{"id":154870,"date":"2024-06-11T18:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-06-11T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/?p=154870"},"modified":"2024-06-14T15:20:06","modified_gmt":"2024-06-14T14:20:06","slug":"counter-strike-esports-changed-cs2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/2024\/06\/counter-strike-esports-changed-cs2","title":{"rendered":"How Counter-Strike esports has changed since CS2\u2019s launch"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=https://esportsinsider.com/"https:////esportsinsider.com//wp-content//uploads//2024//06//20240330-174553_JoaoFerreira@itsmeERROR_PGL-CPH-Major-5-X3-large.jpg/" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-154872\" srcset=\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/20240330-174553_JoaoFerreira@itsmeERROR_PGL-CPH-Major-5-X3-large.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/20240330-174553_JoaoFerreira@itsmeERROR_PGL-CPH-Major-5-X3-medium.jpg 300w, https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/20240330-174553_JoaoFerreira@itsmeERROR_PGL-CPH-Major-5-X3-medium_large.jpg 768w, https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/20240330-174553_JoaoFerreira@itsmeERROR_PGL-CPH-Major-5-X3-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/20240330-174553_JoaoFerreira@itsmeERROR_PGL-CPH-Major-5-X3.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Image credit: PGL Major Copenhagen<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<div id=\"esi-paragraph-67cf6f2f47bde\" class=\"esi-paragraph \">\n    \n<p>The <a href=https://esportsinsider.com/"https:////esportsinsider.com//2023//03//counter-strike-2/">announcement of CS2<\/a> was met with an unprecedented amount of hype, a titan in the esports space was finally getting a new edition.<\/p>\n\n  <\/div>\n\n\n<div id=\"esi-paragraph-67cf6f2f48933\" class=\"esi-paragraph \">\n    \n<p>With an updated game engine and lots of new features, the game brought new experiences to fans. Moreover, it also had an effect on the franchise\u2019s esports scene. Since the release of CS2 on September 27th 2023, Counter-Strike fans have seen it played at many S-tier events including the <a href=https://esportsinsider.com/"https:////esportsinsider.com//2024//04//pgl-major-copenhagen-2024-viewership/">first CS2 Major<\/a>, held in Copenhagen earlier this year.<\/p>\n\n  <\/div>\n\n\n<div id=\"esi-paragraph-67cf6f2f4962c\" class=\"esi-paragraph \">\n    \n<p>This begs the question; how much has the Counter-Strike esports ecosystem changed since the release of CS2? Also, what changes are expected going forward?<\/p>\n\n  <\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"keep-reading \"  id=\"kr-67cf6f2f4ace0\">\n  <div class=\"heading\">Keep Reading<\/div>\n  <ul class=\"d-flex flex-column\">\n          <li id=\"post-154280\" style=\"order: 1;\"><a href=https://esportsinsider.com/"https:////esportsinsider.com//2024//05//navi-donates-125000-cs2-major-winnings-ukraine/" target=\"_blank\">NAVI donates $125,000 from CS2 Major winnings to support Ukraine<\/a><\/li>\n          <li id=\"post-142088\" style=\"order: 2;\"><a href=https://esportsinsider.com/"https:////esportsinsider.com//2023//08//counter-strike-open-ecosystem-changes/" target=\"_blank\">Valve set to overhaul Counter-Strike esports ecosystem with major tournament rule changes<\/a><\/li>\n          <li id=\"post-151890\" style=\"order: 3;\"><a href=https://esportsinsider.com/"https:////esportsinsider.com//2024//04//pgl-major-copenhagen-2024-viewership/" target=\"_blank\">PGL Major Copenhagen 2024 records 1.8m viewers for debut CS2 Major<\/a><\/li>\n      <\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<div id=\"esi-heading-67cf6f2f4ca5b\" class=\"esi-heading \">\n  \n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span id=\"the_impact_of_cs2\">The impact of CS2<\/span><\/h2>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n<div id=\"esi-paragraph-67cf6f2f4d6bd\" class=\"esi-paragraph \">\n    \n<p>Despite there now being a constant roll out of S-tier events and online tournaments, it is currently far too early to see most of CS2\u2019s impacts on the Counter-Strike esports scene. Most, but not all. There have been some early signs that CS2 has caused different trends to emerge in CS esports.<\/p>\n\n  <\/div>\n\n\n<div id=\"esi-paragraph-67cf6f2f4e49e\" class=\"esi-paragraph \">\n    \n<p>For starters, CS2 was plagued with issues when it was first released. The game suffered from \u2018peekers advantage\u2019, which meant that players who peeked saw the enemy first and had the opportunity to shoot first. This created an incredible competitive edge and meant players with an aggressive play style flourished whilst \u2018anchors\u2019, those who hold sites, struggled.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n  <\/div>\n\n\n<div id=\"esi-paragraph-67cf6f2f4f128\" class=\"esi-paragraph \">\n    \n<p>Whilst the game has been patched and a lot of these issues are fixed, there is still an element of peekers advantage thanks to a change in the servers which Valve calls \u2018sub tick servers\u2019. The full scale of the changes has yet to be seen, but since the release of CS2 players with a more aggressive playstyles, such as 17 year old Team Spirit prodigy <strong>Danil \u2018donk\u2019 Kryshkovets<\/strong>, have thrived.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n  <\/div>\n\n\n<div id=\"esi-paragraph-67cf6f2f4fdd5\" class=\"esi-paragraph \">\n    \n<p>Following the launch of CS2 a crop of younger players have started to also appear on top teams, such as <strong>Andreas \u2018aNdu\u2019 Maasing<\/strong> and <strong>Ihor \u2018w0nderful\u2019 Zhdanov<\/strong>, but once again it is too early to say whether this will lead to a trend. Will this lead to the emergence of more academy teams and potentially a replacement for the currently dormant WePlay Academy league? Only time will tell.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n  <\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=https://esportsinsider.com/"https:////esportsinsider.com//wp-content//uploads//2024//06//20240331-215240_JoaoFerreira@itsmeERROR_PGL-CPH-Major-X3-large.jpg/" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-154873\" srcset=\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/20240331-215240_JoaoFerreira@itsmeERROR_PGL-CPH-Major-X3-large.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/20240331-215240_JoaoFerreira@itsmeERROR_PGL-CPH-Major-X3-medium.jpg 300w, https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/20240331-215240_JoaoFerreira@itsmeERROR_PGL-CPH-Major-X3-medium_large.jpg 768w, https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/20240331-215240_JoaoFerreira@itsmeERROR_PGL-CPH-Major-X3-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/20240331-215240_JoaoFerreira@itsmeERROR_PGL-CPH-Major-X3.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Image credit: PGL<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<div id=\"esi-heading-67cf6f2f50cbe\" class=\"esi-heading \">\n  \n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span id=\"a_more_hands_on_valve\">A more hands on Valve<\/span><\/h2>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n<div id=\"esi-paragraph-67cf6f2f51938\" class=\"esi-paragraph \">\n    \n<p>As previously mentioned, the release of CS2 was not exactly smooth. Many fans and pundits alike <a href=https://esportsinsider.com/"https:////x.com//Twistzz//status//1721297792507724251/">criticised the state of the game<\/a>. Since the release of <a href=https://esportsinsider.com/"https:////esportsinsider.com//2023//03//counter-strike-2/">the Limited Test,<\/a> in March 2023, the game underwent over 90 patches, an unprecedented amount of updates from Valve.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n  <\/div>\n\n\n<div id=\"esi-paragraph-67cf6f2f525e5\" class=\"esi-paragraph \">\n    \n<p>In comparison, the final year of CS:GO had around a third of the patches. Whilst this is a high number of patches compared to CS:GO, it is worth noting that this is the first year of CS2 as opposed to the 10th\/11th of CS:GOs where the kinks had already been ironed out&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n  <\/div>\n\n\n<div id=\"esi-paragraph-67cf6f2f533e9\" class=\"esi-paragraph \">\n    \n<p>The launch of CS2 has also seen Valve take a somewhat more hands-on approach to the esports scene.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n  <\/div>\n\n\n<div id=\"esi-paragraph-67cf6f2f54293\" class=\"esi-paragraph \">\n    \n<p>Unlike Riot Games, Valve defers its games\u2019 Major championships to esports organisers such as ESL, PGL and BLAST. Whilst this control still remains in the hands of tournament organisers, Valve has opted to adapt its ecosystem and create a more open structure.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n  <\/div>\n\n\n<div id=\"esi-paragraph-67cf6f2f550a4\" class=\"esi-paragraph \">\n    \n<p>Just before the release of CS2, <a href=https://esportsinsider.com/"https:////esportsinsider.com//2023//08//counter-strike-open-ecosystem-changes/">Valve announced a new litany of requirements<\/a> for holding esports events set to take place as of next year, 2025. All tournaments that use invitations&nbsp; will have to utilise Valve\u2019s ranking system, or open qualifiers. Whilst these changes are yet to take effect, it has already had an impact on the ecosystem with both ESL and BLAST operating their leagues for the last time under the old format.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n  <\/div>\n\n\n<div id=\"esi-paragraph-67cf6f2f55d85\" class=\"esi-paragraph \">\n    \n<p>These \u2018semi-franchised\u2019 leagues \u2014 ESL Pro League and BLAST Premier \u2014 featured partnered teams that received guaranteed spots to their events, whilst remaining slots were decided by open qualifiers. Under Valve&#8217;s new ruling this now cannot happen and plans are already being put in place regarding ESL and BLAST\u2019s schedules for 2025.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n  <\/div>\n\n\n<div id=\"esi-heading-67cf6f2f56a69\" class=\"esi-heading \">\n  \n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span id=\"the_shanghai_changes_a_contradiction\">The Shanghai Changes \u2014 a contradiction?\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n<div id=\"esi-paragraph-67cf6f2f5772b\" class=\"esi-paragraph \">\n    \n<p>The next CS2 Major is being held in Shanghai, China and will be the very first Counter-Strike Major to be held in Asia. The Valve Majors have always been an Open Circuit where, in theory, five friends could make it to the Major through the open qualifiers. However, despite Valve\u2019s changes to eliminate franchising as of 2025<a href=https://esportsinsider.com/"https:////esportsinsider.com//2024//05//shanghai-major-qualification/">, the Shanghai Major is set to have no open qualifiers in Europe or the Americas<\/a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n  <\/div>\n\n\n<div id=\"esi-paragraph-67cf6f2f58455\" class=\"esi-paragraph \">\n    \n<p>The decision has not gone down well in the community as underdog runs, such as Into the Breach\u2019s BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023 run, are set to be a thing of the past. <a href=https://esportsinsider.com/"https:////www.change.org//p//valve-to-keep-major-open-qualifiers/">A petition has been made to keep the open qualifiers<\/a> and it already has over 7,000 signatures.<\/p>\n\n  <\/div>\n\n\n<div id=\"esi-paragraph-67cf6f2f590f6\" class=\"esi-paragraph \">\n    \n<p>If this change stands for all Majors to come, it could change the very fabric of the Counter-Strike esports industry as making the Major comes with a huge monetary boost for esports organisations. The sticker money esports organisations receive is much higher than what the top teams make from prize money in an entire year. To read about how much money organisations stand <a href=https://esportsinsider.com/"https:////esportsinsider.com//2024//01//counter-strike-sticker-money-value/">to make check out this article<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n  <\/div>\n\n\n<div id=\"esi-heading-67cf6f2f59dec\" class=\"esi-heading \">\n  \n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span id=\"a_busy_2025\">A busy 2025<\/span><\/h2>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n<div id=\"esi-paragraph-67cf6f2f5aac7\" class=\"esi-paragraph \">\n    \n<p>Following the announcement of CS2 there has been a flurry of announcements from multiple tournament organisers about events coming to the esport. With PGL <a href=https://esportsinsider.com/"https:////esportsinsider.com//2024//04//pgl-cs2-events-2025-2026/">announcing a new string of tournaments<\/a>, <a href=https://esportsinsider.com/"https:////esportsinsider.com//2024//04//champion-of-champions-tour-season-2/">CCT returning with a new circuit<\/a> and a<a href=https://esportsinsider.com/"https:////starladder.com//en//news//starladder-is-back-on-the-road-with-cs2-events/"> potential Starladder return, <\/a>there won\u2019t be <a href=https://esportsinsider.com/"https:////x.com//brcho_//status//1774851368781582465/">many weekends free from Counter-Strike action<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n  <\/div>\n\n\n<div id=\"esi-paragraph-67cf6f2f5b83d\" class=\"esi-paragraph \">\n    \n<p>With team\u2019s already complaining that the schedule is too tightly packed, it will be interesting to see what tournaments these esports organisations will choose to send their CS2 teams to.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n  <\/div>\n\n\n<div id=\"esi-heading-67cf6f2f5c57d\" class=\"esi-heading \">\n  \n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span id=\"the_future\">The future<\/span><\/h2>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n<div id=\"esi-paragraph-67cf6f2f5d2a7\" class=\"esi-paragraph \">\n    \n<p>The implications of the release of CS2 has yet to be fully realised. Will the game breed a new generation of gamers who play in such a different manner that veterans get left behind, or will the peekers advantage eventually be patched leaving the aggressive rifles who are thriving now a shell of their former selves? There is a lot of unknown.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n  <\/div>\n\n\n<div id=\"esi-paragraph-67cf6f2f5df9a\" class=\"esi-paragraph \">\n    \n<p>But what can be looked at is how the ecosystem has changed since September 2023 and how it will change in the next two years.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n  <\/div>\n\n\n<div id=\"esi-paragraph-67cf6f2f5ecc8\" class=\"esi-paragraph \">\n    \n<p>This year\u2019s second Major will highlight those changes fully as we see a Major without open qualifiers in two huge regions. Then 2025 will prove to be a huge year of change as the new schedule, with many tournaments, comes into effect and existing events adapt to Valve\u2019s new guidelines.<\/p>\n\n  <\/div>\n\n\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Image credit: PGL Major Copenhagen The announcement of CS2 was met with an unprecedented amount of hype, a titan in the esports space was finally getting a new edition. With an updated game engine and lots of new features, the game brought new experiences to fans. Moreover, it also had an effect on the franchise\u2019s &hellip; <a href=https://esportsinsider.com/"https:////esportsinsider.com//2024//06//counter-strike-esports-changed-cs2/">Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":128,"featured_media":154894,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","esi_template":"default","excluded":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[242,70,8999,239,50,55,8717,106,237,240,53,8701,241,18248,238],"tags":[7881,13875,16075,15642,105,40,2422,1798,95],"class_list":["post-154870","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-asia","category-counter-strike","category-editors-picks","category-europe","category-features","category-esports-titles","category-insights","category-latest-news","category-news-by-region","category-north-america","category-opinion","category-shooters","category-south-america","category-top-stories","category-uk","tag-blast","tag-csgo-2","tag-cs2","tag-efg","tag-esl","tag-esports","tag-feature","tag-pgl","tag-valve"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.1 (Yoast SEO v24.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>How Counter-Strike esports has changed since CS2\u2019s launch<\/title>\n<!-- Added by HTTrack --><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html;charset=UTF-8" /><!-- /Added by HTTrack -->
<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=https://esportsinsider.com/"https:////esportsinsider.com//2024//06//counter-strike-esports-changed-cs2/" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How Counter-Strike esports has changed since CS2\u2019s launch\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/2024\/06\/counter-strike-esports-changed-cs2\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Esports Insider\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-06-11T17:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-06-14T14:20:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/20240330-174553_JoaoFerreira@itsmeERROR_PGL-CPH-Major-5-X3-edited.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Dafydd Gwynn\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@esportsinsider\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@esportsinsider\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Dafydd Gwynn\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/2024\/06\/counter-strike-esports-changed-cs2#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/2024\/06\/counter-strike-esports-changed-cs2\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Dafydd Gwynn\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/#\/schema\/person\/00e3e312713265155b572d233f7a1517\"},\"headline\":\"How Counter-Strike esports has changed since CS2\u2019s launch\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-06-11T17:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-06-14T14:20:06+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/2024\/06\/counter-strike-esports-changed-cs2\"},\"wordCount\":1099,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/2024\/06\/counter-strike-esports-changed-cs2#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/20240330-174553_JoaoFerreira@itsmeERROR_PGL-CPH-Major-5-X3-edited.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"BLAST\",\"CS:GO\",\"CS2\",\"EFG\",\"ESL\",\"Esports\",\"feature\",\"PGL\",\"Valve\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Asia\",\"Counter-Strike\",\"Editors Picks\",\"Europe\",\"Features\",\"Games\",\"Insights\",\"Latest News\",\"Markets\",\"North America\",\"Opinion\",\"Shooters\",\"South America\",\"Top Stories\",\"UK\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/2024\/06\/counter-strike-esports-changed-cs2\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/2024\/06\/counter-strike-esports-changed-cs2\",\"name\":\"How Counter-Strike esports has changed since CS2\u2019s launch\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/2024\/06\/counter-strike-esports-changed-cs2#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/2024\/06\/counter-strike-esports-changed-cs2#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/20240330-174553_JoaoFerreira@itsmeERROR_PGL-CPH-Major-5-X3-edited.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-06-11T17:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-06-14T14:20:06+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/2024\/06\/counter-strike-esports-changed-cs2#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/2024\/06\/counter-strike-esports-changed-cs2\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/2024\/06\/counter-strike-esports-changed-cs2#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/20240330-174553_JoaoFerreira@itsmeERROR_PGL-CPH-Major-5-X3-edited.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/20240330-174553_JoaoFerreira@itsmeERROR_PGL-CPH-Major-5-X3-edited.jpg\",\"width\":1600,\"height\":1000,\"caption\":\"Image credit: PGL Major Copenhagen\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/2024\/06\/counter-strike-esports-changed-cs2#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How Counter-Strike esports has changed since CS2\u2019s launch\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/\",\"name\":\"Esports Insider\",\"description\":\"Definitive source for everything esports business\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Esports Insider\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/esi_logo_white.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/esi_logo_white.jpg\",\"width\":900,\"height\":900,\"caption\":\"Esports Insider\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/x.com\/esportsinsider\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/#\/schema\/person\/00e3e312713265155b572d233f7a1517\",\"name\":\"Dafydd Gwynn\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c9b4f57dd6308c7bbd1b88ed15fd8861?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c9b4f57dd6308c7bbd1b88ed15fd8861?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Dafydd Gwynn\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/author\/dafyddesportsinsider-com\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How Counter-Strike esports has changed since CS2\u2019s launch","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/2024\/06\/counter-strike-esports-changed-cs2","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"How Counter-Strike esports has changed since CS2\u2019s launch","og_url":"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/2024\/06\/counter-strike-esports-changed-cs2","og_site_name":"Esports Insider","article_published_time":"2024-06-11T17:00:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-06-14T14:20:06+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1600,"height":1000,"url":"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/20240330-174553_JoaoFerreira@itsmeERROR_PGL-CPH-Major-5-X3-edited.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Dafydd Gwynn","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@esportsinsider","twitter_site":"@esportsinsider","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Dafydd Gwynn","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/2024\/06\/counter-strike-esports-changed-cs2#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/2024\/06\/counter-strike-esports-changed-cs2"},"author":{"name":"Dafydd Gwynn","@id":"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/#\/schema\/person\/00e3e312713265155b572d233f7a1517"},"headline":"How Counter-Strike esports has changed since CS2\u2019s launch","datePublished":"2024-06-11T17:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2024-06-14T14:20:06+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/2024\/06\/counter-strike-esports-changed-cs2"},"wordCount":1099,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/2024\/06\/counter-strike-esports-changed-cs2#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/20240330-174553_JoaoFerreira@itsmeERROR_PGL-CPH-Major-5-X3-edited.jpg","keywords":["BLAST","CS:GO","CS2","EFG","ESL","Esports","feature","PGL","Valve"],"articleSection":["Asia","Counter-Strike","Editors Picks","Europe","Features","Games","Insights","Latest News","Markets","North America","Opinion","Shooters","South America","Top Stories","UK"],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/2024\/06\/counter-strike-esports-changed-cs2","url":"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/2024\/06\/counter-strike-esports-changed-cs2","name":"How Counter-Strike esports has changed since CS2\u2019s launch","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/2024\/06\/counter-strike-esports-changed-cs2#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/2024\/06\/counter-strike-esports-changed-cs2#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/20240330-174553_JoaoFerreira@itsmeERROR_PGL-CPH-Major-5-X3-edited.jpg","datePublished":"2024-06-11T17:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2024-06-14T14:20:06+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/2024\/06\/counter-strike-esports-changed-cs2#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/2024\/06\/counter-strike-esports-changed-cs2"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/2024\/06\/counter-strike-esports-changed-cs2#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/20240330-174553_JoaoFerreira@itsmeERROR_PGL-CPH-Major-5-X3-edited.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/20240330-174553_JoaoFerreira@itsmeERROR_PGL-CPH-Major-5-X3-edited.jpg","width":1600,"height":1000,"caption":"Image credit: PGL Major Copenhagen"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/2024\/06\/counter-strike-esports-changed-cs2#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How Counter-Strike esports has changed since CS2\u2019s launch"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/","name":"Esports Insider","description":"Definitive source for everything esports business","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/#organization","name":"Esports Insider","url":"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/esi_logo_white.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/esi_logo_white.jpg","width":900,"height":900,"caption":"Esports Insider"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/x.com\/esportsinsider"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/#\/schema\/person\/00e3e312713265155b572d233f7a1517","name":"Dafydd Gwynn","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c9b4f57dd6308c7bbd1b88ed15fd8861?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c9b4f57dd6308c7bbd1b88ed15fd8861?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Dafydd Gwynn"},"url":"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/author\/dafyddesportsinsider-com"}]}},"modified_by":"Jake Nordland","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154870","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/128"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=154870"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154870\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":155009,"href":"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154870\/revisions\/155009"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/154894"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=154870"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=154870"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=154870"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}