Bet on your favourite CS:GO team in Sportsbet.jp

Place your bets on your preferred CS:GO team here at Sportsbet.jp! With plenty of bet options to choose from, you won’t run out of ways to increase your chances of winning. From in-play and next 24hrs to future betting, you can find them all here at Sportsbet.jp. Put your luck to the test today and check out the live and future tournaments available here.

If you want to deepen your knowledge in the world of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, look no further because everything you need to know about CS:GO is here. Get a brief rundown of the world’s most iconic first-person shooter game and check out which teams stand above others today.

What is Counter-Strike: Global Offensive?

Released in 2012, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is the latest game from the smash-hit Counter-Strike franchise. It’s a first-person shooter video game where two teams composed of 5 players each compete against each other. Because of its combative gameplay, it’s considered as an esport where teams play competitively.

One team plays as the attacking terrorist while the other plays as the defending counter-terrorist. The goal of the terrorist team is to either eliminate the other team or successfully plant and detonate the bomb. On the other hand, the counter-terrorists’ goal is to defuse the bomb if planted or eliminate all players of the opposing team. Whichever team accomplishes their goal first within 30 rounds wins.

There are 30 rounds in one game with each round lasting for one minute and 55 seconds long. After 15 minutes, the teams swap sides giving both chances to change their game plan and come up with new strategies. The first team to win 16 rounds takes home the trophy as the winning team.

History of Counter-Strike

Counter-Strike took the world by storm when it was released in 2000 by Valve. Now considered as the most influential first-person shooter game, it maintained its popularity up to the late 2000s. Updates and sequels such as Counter-Strike 1.6 and Counter-Strike: Source respectively have also been released in this time period with over a million players taking part in the game.

CS already had a long history of competitive play even before CS:GO rose to popularity in the early 2010s. Only a year after its release, major tournaments in CS began in 2001 with the Cyberathlete Professional League Winter Championship as the first of many. The legendary Ninjas in Pyjamas took home the prize pool worth US$150,000 at this first tournament.

In 2002, South Korea joined the competitive scene of CS during their World Cyber Games competition. France followed suit in the Electronic Sports World Cup in the following year. In the same year, CS’ major update was released, earning the term ‘Counter-Strike 1.6’.  

Counter-Strike has been successful in attracting a wide player base that not only serves as the game’s audience but also its critic as well. When Valve released the much-awaited sequel to the original Counter-Strike called Counter-Strike: Source, it was heavily criticized for having a lower skill ceiling compared to CS:1.6. A lot of professional players refused to buy and play it, choosing to stick to the original game. 

Ironically, the awaited sequel caused CS’ popularity to dwindle. The difference between CS:1.6 and CS:S created a rift in the community, splitting the number of teams and reducing the number of players.

It was at this time that the CS’ competitive scene started waning. Without a doubt, CS had its time under the limelight starting 2002 until it flourished and reached the peak of its popularity in 2007.

The dawn of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive

In 2012, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive was released. By this time, CS already had a solid player base with high expectations and an impressive skill set. They loved the simple yet complex gameplay that required a high level of skill set only a handful of players can completely master. Playing CS:GO also required unparalleled teamwork and leadership to outsmart and defeat your opponent.

While it was also heavily criticized by the players on its initial launch due to bugs and poor gameplay, Valve continuously released update after update to improve the game’s design. The rise of streaming sites such as Twitch and UStream also helped bring CS:GO back to the forefront of esports. With players streaming their gaming sessions online, CS:GO garnered a significant increase in its number of players.

After its slow-burn success, Valve announced the first CS:GO Major Championship in September 2013 with a prize pool of US$250,000. Soon enough, more tournaments sprung up such as DreamHack Winter in 2013 which was held in Sweden.

Numerous professional teams have surfaced and resurfaced throughout the history of CS:GO’s competitive scene. Some of the most iconic names being Ninjas in Pyjamas, Natus Vincere, Fnatic and FaZe Clan to name a few. 

Iconic CS:GO teams

Professional CS:GO teams are officially listed and ranked on HLTV that stands for Half-Life Television. Each team and their members’ playing and winning statistics are considered when ranking them through total points. As of January 18, 2021, the top 5 CS:GO World Ranking is as follows:

1. Astralis – Denmark

Members: 

• Xyp9x
• dupreeh
• gla1ve
• device
• Magisk

Hailing from Denmark, Astralis currently sits at the top of the CS:GO World Ranking with a total point of 995. This 5-man team has been unstoppable in the recent years with impressive performances and strategy displayed by each member, especially the iconic ‘device’ who’s been snatching MVP titles across the board. Astralis recently ranked first on the IEM Global Challenge 2020 where they faced off against the US-based team Liquid and won 3:0.

2. Vitality – France

Members: 

• Shox
• RpK
• apEX
• ZywOo
• Misutaaa

Coming in second after Astralis is French team Vitality with a total point of 907. They recently landed 1st in BLAST Premier Fall 2020 Finals despite only having 4 members at the time of the tournament. 

3. Natus Vincere (Na’Vi) – Russia and Ukraine

Members:

• Flamie
• S1mple
• Electronic
• Boombl4
• Perfecto

Natus Vincere, or Na’Vi for short, is one of the household teams in CS:GO competitive play. With over ten years in the industry, they have snatched titles and trophies left and right, and with their current score of 593, they’re not showing any signs of stopping anytime soon. Na’Vi is the first to win three premier CS tournaments in history, namely Intel Extreme Masters, Electronic Sports World Cup and World Cyber Games 2010.

4. BIG – Germany

Members:

• tabseN
• tiziaN
• syrsoN
• XANTARES
• K1to

This 5-man team from Germany currently ranks fourth on the list with 569 points in total. Recently, BIG won first place in cs_summit 6 Europe, DreamHack Open Summer 2020 Europe, and DreamHack Masters Spring 2020 Europe.

5. Heroic – Denmark

Members:

• cadiaN
• b0RUP
• Niko
• Stavn
• TeSeS

Denmark dominates the CS:GO scene with another team hailing from the European country occupying the 5th spot on the world ranking. After competing in recent tournaments such as Dreamhack Open Fall 2020 and ESL One Cologne 2020 Europe, Heroic took the trophy and wore the crown as the champions, earning them a total point score of 433.

CS:GO Tournaments to look forward to

Just like in other team sports, there are tournaments, leagues and championships in CS:GO esports. Below are some of the most notable and much-awaited tournaments that occur throughout the entire year:

BLAST Premier

One of the most recent CS:GO tournaments, BLAST Premier only launched in 2020. It focuses mainly on North America and Europe with two seasons, namely the Spring and Fall season. Each series lasts for four months with 12 regular season teams. At the season finals, only 6 teams stand above the rest and compete for the championship title.

DreamHack

DreamHack is a Swede entertainment company that hosts local area network (LAN) gatherings where thousands of players compete for championships.

There are numerous leagues sponsored by DreamHack such as DreamHack Masters where 32 teams across online regional championships compete for a prize pool worth US$250,000 and DreamHack Open where players from all over the globe compete from home to take home the pool prize of US$100,000.

ESEA League

Standing for E-Sports Entertainment Association, ESEA founded the ESEA League which focuses mainly on Europe, North America and Australia. The league has three pre-final levels namely, Global Challenge, Premier Division and Main Division. After all last standing teams are determined, the Finals Season begins.

ESL One

ESL One features competitions from all over the world, and unlike ESEA League, it occurs in different places around the world such as Thailand, Birmingham, England, and Cologne, Germany.

PGL Major

Meant to resume in Stockholm in 2021, PGL Major is a much-awaited championship where 24 teams are seeded through regional major rankings and compete for the title of grand champion. This time, the prize pool is a surmounting amount of US$2,000,000 which is more than a million dollars compared to the previous majors.

What to expect at Sportsbet CS:GO

Now that you’ve entered the world of CS:GO competitive playing, you can get ready to bet on live CS:GO games and your favourite team here at Sportsbet.jp! 

Pumped up to stream and join in on the thrilling excitement? You don’t have to wait any longer! Find the following bet options and news tab all in one place so you can better inform yourself before placing your bets.

Side bets

Besides the general bets you can make here at Sportsbet.jp, there are various other side bets you can do for your favourite teams. Just click on the match you want to bet on and you can see that you can wager on the following:

• Winner
• Map Handicap
• Total Maps
• First Map – Winner including overtime
• Second Map – Winner including overtime
• First Map – 1×2
• First Map Round 1 – Winner
• First Map Round 6 – Winner
• First Map – 1st Kill
• Correct Score (In Maps)

Do note that these side bets changes per match so make sure to check it out whenever your favourite teams are playing!