Counter Strike: Global Offensive has often been a source of gambling-related controversy, and so it is no wonder that this inevitably translated over to the Twitch platform. CSGO's case unboxing system provides a small opportunity for players to possibly receive items worth huge amounts of real-world money and was one of the first titles to really spark widespread discourse surrounding this kind of "soft gambling" that was going unchecked within the video game indus

Proper crosshair placement is very crucial in any FPS game, and it’s what most new players struggle with. Maintaining a random crosshair placement will lead to missed shots, and more often than not, you’ll lose the tr

Managing the economy is one of the most important aspects of performing well in CS:GO . After each round in a game, players will get money depending upon the performance in the prior round. The better you do, the more money you get. Kills, Assist, Bomb defusing, and planting all affect the amount of money you

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The Damascus Steel finish is one of the most beautiful in the game and not one you see all too often, which is great if you want to stand out on a budget. Unlike the M9 Bayonet, the Bayonet does not have a serrated edge on the back and instead has a straight edge. The intricate ripple-like patterns of the Damascus Steel finish are unlike anything else in the game. However, it can be difficult to see the 661 scar pattern skin without going into a sheltered area on some of the brighter offerings from CS:GO's range of m

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Crimson Webs are among the favorite finishes in the game, with some collectors even specializing in them. As such, it's not hard to see why the Crimson Web is a popular skin. The dark red of the skin combined with the black lines crawling over the knife, creating a spiderweb, is a visually striking image. In addition, it is easily recognizable, making it great to show

For context, Team Fortress and Counter-Strike started as fan-made Half-Life spin-offs that Valve eventually roped into its own official library; fans and mods have always been at the epicenter of Valve’s business model. With how integral the community has been to Half-Life throughout its history, it’s no surprise that the scene is still thriving despite the lack of official content.

It was always clear that Twitch's long history with gambling among its top streamers was eventually going to reach a climax, and this came recently with news regarding long-time streamer ItsSliker . Sliker began streaming on Twitch in 2019, quickly building up a commendable fan base via his networking with other streamers and unique commentary. Currently sitting at over 430,000 followers and once commanding thousands of concurrent Twitch subscribers, recent allegations surrounding the streamer have had a massive domino effect on the platform as a wh

A very common mistake that players make is giving away footstep noises to the opposing team. This not only gives opponents a general idea of your location, but it also buys them enough time to rotate or re-strategize. This could also hinder your own game plan, and it will essentially put your whole team in a bad s

The Twitch platform has been no stranger to controversy historically, with the wide-ranging avenues of entertainment that streamers engage in inevitably dredging up questions of morality and disagreements among the streaming giant's viewers. As the platform has grown in recent years, so too has the frequency of large-scale controversies and the potential implications they could have on impressionable audien

Proper matchmaking in online games is difficult to do well, put simply, but recent patent filings by Valve give users a peek behind the curtain at the various data miners at work in establishing the Trust Factor in CS:GO . There is quite a bit of information in these patents that range from 2018 to 2020 , and of course, not all of the point below can be said to contribute to an individual’s Trust Factor, though in reality most probably are to some deg

Part of what makes CS:GO so great is the fact that smaller teams have a chance to show what they can do on the biggest stages. In most sports, the teams with the most money tend to dominate every year, with smaller teams having a fluke here and there. In CS:GO. this does happen to an extent, but there has been a long list of instances where a team that qualified for a major or other big event stunned the entire field despite not having the same level of backing. For smaller teams, even making it past the qualifying stages for a big event changes their future and it already happened at the Berlin Ma

While others emphasized what Valve was up to, this blog was all about what fans were doing. It started out as a website before transitioning into a Discord server and a Twitter page. Now, it’s a fully-fledged social network in the making. I’ve long followed LambdaGeneration, so I was ecstatic when they reached out to me about an interview for the new initative. This group has always been the go-to place to find what the community is up to, or to uncover hidden gems - a new resource like this is a total game-changer.