wallhack )
• Cheating in other ways (e.g. manipulating the hitbox )
• Willfully interferes with the game (kill teammates or fail to defuse the bomb)

The Overwatcher cannot see what the alleged game disruptor was reported for, nor his name. The game disturber is simply called The Suspect . If the Overwatcher decides that The Suspect actually disrupts the game, his decision is automatically compared with that of other Overwatchers who have rated the same sequence. The Overwatch system then uses the Overwatcher's decisions to decide whether The Suspect is disrupting the game or not. The decisions of better Overwatchers are given greater consideration. In the event of a disruption, a distinction is made between major disruption (serious disruption) and minor disruption (minor disruption). Cheating is classified as major disruption , and willful disruption to the game through griefing as minor disruption . Major disruptions are punished with an infinite ban, minor disruptions with a ban lasting around 30–40 days. If a second account is blocked due to minor disruption , it is no longer temporary, but permanent. For carrying out an Overwatch session with the correct decision, the Overwatcher receives experience points.

VAC bans

→ Main article : Valve Anti-Cheat

If a player uses a cheat that is known to the VAC system, this player is automatically excluded from the official multiplayer game forever. The ban is cross-game on all games that use the source engine . This also makes it impossible for the game to trade items on the Steam market, and the items in the player's inventory become worthless.

Server locations and player distribution

In December 2015, a total of 10.45 million players played CS: GO. Currently (November 2019) Valve operates 22 server locations worldwide for the official CS: GO matchmaking. These are necessary in order to offer a game with low latency to as many players as possible , since a ping that is too high is annoying when playing; Due to the physical distance between individual players, the ping would be too high with only one server location, since it is technically impossible to run a game synchronously between two players who are too far apart. The server locations are:

• US West ( Seattle )
• US East (Sterling)
• U.S. Southwest ( California )
• US Southeast ( Atlanta )
• Chile ( Santiago )
• Peru ( Lima )
• Brazil ( São Paulo )
• Spain ( Madrid )
• EU West ( Luxembourg )
• EU East ( Vienna )
• Poland ( Warsaw )
• Russia ( Stockholm )
• Africa 1 ( Cape Town )
• Africa 2 ( Johannesburg )
• Dubai (Beetna)
• India 1 ( Mumbai )
• India 2 ( Chennai )
• Asia 1 ( Singapore )
• Asia 2 (Singapore)
• HK ( Hong Kong )
• Japan (Tokyo)
• Australia ( Sydney )

In January 2020, the manufacturer of the game announced a new player record. In December 2019, an average of 450,000 players played CS: GO at the same time. This made CS: GO the most played title on the Steam gaming platform this month ahead of Dota 2 and PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds .

Operations

On April 26, 2013, Valve launched the first operation update, Operation Payback . Extended content is available on official game servers during an operation. These are playing cards created by the community of players and new weapon skins that are included in Operation Weapon Cases. For the duration of an operation, players can purchase advanced game modes on Operation Game Cards with an Operation Pass . For players who have not purchased the Operation Pass, competitive matchmaking is available on the Operation Game Cards without extended game modes. The extended game modes are tasks such as eliminating a certain number of opponents with certain weapons, achieving a certain number of points, etc. In extended game modes, achievements can be unlocked, the quantity of which is decisive for the acquisition of an operation coin. Operation Coins are issued in bronze , but when achievements are achieved they take on the statuses silver and gold in ascending order. When the operation is over, the operation cards are no longer available, but the operation coins remain with the players. When a player purchases an Operation Pass, comprehensive statistics for the duration of the operation are recorded on all playing cards.

Operation list

• Payback (April 26, 2013 - September 19, 2013)
• Bravo (September 19, 2013 - February 5, 2014)
• Phoenix (February 20, 2014 - June 11, 2014)
• Breakout (July 1, 2014 - October 2, 2014)
• Vanguard (November 11, 2014 - March 31, 2015)
• Bloodhound (May 26, 2015 - September 30, 2015)
• Wildfire (February 17, 2016 - July 15, 2016)
• Hydra (May 24, 2017 - November 13, 2017)
• Shattered Web (November 19, 2019 - March 31, 2020)

development

The development of Global Offensive began in March 2010 as a source -Portierung for the Xbox. However, Valve later decided to develop Global Offensive as a standalone game. Information about Global Offensive was first published on August 12, 2011. The beta phase was opened on November 30, 2011 for around 10,000 players, to whom Valve distributed access at various events. From August 14th, pre-orderers could take part in the final beta phase before the game officially started on August 21st, 2012.

For the final version, it was initially planned to allow PC , Mac and PlayStation players to play with and against each other in special game modes . However, the development of this function was canceled, as it was decided to patch the game frequently even after the release, and therefore the different versions could be affected.

As with the predecessor Counter-Strike: Source , Global Offensive also uses the source engine developed between 1999 and 2004 for Half-Life 2 , but updated for Global Offensive . Compared to Source , the game has become much more detailed and realistic.

Since April 2013, players have been able to purchase a so-called "Operation" pass at regular intervals, which gives the player access to game extensions (community maps, missions, merit coins, access to official servers with low ping , etc.) until the end of the respective operation . ) granted. As a result of the introduction of weapon skins and stickers beginning on August 14, 2013, the number of users of the game increased. It was made possible for the community to trade items with other players or to offer them on the steam market. With csgolounge.com , a forum was created in autumn 2013 through which players can place bets for professional CS: GO matches in the form of item bets in addition to commercial contracts. The money raised from the boxes and capsules has since been used in part to finance large esports events ( major tournaments ). With these tournaments it is made possible for the player to watch all the games of these tournaments live in the game. During these games, so-called souvenir packages are randomly distributed to a certain percentage of viewers for each round played . The gift packages included since the 2014 EMS One Katowice collection weapon skins with a special sticker each tournament and the two stickers of the clashing teams of each game. Since the ESL One Cologne 2014 , the collection of the distributed packages corresponds to the map played during the drop. With this procedure, regular six-digit attendance figures are achieved in major tournament games. With always new updates (holiday campaigns, new items, operations etc.) Valve tries to make the game varied and to keep the number of users high.

Importance / history in esports

2012: New rivals in the unified Counter-Strike scene

After a test event at the Copenhagen Games 2012 , the first tournaments in Counter Strike: Global Offensive were held as a result of the official first publication in August 2012 . In contrast to Counter-Strike: Source , Counter Strike: Global Offensive was able to convince almost all organizers and most of the clans and players. The organizers replaced the predecessors Counter-Strike 1.6 and Counter-Strike: Source with the new game. The most important clans of both games followed them and gradually switched to Counter Strike: Global Offensive. In German-speaking countries, the 99Damage project was founded at the beginning of the first CS: GO tournaments. Since then , its employees have been providing information on the latest CS: GO events and streaming important games on the csgo.99damage.de website . The professional Counter-Strike scene, previously split by the two predecessors, was "reunited" by CS: GO, which in turn increased the competition for the teams. For the first time, a meeting of the big teams from the previous games was possible. With the first encounters between the two figureheads of the old games, the Swedish ninjas in pajamas from 1.6 and the French team VeryGames from Source, at the first international tournaments in CS: GO, new rivalries arose. At the events DreamHack Valencia 2012 , DreamHack Winter 2012 and AMD Sapphire CS: GO Invitational , NiP beat the French in the finals with clear 2-0 wins. Nationally, the ESL Pro Series also switched to CS: GO. Team Alternate became the first German champion in CS: GO at EPS Winter 12 .

2013: The year of the ninjas in pajamas

Logo of the figurehead of 2013; of ninjas in pajamas

The year 2013 was marked by many smaller events until the end. The most noticeable team in the first half of the year was still the ninjas in pajamas . The Swedes were able to win almost all tournaments with a prize pool in the five-digit range in this half of the year. NiP emerged as the winner at both the Copenhagen Games and the 13th ESEA finals or the DreamHack Summer. The Swedes' biggest competitors were still the French team VeryGames and the Russian lineup Virtus.pro around Mikhail “Dosia” Stolyarov. Especially the latter could NiP in the fifth SLTV Season or at Raidcall EMS One Summer 2013 strike, but broke up in July 2013. The EPS secured n! Faculty , the Spring Season.

The second half of the year brought a foretaste of the following year 2014. The fnatic team secured a new successful Swedish team on August 6th with the former Epsilon eSports roster around Jesper “jw” Wecksell . In the same month Valve launched the first skins associated with weapon boxes and keys. Soon afterwards bets could be made with these skins on the csgolounge.com site. In addition to higher numbers of users of the game, this also led to increasing interest in CS: GO's esports area. NiP got more and more competition. Teams like the Astana Dragons , LGB eSports , fnatic or Clan Mystik stirred up the world's best. The latter French lineup around Fabien “KIOSHIMA” Fiey won the Electronic Sports World Cup , for example .

At the end of November 2013, the DreamHack Winter 2013 was the first CS: GO major tournament with a prize pool in the six-figure range. With the help of the proceeds from the keys to the weapon boxes, Valve sponsored a prize money of 250,000 US dollars for the tournament. In the Swedish final between fnatic and ninjas in pajamas , the outsider fnatic prevailed in the best-of-3 after winning the first map de_dust2 with 16:14 and losing the second map de_inferno with 6:16 on the decision map de_train with a clear 16: 2 and cleared the prize of 100,000 US dollars.

In Cologne, the Playing Ducks won the EPS Summer 2013 and mousesports won the EPS Winter 2013 . The year ended with a clan change. Due to financial difficulties, Team VeryGames was dissolved on December 31, 2013. The lineup was soon picked up by the Singaporean organization Titan eSports .

2014: Lots of light and shade for CS: GO

In 2014, three major tournaments, EMS One Katowice 2014 , ESL One Cologne 2014 and DreamHack Winter 2014, each with a total prize money of a quarter of a million US dollars, stood out from the crowd. While the former tournament was being prepared at the beginning of the year , the Astana Dragons players switched to HellRaisers . Virtus.pro signed the Polish lineup of AGAiN around Jarosław "pasha" Jarząbkowski , which soon caused the Russian organization to stir up the world's best again and the team won the EMS One Katowice 2014 in front of a home crowd in March. Before that, the American lineup iBUYPOWER around Tyler "Skadoodle" Latham won the 15th ESEA Finals in January .

The effects of the bets on csgolounge.com were also visible. Since then, the number of viewers for matches entered on the site has normally been in the five-digit range, regardless of the importance of the respective match, and clearly stands out from unregistered games. As a result, the organizers of tournaments registered in csgolounge.com usually get better sponsorship offers , which meanwhile also indirectly influences the prize money from the site. Furthermore, illegal activities came to the fore due to the many bets. Since then, there have been repeated denial-of-service attacks on the players' computers in online tournaments , which can lead to delays, aborts or even distortions of the games. Betting fraud was also an issue in the scene several times in 2014. The Virtus.pro players deceived csgolounge.com by betting on a match that had already been played. In other cases, classic betting fraud occurred in which players bet against themselves before the game in order to intentionally lose the upcoming game. So the players of the Polish ALSEN team bet against themselves on the clear underdog eliminacja , then lost the match and won skins in the four-digit range. The team was then fired from the organization.

The stage at ESL One Cologne 2014

From a sporting point of view, after EMS One Katowice 2014, only the second season of the Fragbite Masters , which Team Dignitas won, and a little later the Copenhagen Games came into focus. The tournament ended in CS: GO with a Swedish double success. While Bad Monkey Gaming was able to win the women's tournament, the ninjas in pajamas defended their title in the men's competition. The ninth finals of SLTV Season May was the Ukrainian lineup of Natus Vincere to Danylo "Zeus" Teslenko after two maps to decide for themselves in the final against NiP. At the finals of the EPS Spring Season 14 , also taking place in May , the WildFire team led by Patrick “KRAEUTERHUMPEN” Jakobi surprisingly landed first place. The roster was soon taken up by the traditional mTw clan in June . In the sixth month of the year iBUYPOWER was able to defend its ESEA title at the 16th finals; Ninjas in pajamas wins the DreamHack Summer. While July was dominated by qualifications for ESL One Cologne , August provided a new audience record in CS: GO of almost 410,000 Internet viewers with the main tournament held as part of gamescom . The winners of the tournament were the ninjas in pajamas, who beat fnatic 2-1 in the Swedish final . Other notable events in August were the Gfinity G3-Lan , which made headlines for many breaks and poor organization and produced Virtus.pro as the winner, as well as the finals of the tenth SLTV season, which fnatic won. The EPS Summer Season 14 took place in September. Here Planetkey Dynamics beat mousesports 2-1 in the final . In addition, Titan eSports was able to book a first place at DreamHack Stockholm and was already benefiting from the player changes that took place at the beginning of September between the three large French clans Team LDLC , Epsilon eSports and Titan eSports. In October, Team LDLC secured the eleventh SLTV title and fnatic won the FACEIT League # 2 .

November was overshadowed by a cheater scandal in the preparations for the DreamHack Winter and after the presentation of Mikail "Maikelele" Bill to ninjas in pajamas . The customers of the cheat coder supex0 (Simon "smn" Beck from Team Alternate , Hovik "KQLY" Tovmassian from Titan eSports and Gordon "Sf" Giry from Epsilon eSports) all got a VAC -Ban and were among other things for two years from all ESL tournaments excluded. All players were fired from their respective teams. The preventive measures against cheating were also increased in the DreamHack Winter as a result of the scandal. Here the French team LDLC won the best-of-3 final against the ninjas in pajamas after a 16:10 success on de_dust2 and a 4:16 defeat on de_inferno on the third map de_overpass with 19:16 after extra time. However, the French only got into the final through the interpretation of the rules by DreamHack, as they considered a move / boost by the quarter-final opponent fnatic to be non-compliant and fnatic then withdrew. With Penta Sports , a German clan also made it into the top eight in a major tournament for the first time at DreamHack Winter . Furthermore, at the beginning of November, fnatic emerged as the winner of the Electronic Sports World Cup and the third season of the Fragbite Masters . The year ended with the 17th ESEA finals, which fnatic won, and the EPS Winter 14 . Planetkey Dynamics was able to defend its title here. At the end of the year, the changing carousel covered the American scene (including Cloud9 and iBUYPOWER ) as well as the two German clans Penta Sports and Planetkey Dynamics . The two previous PkD players and German champions Hendrik “strux1” Goetzendorff and Johannes “nex” Maget replaced the former PENTA players Robin “r0bs3n” Stephan and Felix “fel1x” Zech. MTw , however, dismissed the championship team of the EPS Spring Season 14 .

2015: Higher prize money, doping in esports

2015 was marked by a strong expansion in tournaments and prize money. In the course of the year, more and more organizers advertised with six-figure prize money at their competitions. The large number of tournaments meant that some organizers jointly organized and financed tournaments over the course of the year. The Modern Times Group had bought important tournament organizers in CS: GO by the end of the year. Including the Electronic Sports League , DreamHack and the E-Sports Entertainment Association . However, the majors funded by the Valve Corporation remained the sporting highlights.

The best German CS: GO players at the GeForce GTX AllStar Tournament

2015 was initiated at national level with the signature of Fatih “gob b” Dayik under a full-time professional contract with mousesports . Gob b is the first German to play Counter-Strike: Global Offensive full-time. At the GeForce GTX AllStar Tournament in January 2015, he was able to prove his skills in a duel between two mixed teams with the best players in Germany. His team mousesports was able to win not only some podium places at international events at Gfinity London or the CEVO but also the spring and summer edition of the ESL championship . The mousesports team was restructured several times during the year. The most important change was the engagement of Denis “denis” Howell , Johannes “nex” Maget and Timo “Spiidi” Richter in May 2015. The trio made it possible for mousesports to take part in ESL One Cologne 2015 by reaching the round of 16 with Penta Sports . Just like at DreamHack Cluj-Napoca 2015 , mousesports failed in the group phase. At the nationally restricted tournaments at the end of the year, the mice withdrew or did not even take part. At the first edition of the 99Damage League launched by 99Damage , KILLERFISH eSport was able to achieve first place; Penta Sports won at the 2015 ESL Winter Championship. The teams from the German-speaking regions in 2015 were not able to win major international tournaments. In December 2015, Fatih “gob b” Dayik was finally released from mousesports.

At the international level, 2015 began with the engagement of cadres in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive by financially strong esports organizations. After the victory of Team LDLC on the first major event of the year, the Winter X Games 2015 in Aspen , the previously committed mainly in the game Call of Duty -known team EnVyUs the French lineup around Nathan "NBK" Schmitt . Shortly before, Team SoloMid signed the Danish players from Team Dignitas . The lineup played for the US organization until December 3, 2015 . While tournament organizers such as FACEIT or the E-Sports Entertainment Association announced the distribution of six-figure prize money for 2015, the Valve Corporation banned more than a dozen players and responsible persons from participating in their major tournaments for at least one year in January and February 2015. The reason for this was the involvement of the players in match fixing. At the first major event of the year in March 2015, the ESL One Katowice 2015 , fnatic prevailed against the ninjas in pajamas in the Swedish final . With the Keyd Stars team from Brazil , a team from South America reached the knockout round of a major in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive for the first time . The team was able to repeat this in the two following majors of the year under the new organization Luminosity Gaming . Other notable events in March were the Gfinity Spring Masters I 2015 and the 12th season of the SLTV StarSeries . Team EnVyUs won both tournaments. In April of that year, the ESL Pro League Winter 2014/15 (winner: Natus Vincere ) and the offline finals of the 18th season of the ESEA League (winner: Virtus.pro ) were held. The organizers of both leagues announced the merger to form the ESL ESEA Pro League at the end of the month . In addition to these two events, the Copenhagen Games took place in April 2015 , where the Poles from Virtus.pro emerged as winners. In addition, the CS: GO Championship Series celebrated its debut with the winner Team SoloMid. In May 2015 the Belgian Adil "ScreaM" Benrliton built an international team, which was able to celebrate successes initially as Team Kinguin and later under the organization G2 Esports . In terms of sport, fnatic was able to win the two biggest events of the month with the Gfinity Spring Masters II 2015 and the DreamHack Tours 2015 . In June, the Team SoloMid team celebrated itself as the winner of the fourth edition of the Fragbite Masters , Natus Vincere won the 13th season of the SLTV StarSeries , Team EnVyUs won the first Summer Masters from Gfinity London and fnatic won the DreamHack Summer 2015 .

At the beginning of the second half of 2015, further noteworthy events came to an end in the run-up to the major in Cologne. The first season of the ESL ESEA Pro League ended with the winner fnatic ; Team SoloMid won the FACEIT- sponsored DreamHack Valencia 2015 . For the first time after a three-year break, the Counter-Strike series was part of the ESL Intel Extreme Masters again with Counter-Strike: Global Offensive . Winner of the first IEM tournament as part of gamescom was Team EnVyUs . The organization gave Richard “shox” Papillon and Edouard “SmithZz” Dubourdeaux in exchange for Dan “apEX” Madesclaire and Kenny “kennyS” Schrub to Titan eSports . In the summer of 2015, doping became the focus of the Counter-Strike scene. The Canadian player Kory "SEMPHIS" ​​Friesen confirmed in an interview during the Electronic Sports World Cup 2015 (winner: Natus Vincere ) that he was taking performance-enhancing substances at past events. The Electronic Sports League then, in cooperation with the National Anti-Doping Agency, announced the introduction of doping controls at ESL One Cologne 2015 . This tournament set new records for CS: GO esports with more than 1.2 million online viewers, over 10,000 on-site viewers and $ 4.2 million in revenue for the teams from sticker sales. The winner of ESL One Cologne 2015 was fnatic, whose players were the first team to defend a major title in CS: GO.

September began with the very inglorious Gaming Paradise 2015 tournament . After various organizational problems related to the event itself, the organizer was ultimately unable to pay out the prize money for the tournament. The ESL ESEA Pro League Dubai Invitational , which Virtus.pro won, or the two tournaments held in Great Britain DreamHack London 2015 and Gfinity Champion of Champions 2015 with the winner EnVyUs were much more coordinated . In October, the big teams prepared for the third major of the year , which took place for the first time in Cluj-Napoca , Romania . The first CS: GO season of the Professional Gamers League , the winner of which was Team SoloMid , offered the best opportunities for this . In October, USM Holdings invested USD 100 million in the Virtus.pro organization under the leadership of Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov . In addition, in the run-up to the last major in 2015, The World CS: GO Championships 2015 with national teams were held. The winner was the team from France with the players Dan “apEX” Madesclaire , Vincent “Happy” Schopenhauer , Nathan “NBK” Schmitt , Richard “shox” Papillon and Edouard “SmithZz” Dubourdeaux . At DreamHack Cluj-Napoca 2015 , Team EnVyUs , a French lineup, was also able to celebrate the major title. At the end of the year, the iBUYPOWER Cup 2015 was the first CS: GO tournament with a six-figure prize money in US dollars, which was completely limited to American teams. The ESL Intel Extreme Masters ended in CS: GO with a competition in San José . The winner of this event was Natus Vincere . FACEIT and DreamHack hosted their last major tournament of the year at DreamHack Winter 2015 . Fnatic was able to lift the trophy there, just like at the offline finals of the second season of the ESL ESEA Pro League . The year ended with first qualifying rounds for the first major in 2016, the MLG Major Championship: Columbus 2016 , and for the Eleague , a league hosted by Turner Broadcasting , which was televised the following year.

2016: Prize money in the millions

Natus Vincere with the DreamHack Leipzig 2016 winner's trophy

After the Eleague announced two tournaments with over a million US dollars in prize money for 2016 at the end of December 2015, Valve confirmed in February 2016 that the prize money for the future majors would be increased to exactly one million US dollars per tournament for the first time . Other important tournament organizers, such as the Electronic Sports League or FACEIT , then also distributed higher premiums. In addition, the World eSports Association and Professional eSports Association were founded in 2016, with the aim of creating more orderly structures in esports.

DreamHack Leipzig 2016 , with which the Swedish organizer celebrated its debut on German soil, was one of the first major tournaments of 2016 . The winner of the CS: GO tournament there was the Natus Vincere team . Also Star Ladder carried out its first set with top international teams tournament in 2016 in collaboration with the Chinese organizers i-League earlier this year. The Swedish team from fnatic triumphed at this tournament and won the first IEM World Championships of the Counter-Strike series since 2012 at the beginning of March . Their national rival, the ninjas in pajamas , won the DreamHack Masters Malmö 2016 in front of a home crowd in April . The Polish quintet from Virtus.pro achieved their first notable success of the year in May by winning the first StarLadder i-League Invitational. In June, the Brazilian team from the Immortals organization attracted attention by winning the DreamHack Summer 2016; G2 Esports won the first season of the FACEIT- launched Esports Championship Series . On the transfer market, other well-known organizations invested in a CS: GO team in the first half of the year. In addition to Gambit Gaming and LGD Gaming , the organization Echo Fox, founded by ex-basketball player Rick Fox , also started a CS: GO lineup around Sean "seang @ res" Gares . In Denmark, the former Team SoloMid players started their own organization called Astralis .

MLG Columbus 2016 finale : The first major on American soil also finds an American winner in Luminosity Gaming .

The newcomer of 2016 was the Brazilian quintet around Marcelo "coldzera" David , which still represented Luminosity Gaming in the first half of the year . The team took first place at DreamHack Austin 2016 and at the finals of the ESL Pro League Season 3 . By winning the MLG Columbus 2016 , the first of two major tournaments of the year, the Brazilians marked their sporting climax under Luminosity Gaming. Even before these great successes, the quintet signed a new contract with the German organization SK Gaming . Since the players also signed a letter of intent in which they agreed to a two-year contract extension with LG, there were contractual disputes. This ended when the team switched to SK Gaming on July 1, 2016. On July 10, the new team won the second and last major tournament of the year with ESL One Cologne 2016 . However, the change of organization led to the exclusion of the Brazilian team from the first season of the Eleague , as their rules do not provide for a change of organization within the season. The tournament was ultimately won by Virtus.pro , whose team defeated fnatic in the final.

Many of the major tournaments of the second half of the year were held on the American continent. The Electronic Sports League alone organized the ESL One New York 2016 (winner: Natus Vincere ), the Intel Extreme Masters XI - Oakland (winner: Ninjas in Pajamas ) and the final of the ESL Pro League Season 4 (winner: Cloud 9 ) two tournaments in the United States and one tournament in Brazil . The organizer Northern Arena , which held tournaments with $ 100,000 in prize money each in the Canadian cities of Toronto and Montreal, was added to the calendar of events . With OpTic Gaming , a mostly American team made it into the top of the world in terms of sport. The team won the Northern Arena Montreal event in November. In December, he won the title in Eleague Season 2 and entered the finals of the second season of the Esports Championship Series . In the latter tournament, OpTic had to admit defeat Astralis . Among the tournaments that took place in Europe in the second half of the year, the debut tournament of the organizer Epic Esports Events should be mentioned. Team Dignitas' mostly Danish lineup won the $ 500,000 Moscow tournament . Furthermore, the ninjas in pajamas celebrated their success at the last major event of the year for Star Ladder and i-League; DreamHack closed the year with a tournament in Bucharest (winner: Virtus.pro ) and the traditional winter tournament in Jönköping (winner: Gambit Gaming ). The Wechselkarusell team spun for fnatic in August 2016 , which swapped three players with the Godsent organization . Among them was Freddy "KRiMZ" Johansson , who was signed up again in October to anticipate the qualifying tournament for the Eleague Major: Atlanta 2017 .

Alternate Attax presented a new lineup in German-speaking countries . Attax reached its sporting climax with the victory at the ESWC 2016. After the signing of the Czech Tomáš "oskar" Šťastný in August 2016, the mousesports team only had two German players. After Šťastný withdrew into inactivity for private reasons in October 2016, the Spanish Christian "loWel" Antoran, who had previously worked for Penta Sports , replaced the Czech. Mousesports stayed away from purely national tournaments, celebrated international successes by reaching the semi-finals in the second season of the Eleague and in the ESL Pro League Season 4 . The 2016 ESL championship was won by the teams LeiSuRe (spring championship), Penta Sports (summer championship) and Alternate Attax (winter championship). Especially in the amateur area, the organizers of the 99Damage league enjoyed growing popularity of their league system, which in the fourth season provided more than 150 leagues of 10 teams. In the first-class division of the league, Penta Sports prevailed in season 3 and the DIVIZON team in season 4 .

2017: Astralis and Gambit win the majors

The e-sports scene of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive received increasing attention in Germany from the major television companies in 2017. The ZDF reported in a special edition of the ZDF sports report inter alia on the ESL One Cologne 2017 . The ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE sent from late summer 2017 under the name ran eSports - Professional. Gaming. Magazines. a weekly e-sports format with CS: GO commentator Matthias “Bone” Remmert on ProSieben Maxx and broadcast a CS: GO game live for the first time on the main channel ProSieben with the finale of IEM Season XII - Oakland . When the BIG team was founded around Fatih “gob b” Dayik , a new German team with an international level was formed at the beginning of the year. The team reached the final of DreamHack Leipzig in January 2017 , where BIG had to admit defeat to FlipSid3 Tactics . By reaching the quarter-finals on the PGL Major: Kraków 2017 , BIG was promoted to the “legend team” and with this result qualified ahead of time for the Eleague Major: Boston 2018 . At the national level, BIG won the ESL Spring Championship before the team withdrew from further national titles. The teams Alternate Attax , Panthers Gaming and Planetkey Dynamics won the national tournament of the ESL championship and 99damage without the participation of BIG.

The first major tournament on the international calendar was the World Electronic Sports Games in 2017. The tournament organizers, headed by the Chinese company Alibaba Group , distributed record prize money of 1.5 million US dollars. Despite the high prize money, many of the top teams did not try to qualify and subsequently did not take part in the tournament. The winner was Team EnVyUs . The French were eliminated in the first phase of the Eleague Major: Atlanta 2017 , which started a week after the WESG tournament . In the final of this first of two major tournaments in 2017, Astralis won against Virtus.pro , which is the first time a Danish team has won a major title. The defeated Poles celebrated their first and only major tournament win in 2017 by winning the DreamHack Masters Las Vegas 2017 in February . At the beginning of March 2017, the eleventh season of the ESL Intel Extreme Masters ended with the World Championship in Katowice . The Danish team Astralis won this tournament against the FaZe Clan , which signed the Bosnian Nikola "NiKo" Kovač in February 2017 . In a re- edition of this final game, FaZe retaliated in the final of the StarLadder i-League StarSeries Season 3 . SK Gaming , who played with João "felps" Vasconcellos as the fifth man from February to October 2017 , appeared in the spring with their first tournament wins . The Brazilians won the first tournament of the organizer Beyond The Summit in CS: GO in April and won a tournament of the ESL Intel Extreme Masters in Sydney in May. In early June 2017, the French from G2 Esports won the fifth season of the ESL Pro League . You played with Nathan "NBK" Schmitt , Dan "apEX" Madesclaire and Kenny "kennyS" Schrub since February 2017 , all of whom were signed by Team EnVyUs. In return, EnVyUs tied Adil “ScreaM” Benrlitom and Cédric “RpK” Guipouy by contract.

In the run-up to the PGL Major: Kraków 2017 , the second major tournament of 2017, SK Gaming triumphed with victories at the finals of the Esports Championship Series Season 3 and at ESL One Cologne 2017 . The tournament in Cologne was also the start of the Intel Grand Slam tournaments. The majority of the Kazakh team from Gambit Gaming and the Brazilian lineup from Immortals played their way into the final on the major . Both teams already met in the final of the DreamHack Open Austin 2017 in April, and apart from this tournament in 2017, they have not had any further major successes up to this point. As in Austin, Gambit won the major's finals. In the aftermath of the major, both finalists changed their lineup after discrepancies. The captain of the winning team Danylo "Zeus" Teslenko moved back to Natus Vincere in August 2017 . The Immortals parted ways with Vito "kNg" Giuseppe after the player's misconduct . The Teles brothers Henrique "HEN1" Teles and Lucas "LUCAS1" Teles and later Lincoln "fnx" Lau followed him and joined the organization 100 Thieves in December 2017 . In September 2017, the world's best met at the DreamHack Masters Malmö 2017 . G2 Esports won the final against the Danish organization North , which was launched at the beginning of the year by FC Copenhagen and Nordisk Film . Furthermore, mousesports , who released their last German player with Timo “Spiidi” Richter in August 2017 , won the ESG Tour Mykonos 2017 tournament in Greece. FaZe Clan appeared in particular towards the end of the year . In the summer of 2017, the American organization signed the Slovak Ladislav "GuardiaN" Kovács and the Swede Olof "olofmeister" Kajbjer . After these changes, the team won the ESL One New York 2017 , the ELEAGUE CS: GO Premier 2017 and the fourth season of the Esports Championship Series . SK Gaming's Brazilian lineup won the Epicenter tournament in Saint Petersburg and the final of the sixth season of the ESL Pro League in Odense, Denmark , in the last quarter of 2017 . With the title defense at the IEM Season XII - Oakland , the ninjas in pajamas , who could not qualify for either of the two majors in 2017, also won a major tournament in November 2017.

2019/2020: Expansion to South America

A major tournament was announced for the first time on the South American continent for May 2020. The tournament is to take place in Brazil.

Web links

Commons : Counter-Strike: Global Offensive  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Counter-Strike official website
• Counter-Strike: Global Offensive at MobyGames (English)

Individual evidence

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