CS2 Esports News

While the Austin Major concluded a mere 5 months ago, it can feel like a lifetime ago for CS fans. Thankfully, the second and final Major of the year, StarLadder Budapest, is here to sate us. With a $1.25 million USD cash pool up for grabs, 32 teams will assemble to clash and a chance at the most prestigious achievement in Counter-Strike – winning a Major. Buckle your seatbelt ladies and gents, the end of November brings good tidings. Themore

The Group Stage of IEM Chengdu 2025 came to a close with only six of the sixteen participating teams qualifying for the Playoffs. The first stage of the competition delivered many unexpected results and concluded with The MongolZ upsetting Team Spirit to move ahead in the tournament. Starting November 7, the remaining teams will battle in the knockout-style Playoffs. Let’s look at what the final stage of the competition has in store for us. Teams and Format The six teams qualified for the IEM Chengdu 2025 Playoffs are: Group A Team Falcons Astralis The MongolZ Group B MOUZ FURIA Teammore

One of the most surprising upsets at IEM Chengdu 2025 came on the final day of the group stage, as The MongolZ managed to eliminate Team Spirit from the tournament. This win marks the first time MongolZ have won over the former Major winners in 451 days. It is also the first time since IEM Cologne 2024 that Team Spirit have failed to make the playoffs of a LAN. Could this be the start of something more sinister for Teammore

The latest Counter-Strike 2 update introduces a major improvement to demo viewing with TrueView. Additionally, the surf fixes tested in the Beta branch have now been deployed to the game. TrueView: A Precise Representation of Player Experience The new demo playback, TrueView, offers a more accurate representation of how a player experiences the game. It is only available for the latest version, and will be disabled if there’s a version mismatch between the demo and the game client. Added TrueViewmore

Valve has finally bent the knee to the community when it comes to the CS2 Major Grand Finals. For the first time in CS history, starting with the StarLadder Budapest Major 2025, the grand finals of the prestigious event will now be a best-of-five series. Changing with the Times When Valve officially announced the switch from CS:GO to CS2, the biggest change to the competitive format was the shift to MR12. The shorter halves ensure individual maps conclude within anmore

FaZe Clan's tournament run at IEM Chengdu 2025 came to an abrupt end as Virtus.pro claimed a decisive 1-2 victory in the lower bracket, eliminating the karrigan-led international squad with a 0-2 record. The loss marks another disappointing chapter in what has been a historically poor year for the organization, as they finish in 13th-16th place – a new low for the once Major winners. A Series That Slipped Away The series appeared competitive early on, with FaZe securing amore

Aurora Gaming made history in the competitive Counter-Strike 2 scene by securing their first ever Tier 1 tournament, defeating Brazilian squad Legacy 3-2 in a thrilling grand final at the PGL Masters Bucharest 2025. The showdown, held on November 1st, established the Turkish team as one of the emerging forces in the global CS2 landscape. Thrilling five-map finale The grand final was contested in a Bo5 (best-of-five) format, delivering a complete Counter-Strike spectacle for viewers. Aurora started dominantly, taking themore

The Counter-Strike 2 skin market will never be the same again. On October 22, 2025, Valve released an update that promised to revolutionize the Trade Up Contract system, allowing players to exchange five skins for high-tier knives and gloves. What was meant to democratize access to rare items turned into one of the biggest economic disasters in gaming history, wiping out over $2 billion in market value in less than 24 hours.​ Valve’s Flawed Plan That Backfired The initial ideamore

100 Thieves are set to make a long-awaited return to Counter-Strike, this time building their comeback around one of the game’s longest-serving icons. According to reports from Dust2.dk and prominent Russian leaker Aleksei “OverDrive” Birukov, Håvard “rain” Nygaard has already signed with the American organization, marking the first major step in their re-entry into CS2. Nadeshot’s Organization Makes Its Move The Los Angeles-based organization, founded by former Call of Duty professional Matthew “Nadeshot” Haag, has been out of the Counter-Strike circuit since 2020, when they exited citing “uncertainty” around the competitive ecosystem. Their previous lineup, headlined by Justin “jks” Savagemore

The 2025 Intel Extreme Masters Chengdu is set to light up the Counter-Strike 2 scene as sixteen of the world's best teams descend upon China on November 3-9 for another chapter in the prestigious IEM series. With $300,000 on the line and crucial ESL Grand Slam points up for grabs, this tournament promises to deliver the high-octane action that has made Intel Extreme Masters the longest-running global pro gaming tour since 2006.​ Tournament Format and Structure The competition will unfoldmore

G2 continue their expansion beyond the world of esports. After entering the world of traditional sports earlier this year by creating G2 FC to participate in the Kings League, the organization has now announced the launch of Red Aura, an original fantasy-action webcomic that translates the spirit and story of G2 into a new creative universe. Developed in collaboration with Japanese Art Director Runbel and KISAI Entertainment, the studio behind webcomic adaptations of Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Beginningmore

The International Olympic Committee and Saudi Arabia have terminated their 12-year partnership to host the Olympic Esports Games in Riyadh, announced today, October 30, 2025. The cancellation, which comes a mere 14 months after the partnership was announced during the 2024 Paris Olympics, exposes the architectural incompatibility between two institutions operating from irreconcilable philosophical foundations.​ On the surface, the decision appears straightforward: the IOC and the Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee (SOPC), along with the Esports World Cup Foundation (EWCF),more

The Counter-Strike community was rocked by serious allegations on October 26, 2025, when prominent skin trader MitaoCatCS publicly accused former professional player and Major champion Jake "Stewie2k" Yip of scamming them out of approximately $25,000 worth of skins. The accusation, posted on social media, has ignited fierce debate within the CS2 scene and cast a shadow over one of North America's most decorated players. Disclaimer: Gambling can be addictive and cause financial loss. Always gamble responsibly, staying within your limits.more

On October 22nd, Valve released one of the most disruptive updates to Counter-Strike 2. The update introduced an unexpected Red-to-Gold trade-up functionality that heavily affected the CS skins market. In the aftermath, the market lost $3 billion in valuation — 50% of its recent high — in less than 48 hours. Previously highly sought-after rare knives and gloves dropped up to 80% in value. On the surface, the update should mean cheaper knives and gloves for the majority of themore

The Counter-Strike 2 circuit is a living, breathing collection of tournaments all-year round, spanning multiple continents and countries. Even as we continue to ramp up for the remainder of 2025’s events, a bevy of tournaments already await us in the coming years. Let’s check out what 2026, 2027 and 2028 has in store for the Counter-Strike scene and event calendar. The following includes all major announced tournaments. We have done our best to match the information pertaining to those tournaments to the best of our abilities and will update accordingly if necessary. January 2026 Mythical LAN Las Vegas 2026 (fl0m)more

The October 22nd update has sent shockwaves across the Counter-Strike 2 community. The update introduces a new trade-up feature that allows players to exchange 5 Covert (Red) skins for a Knife or Melee (Gold). But how do the new trade ups work? Let’s find out! How to Trade Up for a Knife/Glove in CS2 To trade up your Coverts to a Knife or Glove: Under the Inventory tab, navigate to Trade Up. For a knife/glove trade-up, select the 5 Redsmore

The CS2 skins market has experienced a dramatic crash, losing nearly $2 billion in market capital after Valve's recent update fundamentally altered the way these extremely rare items are obtained. Valve's October 22, 2025 update introduced a major change to Counter-Strike 2's Trade-Up Contract system. Players can now exchange five Covert (red rarity) weapon skins for a guaranteed knife or glove from the same collection – items that were previously ultra-rare and highly sought after, with prices often ranging frommore

Yes, you heard it right, folks! The community’s favorite warm-up mode — Retakes — is officially back in the game. The October 22nd Update has paved the way for the seventh mode added to Counter-Strike. But that’s not all — this update also introduces a new Trade Up mechanic. From now on, players can trade up five Coverts (Reds) to receive a Knife or a Glove (Gold). This change is single-handedly one of the biggest shake-ups to the Counter-Strike market,more

The MongolZ have made the shocking decision to move star rifler Azbayar "senzu" Munkhbold to the bench. The move comes as a major surprise to the Counter-Strike 2 community, as senzu has been instrumental in the team's meteoric rise to become one of the world's top squads. Senzu's Impact on The MongolZ The 19-year-old Mongolian talent has been a cornerstone of The MongolZ's success since rejoining the organization in September 2023. During this time, the team achieved historic milestones, includingmore

If you tuned into the Thunderpick World Championship 2025 Grand Finals day, you were in for an exciting ride. Starting with a MongolZ–Aurora marathon, the day concluded with FURIA and FalleN displaying the full might of Brazilian Counter-Strike to close out the event. The MongolZ Secure Third Place The MongolZ were the tournament favorites coming into the event. Unfortunately, they couldn’t keep up with NAVI, losing their chance for a rematch against FURIA. Aurora Gaming didn’t have the best timemore