Counter-Strike 2 News

NiKo officially leaves FaZe to join G2's CS:GO roster

It's been in the works for quite some time, but G2 has finally confirmed the signing of Nikola '⁠NiKo⁠' Kovač to its Counter-Strike: Global Offensive team.

The Bosnian has been in discussions with G2 since the summer and leaves FaZe Clan after more than three years of service. In a TwitLonger, NiKo says that he leaves FaZe with "tears in my eyes" but also expresses his regret at not winning a major during his time with the team. "It sucks that we couldn't bring a major trophy to such a legendary organization, but no one regrets it and is hurt more than me," he writes. Following confirmation of NiKo's departure, FaZe also revealed that coach Janko 'yNk' Paunović would also be leaving.

NiKo joins his cousin, Nemanja 'huNter' Kovač, on the G2 roster, and his announcement video shows huNter welcoming his relative to the organisation by saying: "Let's take one selfie and let's fuck them all."

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BLAST to bring in new competitive integrity rules for CS:GO coaches

Tournament organiser BLAST has introduced new rules aimed at Counter-Strike coaches to uphold competitive integrity in the wake of the spectator bug scandal. BLAST's esports operations manager, Robert Mulgan, tweeted out two new rules that will come into force for online matches.

All coaches must now stream their POV into a dedicated Discord channel provided by the tournament organisers. Coaches must also have MOss, an anti-cheat software, running in the background to secure screenshots and record logs during live games. Mulgan agrees the system isn't perfect, but it is a significant step forward to prevent cheating.

The Esports Integrity Comission (ESIC), which is investigating historic abuse of the spectator bug, revealed in its first report last month that 37 coaches had been found exploiting it. While that specific bug has been patched by Valve, other variations of it could still be out there.

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Counter-Strike: Global Offensive update for 26 October 2020

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ESIC bans seven CS:GO players for betting-related offenses

The Esports Integrity Commission has issued its first update on its match-fixing and betting investigation with ESEA. It has issued one-year bans to seven Australian Counter-Strike: Global Offensive players who were all found guilty of betting offenses.

The players were discovered to have placed bets on matches they were featuring in throughout the Mountain Dew League Australia, according to the report. Due to the nature of these infringements, ESIC has also passed on its findings to local authorities in Australia as betting offenses are covered by law in some jurisdictions. In addition to the seven players named in ESIC's report, a number of "associates" are also being investigated after placing similar bets on MDL matches.

The players were representing teams LAKERS, Rooster, Rooster 2, and Ground Zero at the time of the betting offenses. The one-year suspensions will apply across ESIC's partner tournament organisers which include ESL, DreamHack, and many more.

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This spooky, snowy CS:GO map is ideal for Wingman mode

We're now well and truly into spooky season, and while Halloween parties are very much off the table this year, you can always find alternative ways to celebrate within virtual worlds. From Fortnite to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, all the best PC games typically hold some sort of Halloween event. Failing that, there's no shortage of scary, silly, and downright impressive Halloween-themed mods and maps to keep you busy.

One such example is Jd40, Quoting, and Quadratic's wonderfully atmospheric CS:GO map, Ravine. It's a proper creepy castle with a chilly vibe, curious locked doors, and a mounted deer head to complete the strong look. The river running below its centre is a lovely touch, too.

Work started on the map all the way back in 2018, and the effort that's gone into it is plain to see. Also know that Ravine was designed primarily for the FPS game's Wingman mode, but its Steam page says that it can comfortably be played in up to 8v8.

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