Tips and tricks on how to succeed in CSGO. How to get better in Counter Strike

On November 15th, 2024, in an unexpected turn of events, Astralis star Nicolai "⁠device⁠" Reedtz was benched ahead of the upcoming Perfect World Shanghai Major, citing medical reasons. Specifically, in a post on X (formerly Twitter), device said that he was compelled to take a break after experiencing "a recurrence of stress-related health challenges" during Astralis’s recent trip to Singapore for the BLAST Premier World Final.

On December 13th 2024, MOUZ became the first team to reach the semi-finals at the Perfect World Shanghai Major. Although the series started off rough with The MongolZ leading with a 9-3 scoreline on Ancient, MOUZ brought it back, winning 16-14 in overtime. Despite the demotivating loss on map one, The MongolZ kept up the fight on the second map, Nuke, securing a short 7-5 lead in the first half. However, MOUZ was high on confidence and won eight rounds in the second half, closing the game out 13-9, and winning the series.

On December 18th 2024, Adam "⁠friberg⁠" Friberg, a 33 year-old Swede who is arguably one of the most successful Swede players in Counter-Strike history, announced on X (formerly Twitter) that he would be transitioning to a coaching role, being open to offers from different organizations: “Transitioning from player to coach for 2025. With my history in top teams, including MVP at a Major and IGLing for OpTic & Dignitas, I know what it takes to win. My focus: leadership, communication, and core fundamentals at CS's highest level. Need a head coach? Let's talk on DM!”

Eternal Fire have booked their place in the PGL Cluj-Napoca playoffs after defeating 3DMAX in a tense three-map series. This marks the Turkish squad’s third playoff appearance of the year, following strong runs at BLAST Bounty and IEM Katowice.

On December 21st 2024, BIG announced that they would be parting ways with their Swiss rifler, Rigon "⁠rigoN⁠" Gashi going into 2025 despite being on the team for only six months. While rigoN did have a rough start on the team, it was natural as anyone joining a new time takes time to get used to the dynamic.

On January 30, 2025, Astralis secured their place in the next round of IEM Katowice after a hard-fought victory over FlyQuest, eliminating the American squad in a closely contested series that had many holding their breath.

On December 11th 2024, GamerLegion’s coach, Ashley "⁠ash⁠" Battye, reflected on his team’s performance at the Perfect World Shanghai Major, expressing much satisfaction. Considering how the team brought Sebastian "⁠Tauson⁠" Tauson Lindelof into the team two months before the event, causing Timur "⁠FL4MUS⁠" Marev to take on more responsibilities, ash’s reflection expressed to HLTV comes as no surprise.

The playoffs for PGL Cluj-Napoca are officially set, with the tournament now entering its final stage following the conclusion of the best-of-three Swiss group stage. Seven of the eight highest-ranked teams made it through, with The MongolZ and FaZe dominating the competition with scratchless 3-0 records, securing the top seeds as they head into the BT Arena.

On January 9th, 2025, GamerLegion unveiled its latest roster addition, the seasoned Fredrik “REZ” Sterner, who previously spent 7 years with Ninjas In Pyjamas (NIP).

On December 7th 2024, fans looked back as Vitality became the first team to break out of the Elimination Stage and reach the Playoffs at the Perfect World Shanghai Major. They had a bit of a scuffle on day one as they could barely beat FURIA 16-13 in their best-of-one, leading many to believe they weren’t in peak form at the tournament. However, they were quick to prove their haters wrong as they destroyed MIBR in their next best-of-three game, outclassing them on both maps, Mirage (13-3) and Anubis (13-5). Vitality certainly felt good about silencing their critics, as William "⁠mezii⁠" Merriman told HLTV.

On January 28, 2025, Ghost Gaming announced that after nearly six years away from the scene, they’ll be re-entering Counter-Strike by signing a women’s roster, Ghost fe.

On January 24, 2025, Natus Vincere secured their place in the BLAST Bounty 2025 finals after a grueling 2-1 victory over paiN in the opening round in Copenhagen. The veto began with paiN removing Ancient and NAVI banning Train. paiN then picked Dust2, while NAVI chose Nuke. In the second phase, paiN removed Anubis, NAVI banned Inferno, leaving Mirage as the decider.

Indian esports tournament organizer Skyesports has revised its plan for the 2025 CS2 circuit, scaling back its initial vision of three top-tier tournaments to just one while also cutting the prize pool for the event from $500,000 to $350,000. Valve granted Skyesports an exception, allowing them to adjust both the format and prize structure accordingly.

On January 17th, 2025, Russian team BetBoom stunned MOUZ with a 2-1 victory, defying all expectations by eliminating them from BLAST Bounty 2025 Closed Qualifiers. This impressive victory over one of the elite teams of 2024 comes in light of recent changes to the team, including the addition of a new in-game leader.

On December 3rd, 2024, another team, paiN, bested FlyQuest as they were unable to recover from their loss to Team Liquid yesterday. Surprisingly, they snatched FlyQuest’s map pick right off the bat, winning 16-14 on Vertigo before comfortably closing things out on their map pick, Inferno, with a 13-6 scoreline. Lucas 'nqz' Soares put up a particularly stellar performance, especially with a USP ace on round 1 of Inferno, something that he also discussed in an interview with HLTV.