https://stayclose.social/ShonaT82719711/ Latest updates from Shona Knouse https://stayclose.social/blog/108147/counter-strike-global-offensive-final-major-championship-in-paris/ CS:GO is a staple title in the competitive shooting scene, but like any long-running game, the game's standard levels eventually wear thin. Modders help keep the game fresh for casual play by injecting extra mechanics, weapons, models, and arenas into the popular tactical shooter. Homage maps that port settings from other titles into the game are especially popu


While this means that the second major event of 2023 has been canceled, the extended waiting period is expected to allow Valve to fine-tune the new game and ensure a smooth and enjoyable experience for players and fans al


Recent changes made to Counter-Strike: Global Offensive 's VAC Ban policy have opened the door to a host of returning players otherwise blocked from the game by a ban. With the VAC ban system on Counter-Strike: Global Offensive not having seen an update in 8 years, this change could be the first of many reintroducing banned players to the game as CS: GO enters its ninth y


It's easy to dismiss these changes as practically worthless to the vast majority of the player base, with it easily argued that the game would be better if it left its cheaters in the past entirely. Valve has shown in the past it isn't keen to forgive Counter-Strike cheaters , so the exemptions being made here are really just borne of allowing those who have served their time in the ban zone back into the professional fold, as few and Suggested Internet page far between as those top-tier cheats


Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is breaking Steam records ahead of the release of Counter-Strike 2 . While the series has always been massively popular among PC gamers, it seems to have hit another level of acclaim among players at the moment. It's impressive to see a game that's over a decade old go from strength to strength in this way, and the FPS genre is better for having one of its best at peak popular


Oleksandr ‘S1mple’ Kostyliev, arguably one of the best CS:GO players in the world, was banned on October 30 for saying a Russian slur. The leading player of Natus Vincere's CS:GO squad, S1mple has been banned for aggressive behavior and the use of slurs before, as recently as July 30. Some fans are concerned that S1mple's fourth strike-out will put him at risk of incurring a permanent


The fifth most followed Twitch streamer is xQcOW, also known as xQc. Previously a professional Overwatch player on the Overwatch League team , Dallas Fuel, he was released from the team and now streams on Twitch full-time. As of February 2021, he has 7,657,102 followers and 56,406 active s


The core of the change is the alleviation of the ban on some CS: GO accounts, no longer barring the banned accounts from official Valve events. Banned accounts bearing the block for over 5 years have seen clemency with the new changes, though the official blog post does stipulate that any account with a VAC ban received after their first participation in a Valve-sponsored event will not see forgiveness. This slams the door for some high-profile CS: GO players __ with years-old b

The Paris Major 2023 will undoubtedly be an emotional and unforgettable event for CS:GO fans as they bid farewell to the game's biggest Esports event. Despite the sadness, fans can look forward to the new opportunities and innovations that Counter-Strike 2 will bring . With Valve's reputation for creating groundbreaking games and the success of the original Counter-Strike , the sequel is expected to be a game-changer in the world of competitive gam


Fitting with his past as a professional CS:GO player, Shroud has streamed plenty of the esports shooter, but his channel features often features additional shooters and other titles as well. This includes games such as Player Unknown Battlegrounds , Apex Legends , and Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Sie


Hacks in online games are nothing new, and they continue to be a nuisance across nearly every online title. While these ban changes seem tailored to forgive talented players who made mistakes in the past, it falls upon talented individuals to deliver karma to people wanting to falsely claim dominance in an online lobby. The Valve Anti-Cheat software is known for being relatively efficient but is largely powerless against waves of botted accounts that exploit the free-to-play game's ease of acc


It's definitely worth noting that the other effects of a VAC ban will still be held in place on the affected account, greatly restricting the banned player's ability to actually play the competitive online game in the first place on the original account. It's more noteworthy as a reprieve on the personal level, with individuals who have been barred from the professional level of CS: GO play being allowed in after this lengthy probation per


The Counter-Strike franchise features some of the most impressive shooting levels in video games, including the legendary Dust 2 map. Dust 2 has, itself, been ported to a number of other video games as a custom level, most recently making the jump to Fortni
]]> https://stayclose.social/blog/108147/counter-strike-global-offensive-final-major-championship-in-paris/ Fri, 17 Apr 2026 11:55:05 +0000 Shona Knouse https://stayclose.social/blog/108104/cs-go-loot-box-x-ray-system-explained/ As if that isn't frustrating enough, Valve has apparently "preloaded" the X-Ray Scanner with an item already. Meaning that players will have to purchase this item, regardless of whether they want it, in order to use the X-Ray Scanner on a loot box. The X-Ray Scanner may appear to be beneficial to players, but ultimately is just another effort at encouraging players to begin purchasing microtransactions . There's little reason to believe it's significantly beneficial over


Players who would like to participate in the Competitive playlist in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive will first have to play unranked matches of Arms Race, Casual, Deathmatch, or Demolition until reaching level two. Then, they will be placed in one of several ranks to climb the competitive ladder. This guide will help players identify how many ranks there are in total and how the ranking system works in CS:


New players to the Competitive playlist will first have to win 10 games before they get ranked. This will place them in one of the ranks listed above, and many will most likely skip the first couple of low ra


Here's how the full feature technically works. In CS:GO , players are able to either earn loot boxes through gameplay or buy them from other players. However, these loot boxes can only be opened by paying for a key. The new feature is called the X-Ray Scanner and allows players to place one loot box into it to reveal the item inside. However, and here's the trick, once an item has been scanned by the X-Ray Scanner, players will have "claim" the item buy purchasing a key to unlock it before being able to look inside another loot


Counter-Strike players have often found creative means of using the game's community map aspect with some CS:GO players recreating popular locations from franchises like The Witcher . Now, a Finnish newspaper called Helsingin Sanomat is using the same feature to share details about the war in Ukraine among Russian gamers owing to the title's popularity within the community. A custom-made map dubbed "de_voyna," a fictionalized Slavic city, was released today that aims to echo some of the cities that have been destroyed over the course of the war. More interestingly, the map contains images and voice recordings captured by the newspaper's journalists on the ground situation, all of which players can interact with in-g


Trainwreckstv is looking to unbox the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive knife trinity, meaning the Emerald, Ruby, and Sapphire Karambit knives. Each one is a vibrant shade of green, red, and blue respectively, and are some of the rarest knives in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive . As of right now, he has already unboxed the Emerald and Ruby Karambits, with just the Sapphire left. Given the chance of unboxing a knife in-game is 0.26% per case, the likelihood of him completing the challenge is slim. However, he seems committed to throwing whatever funds are necessary at the challenge, so he certainly has the resources to do


With millions of viewers and thousands upon thousands of streamers, Twitch's prominent place online makes it a target for lawsuits, with the streaming site facing a lawsuit last summer regarding "scantily clad" female streamers . For Vargas, it seems the impetus for the lawsuit was in clearing his name, after being forced off the platform unceremoniously and without any actual evidence of wrongdo


It's currently unclear why Valve moved forward with these changes in France, in particular. So far France has not enacted any new regulations to account for loot boxes in video games, though French courts did recently rule that Steam has to allow users to resell their digital games . In 2018, the French online gambling regulatory body even assessed that loot boxes were not gambling under the country's current regulation. Perhaps Valve is using France as a testing bed or perhaps the decision is intended to shift discourse within the country or Europe. Either way, Valve certainly appears to be taking steps to protect the profits it receives from loot boxes amid the growing international controve


The Counter-Strike 2 Skins|https://counterstrike2zone.com/ franchise features some of the most impressive shooting levels in video games, including the legendary Dust 2 map. Dust 2 has, itself, been ported to a number of other video games as a custom level, most recently making the jump to Fortni


Vargas was accused in 2016 of running a CS:GO website and actively promoting it despite not clarifying that he was the owner of the site. However, Twitch banned Vargas without proof of these allegations of fraud, and this is what is at the heart of the lawsuit the former streamer won. Seeking to clear his name, and financial compensation for being banned from the platform, Vargas filed the lawsuit against Twitch and was found to be in the right. He was awarded $20,702.34 in damages, a far cry from the $35 million he was seek


According to Valve, the game uses a modified Glicko-2 ranking system that gives players a hidden matchmaking rating (MMR) depending on their performance during a match. A string of bad performances will bring players to a lower rank while winning matches and becoming MVP of the match multiple times will increase the chance of going up a r
]]> https://stayclose.social/blog/108104/cs-go-loot-box-x-ray-system-explained/ Fri, 17 Apr 2026 11:34:50 +0000 Shona Knouse https://stayclose.social/blog/108078/twitch-streamers-with-the-most-subscribers-and-followers/ It's easy to dismiss these changes as practically worthless to the vast majority of the player base, with it easily argued that the game would be better if it left its cheaters in the past entirely. Valve has shown in the past it isn't keen to forgive Counter-Strike cheaters , so the exemptions being made here are really just borne of allowing those who have served their time in the ban zone back into the professional fold, as few and far between as those top-tier cheats


Twitch continues its streak of cracking down on streamers who violate their community guidelines, this time dropping the hammer on one of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive 's popular players. Unlike the platform's recent DMCA-inspired content culling, "aggression" earned this streamer his fourth temporary


Oleksandr ‘S1mple’ Kostyliev, arguably one of the best CS:GO players in the world, was banned on October 30 for saying a Russian slur. The leading player of Natus Vincere's CS:GO squad, S1mple has been banned for aggressive behavior and the use of slurs before, as recently as July 30. Some fans are concerned that S1mple's fourth strike-out will put him at risk of incurring a permanent


Finally, the most followed streamer on all of Twitch is Ninja, another streamer that greatly benefited from the popularity boom of Fortnite . His popularity has earned him money, fame, and connections to celebrities and industry professionals. As of February 2021, Ninja has 16,729,044 followers and 7,836 active s


Ninja was recently in an exclusive contract with the now failed streaming platform known as Mixer. With the closure of the platform however, Ninja has since returned to streaming on Twitch with games such as Fortnite , Player Unknown Battlegrounds , and Valora


At time of writing, no duration has been provided for S1mple's ban. As with all Twitch bans, visiting the Counter-Strike 2 strategy|https://counterstrike2Zone.com/: Global Offensive streamer's page currently displays the message "Sorry. Unless you've got a time machine, that content is unavailab


While Valve and others have tried to take action against cheaters , using software to detect and ban them (Valve Anti-Cheat in the case of CS:GO ), they can still run rampant in many games. Gamers who recognize ScriptKid's name may remember him from a previous video where he trolled PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG) cheaters in a similar fashion. Causing them to be ejected from their cars once they were traveling over 85 km/h, to shoot their teammates when trying to revive them, and to be prevented from throwing cooked grena


Hacks in online games are nothing new, and they continue to be a nuisance across nearly every online title. While these ban changes seem tailored to forgive talented players who made mistakes in the past, it falls upon talented individuals to deliver karma to people wanting to falsely claim dominance in an online lobby. The Valve Anti-Cheat software is known for being relatively efficient but is largely powerless against waves of botted accounts that exploit the free-to-play game's ease of acc


Fitting with his past as a professional CS:GO player, Shroud has streamed plenty of the esports shooter, but his channel features often features additional shooters and other titles as well. This includes games such as Player Unknown Battlegrounds , Apex Legends , and Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Sie


It's definitely worth noting that the other effects of a VAC ban will still be held in place on the affected account, greatly restricting the banned player's ability to actually play the competitive online game in the first place on the original account. It's more noteworthy as a reprieve on the personal level, with individuals who have been barred from the professional level of CS: GO play being allowed in after this lengthy probation per


In any case, even though the Finnish newspaper's de_voyna map was launched in line with World Press Freedom Day to reach the millions of Russians playing Counter-Strike , it's worth noting that Valve wasn't consulted prior to the community-made map going online. So it will be interesting to see how long the downloadable map will remain online, should the company take any act


The core of the change is the alleviation of the ban on some CS: GO accounts, no longer barring the banned accounts from official Valve events. Banned accounts bearing the block for over 5 years have seen clemency with the new changes, though the official blog post does stipulate that any account with a VAC ban received after their first participation in a Valve-sponsored event will not see forgiveness. This slams the door for some high-profile CS: GO players __ with years-old b


Even though S1mple draws impressive viewership numbers, no Twitch celebrity is above the law of the platform's community guidelines. Twitch famously banned the streaming mega-star, Dr. Disrespect , after controversial violations. That said, S1mple seems bothered more by the hypocrisy in his most recent ban, offering an explanation on Twit
]]> https://stayclose.social/blog/108078/twitch-streamers-with-the-most-subscribers-and-followers/ Fri, 17 Apr 2026 11:21:12 +0000 Shona Knouse https://stayclose.social/blog/108056/cs-go-competitive-changes-allow-some-banned-players-to-return/ Hacks in online games are nothing new, and they continue to be a nuisance across nearly every online title. While these ban changes seem tailored to forgive talented players who made mistakes in the past, it falls upon talented individuals to deliver karma to people wanting to falsely claim dominance in an online lobby. The Valve Anti-Cheat software is known for being relatively efficient but is largely powerless against waves of botted accounts that exploit the free-to-play game's ease of acc

The core of the change is the alleviation of the ban on some CS: GO accounts, no longer barring the banned accounts from official Valve events. Banned accounts bearing the block for over 5 years have seen clemency with the new changes, though the official blog post does stipulate that any account with a VAC ban received after their first participation in a Valve-sponsored event will not see forgiveness. This slams the door for some high-profile CS: GO players __ with years-old b


With March's huge reveal of Counter-Strike 2 Guide|Https://Counterstrike2Zone.Com/ 2 , the hype has continued to build for the release of the sequel. Right now, many players are taking part in the Counter-Strike 2 Limited Test, and gamers seeing their friends enjoy the new game has only made the wait more agonizing for many out there. Its increase in popularity has seen many streamers join in on the fun as of late, with case openings being a key part of that. In fact, streamer Dr Disrespect recently unboxed an incredibly rare knife in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive , but it's nothing compared to what Trainwreck is looking to achi


With millions of viewers and thousands upon thousands of streamers, Twitch's prominent place online makes it a target for lawsuits, with the streaming site facing a lawsuit last summer regarding "scantily clad" female streamers . For Vargas, it seems the impetus for the lawsuit was in clearing his name, after being forced off the platform unceremoniously and without any actual evidence of wrongdo


The war in Ukraine continues to make a distinct impact on many industries across the spectrum, including the gaming sector. Over the course of 2022, companies ranging from Take-Two and Ubisoft to Sony have restricted Russia from its services with others like Riot Games, Microsoft, and Epic even going on to raise funds for Ukraine. In one of the latest developments, one community is reportedly utilizing a CS:GO map in an effort to reach the Russian masses to report on the present circumstances of the


It's definitely worth noting that the other effects of a VAC ban will still be held in place on the affected account, greatly restricting the banned player's ability to actually play the competitive online game in the first place on the original account. It's more noteworthy as a reprieve on the personal level, with individuals who have been barred from the professional level of CS: GO play being allowed in after this lengthy probation per


One community-made Counter-Strike: Global Offensive map is seemingly offering Russians an alternative view of the war in Ukraine. While Valve's Counter-Strike has been among the most popular live-service titles to date, the game is currently seeing a notable uptick in interest thanks to the recent reveal that Counter-Strike 2 is officially in the works . Now, it appears one community is looking to leverage this popularity to shed light on the situation in Ukra


When a streamer gets banned from Twitch, there is usually little information as to why a ban was handed out. The mystery behind Dr Disrespect's ban from Twitch , for example, still hasn't been solved. But former Twitch streamer James 'Phantoml0rd' Vargas, who was banned from the platform in 2016, has won a lawsuit against Twitch after unproven fraud allegations led to a permanent


It's easy to dismiss these changes as practically worthless to the vast majority of the player base, with it easily argued that the game would be better if it left its cheaters in the past entirely. Valve has shown in the past it isn't keen to forgive Counter-Strike cheaters , so the exemptions being made here are really just borne of allowing those who have served their time in the ban zone back into the professional fold, as few and far between as those top-tier cheats


Valve, the developers of the iconic and long-running first-person shooter game, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive , has revealed that the upcoming Paris Major 2023 will be the final Major Championship event ever held on the current version of the game, signaling the end of an era and the start of a new one as Valve moves forward with the development of its highly anticipated successor Counter-Strike 2 . This news has sparked a mix of emotions in the CS:GO community, ranging from excitement for the future to nostalgia.For those who may not know, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Majors are some of the most highly anticipated events in the competitive gaming scene. These tournaments bring together the best players and teams from around the world to battle it out for the championship title and a share of the massive prize pool. The tournaments feature intense gameplay, high-level strategies, and stunning displays of skill, making for an exciting viewing experience. RELATED: Counter Strike 2 Beta Files Leaked Online According to Valve, the upcoming Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Paris Major 2023 will be held at the Accor Arena in Paris from May 8 to May 21, 2023. With a prize pool of $1.25 million, this event promises to be an exciting and highly competitive gathering for CS:GO enthusiasts worldwide. In addition, Valve announced that the following major event will take place in March 2024 and will be the first in the new version of the game, Counter-Strike
]]> https://stayclose.social/blog/108056/cs-go-competitive-changes-allow-some-banned-players-to-return/ Fri, 17 Apr 2026 11:09:57 +0000 Shona Knouse https://stayclose.social/blog/108046/counter-strike-global-offensive-fake-cheats-explained/ One of the game's newest additions allows terrorist and counter-terrorist operatives to vacation at Kaer Morhen, the home base of Geralt of Rivia. The map is an impressively detailed recreation of The Witcher 3 's fortress and the witcher training ground, which functions as a surprisingly good playground for firefights. While the map may not represent a radical gameplay shift, like CS:GO 's Mad Max custom map , the blind corners, ramparts, and courtyards of the keep provide an interesting mix of cover and vantage poi


The lawsuit could potentially open the door to other banned streamers filing against Twitch for wrongful bans. That, or Twitch might start to be more forthcoming with reasons why permanent bans are handed out. Providing exactly where a streamer breached Terms of Service could help to prevent any similar litigation, like Vargas's case h


The recent announcement of Counter-Strike 2 , set to release during Summer 2023, revived the interest for players in CS:GO skins. Valve stated that all the cosmetics from CS:GO would carry over to Counter-Strike 2 , increasing the value of all cosmetics and loot boxes listed in the community market as players try to get the rarest weapon skins available in the g


Vargas was accused in 2016 of running a CS:GO website and actively promoting it despite not clarifying that he was the owner of the site. However, Twitch banned Vargas without proof of these allegations of fraud, and this is what is at the heart of the lawsuit the former streamer won. Seeking to clear his name, and financial compensation for being banned from the platform, Vargas filed the lawsuit against Twitch and was found to be in the right. He was awarded $20,702.34 in damages, a far cry from the $35 million he was seek


Counter-Strike: Global Offensive has been on the market for over 8 years, and during that time it has accrued a truly impressive variety of custom maps, including a number of levels adapted from earlier iterations of the series. But modders are still contributing fresh arenas to the game, including an impressive recent rendering of one of The Witcher 3 's most famous Loca


There are nine punishments inflicted on the would-be CS:GO cheaters , which are activated largely at random so cheaters can't try and correct for them. They include: Burning Man, which throws grenades straight down and unbinds the movement controls for a few seconds; Butter Fingers, which drops the cheater's weapon every time they try to shoot; and Blood Brothers, which automatically fires a weapon when the cheater's aim is over an a


When a streamer gets banned from Twitch, there is usually little information as to why a ban was handed out. The mystery behind Dr Disrespect's ban from Twitch , for example, still hasn't been solved. But former Twitch streamer James 'Phantoml0rd' Vargas, who was banned from the platform in 2016, has won a lawsuit against Twitch after unproven fraud allegations led to a permanent


The map creator, ZelezoBeton, notes that the map is not a perfect, 1:1 replica, but a specific transformation made with CS:GO in mind. The map requires the Trouble in Terrorist Town plugin to run, which is an alternate game mode where terrorist forces have secret traitors seeded in their ranks. Despite this requirement, the map supports the standard, classic multiplayer modes as well as other custom modes. The map will likely never be featured in official competitive play, but it seems to stack up solidly against CS:GO 's official roster of ma


While this policy update may not have direct consequences for players, it may indicate Steam’s decision to take a better look at the websites offering the option to use in-game skins to gamble. Players engaging in this kind of activity could face sanctions from Steam, especially as Valve is both the owner of this platform and the publisher of all Counter-Strike games . In the announcement published by Steam alongside this guidelines update, Valve stated that it was simply meant to provide more information on the regulations already in place on the platf


At time of writing, no duration has been provided for S1mple's ban. As with all Twitch bans, visiting the Counter-Strike 2 Tips|Https://Counterstrike2Zone.Com/: Global Offensive streamer's page currently displays the message "Sorry. Unless you've got a time machine, that content is unavailab


With millions of viewers and thousands upon thousands of streamers, Twitch's prominent place online makes it a target for lawsuits, with the streaming site facing a lawsuit last summer regarding "scantily clad" female streamers . For Vargas, it seems the impetus for the lawsuit was in clearing his name, after being forced off the platform unceremoniously and without any actual evidence of wrongdo


Skin gambling has been a regular activity for CS:GO fans , allowing them to bet on their cosmetics in hopes of winning better ones. Various platforms offer these services, with players placing bets on professional matches or joining lotteries using their in-game cosmetics as currency. Valve previously launched legal action against gambling sites that demanded access to the Steam API, automatically loading the users’ inventory to ease the betting process. However, since all CS:GO skin gambling websites don’t use this Steam API, players could still bet on their cosmetics if they wanted
]]> https://stayclose.social/blog/108046/counter-strike-global-offensive-fake-cheats-explained/ Fri, 17 Apr 2026 10:58:51 +0000 Shona Knouse https://stayclose.social/ShonaT82719711/ https://stayclose.social/ShonaT82719711/ Fri, 17 Apr 2026 10:58:37 +0000 Shona Knouse