The BLAST Premier Spring Groups 2023 kicked off this month in Copenhagen, bringing together 12 of the world’s best esports organisations to compete for its $177,500 (~£143,200) prize pool.
This is the first stage of 2023’s BLAST Premier tournament series, one of the world’s most popular CS:GO tournaments. However, the scene is also flooded with other notable series, such as the ESL Pro League, as well as grand international events called ‘Majors’.
Released in August 2012, CS:GO has gained tremendous popularity among fans of esports, as well as bettors, making it one of the most popular disciplines in the competitive gaming industry.
According to Statista, in November 2022 CS:GO had 1.12m peak concurrent players on Steam. The number of players peaked in January 2018 was just over 715,000 players, highlighting how the title has managed to maintain and grow a solid user base.
Why is CS:GO so popular?
Easy to understand and play
CS:GO is a multiplayer first-person shooter. Two teams, terrorists and counter-terrorists, compete against each other. The simplicity of the title means that there is no need to spend hours learning the rules and attempting to figure out the controls. This not only makes the game an easy playing experience, but it offers a smoother viewer experience, making it simple for esports and betting audiences.
Evolving features
The game constantly receives new features. Maps, skins, exclusive collections, patches, cases and player models are presented via ‘operations’ — a form of DLC. It adds variety to the game and motivates gamers who put the game on hold to play again when the new operation is released. Some of the changes also impact the games esports ecosystem, which ensures that the title remains fresh from a competitive standpoint also.
Continued esports growth
Not only has the game remained popular with users for over 10 years, but the title’s esports ecosystem is continuing to show signs of growth. According to data platform Esports Charts, five of the top 10 most popular CS:GO esports events occurred in 2021 and 2022. This includes last year’s PGL Major Antwerp securing over 2.1m peak viewers. As the game’s esports scene continues to flourish, more casual eyes are put onto the game which also enhances its popularity among betting audiences.
CS:GO’s continued prominence within esports is why BETER, a provider of betting content and gaming solutions, recently relaunched 5×5 CS:GO matches within our esports platform ESportsBattle. Matches are played in BO3 format and include 300 maps per month, with an average duration of 40-45 min per map.
Moreover, 2×2 CS:GO matches have been arranged since January 2021 on the platform. These matches are played in Bo5 format and include more than 770 maps per month, with an average duration of 25-27 min per map. The short match duration enables operators to attract more bettors because of the ability to place the bet and get the result faster.
In addition to organising in-house tournaments, BETER provides coverage for more than 400 world esports tournaments, including world-renowned CS:GO events. The previously mentioned BLAST tournament is also covered by the company’s trading team, which provides its operator partners with an esports odds feed and high uptime.
This article was originally published on Esports Insider.
