ESL has revamped its Challenger and Pro League qualification system to align with Valve's guidelines, introducing Elite events for teams to earn spots in the Challenger League. These changes aim to enhance competition with new pathways to the ESL Pro League, including VRS-ranked events and DreamHack Knockout qualifiers.

Matt 'Nadeshot' Haag has become the top Counter-Strike 2 streamer, amassing over 702,665 hours watched in the past week, and peaked at 23,707 concurrent viewers. His case-opening streams have drawn massive interest, contributing to renewed enthusiasm in the Counter-Strike skin market.

FURIA Esports has signed Mareks 'YEKINDAR' Gačinskis on a permanent deal after a successful loan from Liquid. YEKINDAR significantly boosted FURIA's performance, solidifying their lineup for upcoming events.

Counter-Strike, launched as a Half-Life mod in 1999, has evolved into a staple in esports, with the recent release of Counter-Strike 2 in 2023. This version brings enhanced graphics, technical upgrades, and has further cemented the franchise's dominance in competitive gaming.

The BLAST Premier London Open will electrify the OVO Arena in Wembley from September 5-7, 2025, with a $400,000 prize pool and 12,500 fans. Top teams and passionate fans will converge for a Counter-Strike 2 showdown, featuring global stars and rising talents.

BLAST.tv has unveiled the 2026 and 2027 Counter-Strike 2 BLAST Premier schedules, revealing a two-part structure for 2026 with Bounty, Open, and Rivals tournaments. The 2027 format shifts to a single season with six events, more details to follow in January 2026.

A recent event by streamer Nadeshot has spotlighted the lucrative case opening economy in 'Counter-Strike 2', where players opened 32 million cases in March 2025, generating $82 million. Despite the excitement, the gambling-like nature raises concerns about poor returns for players, with only $422 million worth of items from over a billion dollars spent in 2023.

Valve warns fan project CS:Legacy, a Counter-Strike 1.6 remake, over licensing compliance, risking shutdown. Developers seek dialogue with Valve and pivot to a new project using the Godot engine.

Valve updates Counter-Strike 2 with new features to celebrate Team Vitality's BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025 win. The update includes champions stickers, Souvenir Charms, and enhanced voice chat capabilities.

Counter-Strike 2's Season 2 of Premier mode ends on July 14, 2025, after 166 days, with players needing 25 wins and a visible CS Rating to earn their medal. Fans anticipate Season 3 starting July 15, featuring potential matchmaking improvements and map pool updates.

Imperial's new roster triumphed at the Thunderpick World Championship 2025 South America Series 1, securing a spot in the Closed Qualifier this September. They dominated ODDIK in the final, showcasing standout performances from players like Kaiky 'noway' Santos and Santino 'try' Rigal, with new additions José 'Shr' Gil and Marcelo 'chelo' Cespedes proving pivotal.

Valve has launched playoff souvenirs and Champions Stickers to celebrate Team Vitality's victory at the BLAST.tv Austin Major. The update, released on July 2, 2025, also features bug fixes and voice communication enhancements.

Team Vitality, led by ZyWoo, triumphed at the Austin Major, securing their second Counter-Strike Major title after an initial defeat. Valve celebrated with exclusive in-game souvenirs, raising excitement for the upcoming Budapest Major by StarLadder and the Cologne event in the CS2 calendar.

Ninjas in Pyjamas marks its 25th anniversary, evolving from a Counter-Strike team to a global esports powerhouse under CEO Hicham Chahine. As a publicly traded company, NiP is now engaged in 16 games, talent management, and event production, with a strategic focus on sustainable growth.

The Counter-Strike esports scene is facing scrutiny with calls for change as predictability follows Team Vitality's recent dominance. Industry figures advocate for tournament reform and gameplay adjustments to revive excitement.

Valve has raised alarms over CS:Legacy, a fan project remaking Counter-Strike 1.6 with the Source Engine, citing potential licensing breaches. Despite developers' claims of compliance, the project's future is uncertain, prompting them to pivot to a new project using the Godot engine.

Berlin International Gaming (BIG) revives its Counter-Strike 2 academy team to rejuvenate the German esports scene. The move aligns with a growing trend of academy teams in the industry, promising strategic development.

Excitement builds as Counter-Strike's IEM Cologne returns on July 23, 2025, with Valve unveiling new Highlight Souvenir Packages. These include memorable video highlights from the BLAST.tv Austin Major, though not all clips are praised.

Counter-Strike 2 players are facing the 'CS2 server uses different class tables' error post-update, disrupting gameplay. This issue stems from a client-server version mismatch, fixable via game and Steam updates.