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Astralis Coach Zonic Talks About The Struggle That The Best CS:GO Teams Face

One of the best CS:GO teams in the world that dominated the top spot for a very long time, Astralis might not be as dominant as they once were, but they still continue to hold their own. The Danish giants recently lost their star player Nicolai "dev1ce" Reedtz, but despite the setback, they managed to finish 3rd-4th at IEM Cologne 2021, quickly adapting to the situation and making the best of it. However, the journey has been tough for Astralis as pointed out by their head coach, Danny "zonic" Sørensen who has been with the organization since the very first day.

Zonic, in an interview with BLAST Premier which was released on 26th July, talks about some of the struggles every top CS:GO team goes through, after attaining the number one spot in the world.

Also Read: CS:GO Coach Zonic Might Leave Astralis According to Reports

Zonic reveals what Astralis went through when they were the best CS:GO team

Zonic who has been named the 'Best Esports Coach' for two consecutive years at the Game Awards 2019 and 2020, is a massive reason behind Astralis' success up until this point in time.

The 34-year-old, in a recent interview released by BLAST, spoke about the struggle almost every CS:GO team goes through after becoming the very best in the world. First, talking about his own experience along with Astralis, zonic said that,

Zonic moves on from Astralis and talks about how teams, after claiming the throne, have to struggle even harder. He points out how being at the top requires teams to come up with new stuff constantly, as others study their whole playbook.

He shines a light on the mental side of things, saying once a team starts winning all the trophies and stay longer at the top, every loss hurts more especially the times when the team goes through a bad period.

Zonic goes on to talk about other things like how his journey as a coach began, what this role actually means, and more.

Astralis recently expanded to a six-man roster once again by signing a young AWPer. It will be interesting to see how the team goes on to perform from here on out.

Also Read: Dupreeh Gets Emotional During Farewell Message to Dev1ce

CS:GO Major 2021 Update: PGL Sets Two Deadlines For Stockholm

PGL has finally come forward to give an update on the upcoming CS:GO Major location after no response was made by them, following the reported 23rd July deadline. According to the tournament organizers the PGL Major 2021 will take place in Stockholm only if local authorities are able to meet specific objectives before two seperate deadlines. In case these deadlines are not met by the Swedish authorities, PGL is prepared to move the Major to another location in Europe on the same dates in November 2021 (i.e., November 4th-7th). The organizers further confirmed that the ticket sales for the Major will start on 16th Sept, irrespective of where the event takes place.

Also Read: PGL Gives an Update on CS:GO Major 2021, Has Backup Plans

PGL CS:GO Major Update: Stockholm on track if local authorities meet deadlines

PGL while acknowledging that the Swedish authorities are trying to meet all the guarantees set by them, in order to conduct the CS:GO Major in Stockholm have not given them the green flag so far.

To ensure that the event is accessible to all the players, staff, and fans, PGL is keeping a close eye on the following two deadlines.

  1. 23rd August

    The first deadline is directly related to the change in Sweden's temporary entry ban restriction which will allow all the players and people supporting the event to enter the country. This amendment is supposed to be enforced by 23rd August, according to PGL.

  2. 15th September

    This is the second deadline that affects the live audience numbers for the CS:GO Major. PGL is hoping that the indoor restrictions for this tournament will be lifted by this date and that they would be able to fill Avicii Arena to its full capacity.

Last CS:GO Major - StarLadder Berlin Major 2019

Having made the above statement, PGL has confirmed that without having any effect on the predecided schedule of the Major (4th-7th November) they can move the tournament to another European venue, if the deadlines are not met by Swedish authorities.

Sweden has already made a 180 switch from being against conducting the CS:GO Major in Stockholm, to discussing the issue and accepting it. It will be interesting to see if the local authorities can keep their word and work towards attaining the set objectives before the deadlines or not.

Also Read: Mayor of Stockholm in Support of CS:GO Major, Highlights Its Positive Effects on Sweden

EliGE Talks About FalleN Taking Over as Liquid’s IGL After CS:GO Player Break

Team Liquid has not really had the best year so far, having won just one CS:GO tournament - cs_summit 8 in 2021. Despite star player Gabriel "FalleN" Toledo joining the team in January 2021 and Eric "adreN" Hoag returning as their coach in May 2021, the team has failed to be consistent. With the currently ongoing CS:GO summer player break, all the teams have got a chance to reset themselves before the arrival of the next CS:GO Major in October. In a bid to get out of their slump, Team Liquid has apparently decided to let FalleN lead the team inside the server while giving Jacky "Stewie2K" Yip a break from this responsibility, according to Liquid rifler Jonathan "EliGE" Jablonowski who revealed this on his 27th July Twitch stream.

Also Read: S1mple Talks About a Faster Method to Plant C4 in CS:GO, Community Debates

FalleN to takeover as Team Liquid IGL after CS:GO player break

While streaming Valorant and having a chat with his viewers, EliGE, during his 27th July Twitch stream, revealed that FalleN will be taking on the role of the in-game leader for Team Liquid post the CS:GO player break which comes to an end on 15th August. He further confirmed that it was Stewie2K who was calling the shots for Liquid during IEM Cologne 2021.

This means that FalleN will most definitely be leading the Liquid lineup at the upcoming ESL Pro League Season 14, which is scheduled to start one day after the CS:GO player break from 16th August.

However, Liquid will only be seen in action from 1st to 5th September as they are in Group-D alongside five other teams - Gambit Esports, NIP, FURIA, Entropiq, and Team One.

It is unclear at the moment if FalleN will be leading the North American organization for just this one tournament, or has the Brazilian been handed this responsibility on a more permanent basis.

FalleN Acting as Team Liquid IGL During IEM Katowice 2021

But this is definitely not the first time that a change in captaincy has been implemented by Liquid, as FalleN has acted as an IGL for this lineup at least once during IEM Katowice 2021 which took place in February earlier this year.

Also Read: NiKo Shares Old Plans of Forming CS:GO Team With FalleN

S1mple Talks About a Faster Method to Plant C4 in CS:GO, Community Debates

When the best CS:GO player in the world says something, the community usually takes it without asking any questions. But that was not the case yesterday when Oleksandr "s1mple" Kostyliev came forward to say that holding down 'E' to plant a C4 is faster than using the 'Left Click'. An instant debate erupted within the CS:GO community as users started pointing out that this theory has been debunked by popular Counter-Strike YouTuber 3kliksphilip. There was still a lot of back and forth arguments as a dedicated user went ahead to experiment on his own, concluding that the time to plant the C4 does indeed vary by a few ticks.

Also Read: CS:GO Pro Edward's Warm Message to First-Ever CS World Champion Goes Viral

Is there a faster way to plant the C4 in CS:GO?

Yesterday on 27th July, VP.Prodigy lost one round to Fnatic Rising on Overpass after they ran out of time to plant the C4. Highlighting this round in particular, Na'Vi star AWPer, s1mple came forward to reveal that the first CS:GO player who had managed to plant the C4 quicker than the default time required was the Astralis captain Lukas "gla1ve" Rossander.

He followed this up by claiming that pressing down the 'E' button to plant a C4 was a faster method of planting than the default 'Left Click'.

As expected, it led to a huge debate within the CS:GO community as users immediately started pointing out an experiment conducted by 3kliksphilip on this very topic more than six years ago.

According to 3kliksphilip's analysis, if the player has done everything right like holding the C4 in their hand before reaching the site and planting right on the very edge of the site right from where it begins, then it does not matter which button the player uses.

A recent experiment conducted by a CS:GO player following s1mple's tweet seems to be generating the same result as the one showcased by 3kliksphilip. The user in his outcome states that "After some testing, there appears to be VERY SLIGHT variation at times when the C4 is planted, but not more than 1 or 2 ticks."

It seems s1mple might have been wrong after all with his statement. The faster plant time when compared to the set default seems to be a random oddity that is not associated to 'E' or 'Left Click', the reason behind its occurrence is still under debate without any solid conclusion.

Also Read: Everything About CS:GO Defuse Code: What Is It, How Can You Change It, What Does It Mean

CS:GO Pro Edward’s Warm Message to First-Ever CS World Champion Goes Viral

Sometimes the current CS:GO players forget exactly how old Counter-Strike is and since how long players have been competing at a professional level. CS:GO is itself almost a decade old at this point in time, so when former Na'Vi player, Ioann "Edward" Sukhariev came forward to reveal that he used to look up to former Swedish Counter-Strike player Tommy "Potti" Ingemarsson, the entire CS:GO community started to share the news in amazement. The warm response by the 33-year-old along with Potti's tweet has since gone viral as users came forward to share nostalgic events and stories from Counter-Strike's glorious past.

Also Read: S1mple Talks About What He Does With All the CS:GO Prize Money

Edward's warm message to Potti wins over the CS:GO community

Swedish Counter-Strike legend, Potti who used to compete professionally in the early days of the game, recently came forward to celebrate 20 years of him along with his team Ninjas in Pyjamas winning the first-ever official Counter-Strike Major tournament - CPL Winter Championship 2001.

Many acknowledged his tweet, coming forward to congratulate him for what he had achieved with NIP and SK Gaming in the early days of Counter-Strike. An Argentinian user even came forward to reveal that in his country, the heaven spot on Nuke was commonly called Potti since the last 20 years or so.

But the comment that really won everyone's heart was Edward coming forward to say that watching Potti play basically inspired him and that he always aspired to be just like him.

Edward's Response to Potti

This interaction, in particular, went viral as the CS:GO community suddenly realised how old Counter-Strike as a game was, its competitive circuit having started in 2000 and still going strong to this very day. They were amazed that the 33-year-old Edward was himself, at one point in time, looking up to someone like Potti, who was in his prime back then.

One user gave a great perspective to the CS:GO scene saying that "CS is so old that a lot of the current or even recently retired professional players looked up to Edward back in the days, who in turn looked up to Potti even way more back in the days."

A statement that well summarised the sentiments that the majority of the CS:GO community felt after having witnessed that interaction.

Also Read: CS:GO Major Location: No Word From PGL Yet, Will the Event Take Place in Sweden?

S1mple Talks About What He Does With All the CS:GO Prize Money

One of the best CS:GO players in the world and Na'Vi star AWPer, Oleksandr "s1mple" Kostyliev recently spoke about what he does with his share of the CS:GO prize money. On his 25th July Twitch stream, s1mple, while chatting with his viewers admitted that he gives all his prize money earnings from the CS:GO tournaments to his parents so that they can enjoy their life like he does. The MVP (Most Valuable Player) of IEM Cologne 2021 had an incredible outing in the first CS:GO LAN tournament in more than a year, as Na'Vi lifted the trophy, now just one win away from winning the Intel Grand Slam - Season 3.

Also Read: S1mple Delivers a Message to his Haters After Winning IEM Cologne 2021

S1mple reveals what he does with all the CS:GO prize money

The lethal marksman who is a threat to every opposition in any possible scenario and situation, recently registered an insane overall HLTV rating of 1.51 at Cologne. But as merciless as he may be on the server, s1mple in reality is quite humble in the way he chooses to spend his tournament prize money.

S1mple MVP of IEM Cologne 2021

During his recent Twitch stream, while engaging with his viewers, s1mple came forward to reveal what exactly does he do with his share of the tournament earnings, saying that,

So far 2021 has been going great for both s1mple and Na'Vi, the organization having already won a handful of CS:GO tournaments like,

  • BLAST Premier: Global Final 2020

  • BLAST Premier: Spring Groups 2021

  • DreamHack Masters Spring 2021

  • StarLadder CIS RMR 2021

  • IEM Cologne 2021

In all these tournaments, s1mple has showcased sublime form leading the team from the front and shining a light on his unmatched consistency. So far he has not registered an overall rating of less than 1.20 across all major tournaments.

According to esportsearnings, s1mple has earned $240,700 USD from his nine CS:GO tournament appearances so far in 2021. While last year, the star AWPer had managed to earn $123,200 USD across a total of 16 CS:GO tournaments.

With five more months still remaining before the year comes to an end, there are still a few big CS:GO tournaments still on the radar like the upcoming CS:GO Major, ESL Pro League Season 14, IEM Fall 2021, IEM Winter 2021, and more.

It will be interesting to see how Na'Vi performs in these tournaments, especially the Majors for which they are touted as being the top contenders to win it all.

Also Read: [Watch] S1mple's Record-Breaking Fourth Ace Against G2 Esports at IEM Cologne 2021

CS:GO Major Location: No Word From PGL Yet, Will the Event Take Place in Sweden?

Just yesterday on 23rd July, the Swedish government took a massive step to allow the entry of CS:GO professionals within the country. Following this, it has been reported by Fragbite.se that the location of the CS:GO Major - Avicii Arena can take up to 300 people per section which corresponds to a total of about 4,000 audience members, as per the active restrictions as of today 24th July. This means that the Swedish government has now taken care of both the primary demands put forth by PGL, who are the organizers of the upcoming CS:GO Major.

Despite this, PGL has not made any public statements on where the CS:GO Major would be held, despite passing the reported deadline of 23rd July. The current situation has casted doubts in the minds of many that perhaps the Major may not take place in Sweden.

Also Read: PGL Major Stockholm 2021 May Be Back on Track

No Word From PGL: Sweden Under Doubt as Host of Upcoming CS:GO Major

Last CS:GO Major - StarLadder Berlin Major 2019

A combined effort by the CS:GO community, Anna König Jerlmyr - Mayor of Stockholm, and the Swedish Esports Association, had resulted in PGL and Valve meeting with Amanda Lind - the Minister for Culture and Democracy.

Following this, the situation quickly developed into PGL coming forward to give an official update on the situation. Here they pointed out that they were in touch with two other European countries who had already agreed to both their primary requests.

  • We need to fly in all the qualified players into Sweden.

  • Entertain a large number of spectators inside the venue.

The Swedish government quickly worked on a solution to comply with PGL's requests and at the moment seemingly have all their bases covered. However, PGL continues to remain tight-lipped about the situation.

The Swedish Esports Association, Ninjas in Pajamas, Godsent, and Lilmix, who were engaged in a dialogue with PGL have reportedly not heard anything new from the organizer since last Sunday.

Sweden chances of retaining Stockholm as the location of the upcoming CS:GO Major was likely boosted yesterday, after it introduced some changes to allow professional CS:GO players to enter Sweden despite the temporary entry ban. However, the lack of communication from PGL regarding this matter has seemingly cast a shadow of doubt on whether the tournament will actually take place in Stockholm.

Also Read: Mayor of Stockholm in Support of CS:GO Major, Highlights Its Positive Effects on Sweden

PGL Major Stockholm 2021 May Be Back on Track

The Swedish government has taken some big steps to allow the entry of CS:GO professionals within the country. This is made possible because large esports tournaments have been exempted from the currently ongoing temporary entry ban, granting them the same status as elite sports competitions, among other things. This change comes after PGL had highlighted two major demands that need to be fulfilled at all costs for the CS:GO Major to take place in Stockholm, one of which requires a guarantee to fly in all the qualified CS:GO players into Sweden. The exemption being offered to esports players seem to be in response to PGL's request to the Swedish government to enable the PGL Major to take place in Stockholm, Sweden.

Also Read: PGL Gives an Update on CS:GO Major 2021, Has Backup Plans

Swedish Government makes changes to entry ban to allow CS:GO professionals

Swedish government faced huge criticism and backlash for not allowing some of the biggest esports tournaments from taking place in Stockholm. Earlier, one of the biggest esports tournaments in the world, The International 10 (TI10) was denied the necessary guarantees required for the $40,000,000 USD competition to be held in the country.

This was followed by the upcoming $2,000,000 USD CS:GO Major scheduled to take place in Stockholm being on the verge of getting cancelled as well. But efforts put in by the esports community, a letter being written by Anna König Jerlmyr - Mayor of Stockholm in support of hosting the PGL Major in Stockholm, and the Swedish Esports Association sending a proposal from their end, managed to get PGL and Valve a meeting with Amanda Lind - the Minister for Culture and Democracy, with responsibility for sport and national minorities.

Following this meeting, PGL came forward to provide an update on the situation where it highlighted its two compulsory demands that need to be met at all costs for the CS:GO Major to take place in Stockholm, Sweden.

  • We need to fly in all the qualified players into Sweden.

  • Entertain a large number of spectators inside the venue.

PGL even revealed that it was in touch with two other European countries who have already agreed to both its primary requests. For now, these two backup venues have not been revealed, but this means that the organizers now have a proper secondary option.

The change being introduced by Swedish government is a direct result of PGL's request, as it hopes to hold the CS:GO Major in Stockholm, Sweden. In a press release, the Minister of the Interior - Mikael Damberg confirms that the exception is made for international elite competitions in esports to be held in Sweden.

It remains to be seen whether this change is enough to convince PGL to keep the CS:GO Major in Sweden, as no official announcement has been made by the tournament organizer so far.

Last CS:GO Major - StarLadder Berlin Major 2019

Also Read: Mayor of Stockholm in Support of CS:GO Major, Highlights Its Positive Effects on Sweden

Dreams & Nightmares CS:GO Weapon Case - Everything We Know So Far

Valve announced a $1 million USD art contest for all CS:GO content creators yesterday, with an objective to select 10 original dream or nightmare-themed weapon finishes for an upcoming case. Each of the 10 winnings entries would receive a sum of $100,000 USD with 21st October being the submission deadline. Visiting the dedicated website for the CS:GO art contest made it clear that the shortlisted weapon finishes would feature in the 'Dreams & Nightmares Weapon Case'. Valve has given a bit of an insight as to what players can expect from this case, which is clearly not affiliated to the upcoming CS:GO Major.

Also Read: Valve Announces $1 Million CS:GO Dreams & Nightmares Workshop Art Contest

Dreams & Nightmares CS:GO Weapon Case: What We Know So Far

Dreams & Nightmares Case - Weapon Finish Concept

The weapon finishes in the upcoming 'Dreams & Nightmares Case' is definitely going to have a lot of detailed graphics on them, with possible intricate designs, and great colour combinations.

There is a high chance of it being attached to some mythical lore, inspired from a popular fictional character, an adaptation of a popular novel, or something truly original right out of a creator's bizarre thoughts.

All this is evident from the weapon skin examples showcased by Valve, "To help content creators get a better feel for what we’re looking for." The complete set of weapon finish examples can be seen by 'Clicking Here'.

Valve Example - Hyper Beast (AWP)

Valve Example - Neo Noir (USP-S)

Valve Example - Allure (MAC-10)

Valve Example - Sunset Storm (Desert Eagle)

CS:GO Operation Shattered Web Logo

CS:GO Operation Broken Fang Logo

Dreams & Nightmares Art Contest Logo

Dreams & Nightmares Case - Weapons Within The Case

This piece of information has been officially revealed by Valve themselves. It was necessary to do this in order to inform the CS:GO content creators about the different weapons available within the case and the rarity those particular weapons would be offering.

Here are the specific weapons that will be featuring in the Dreams & Nightmares case along with their rarity,

  • Convert

    AK-47

    MP-9

  • Classified

    MP-7

    Dual Berettas

    FAMAS

  • Restricted

    XM-1014

    PP-Bizon

    G3SG1

    M4A1-S

    USP-S

  • Military Spec

    Five-SeveN

    SCAR-20

    MAG-7

    P2000

    Sawed-Off

    MAC-10

    MP5-SD

Dreams & Nightmares Case - Weapons and Rarity

Dreams & Nightmares Case - Rumours and Speculations

All the information being discussed in this section needs to be taken with a pinch of salt because almost all of it is community speculation, backed by factual data.

Majority of the community is off the opinion that the upcoming Dreams & Nightmares Case is most likely to feature in the next CS:GO Operation, which would be the 11th for Counter-Strike. This opinion is roughly based on these two points,

  • The logo that was launched along with the art contest called 'CS:GO Dreams & Nightmares Workshop' is similar in theme and design to the logos of the previous two operations - Broken Fang and Shattered Web.

  • Not only this, the winners of this art contest are scheduled to be announced on 21st November, which is very close to the release dates of the last two CS:GO operations.

    Shattered Web (9th Operation): 18th Nov 2019

    Broken Fang (10th Operation): 3rd Dec 2020

This is all the information we have about the upcoming Dreams & Nightmares Case which is still considerably quite a long way off. Valve might be releasing another weapon case in the interim, possibly before the upcoming CS:GO Major.

For detailed information about the ongoing art contest 'Click Here'.

Also Read: CS:GO Update: Valve Cracks Down on Griefing With Stricter Punishments

CS:GO Update: Valve Cracks Down on Griefing With Stricter Punishments

Valve, following the launch of the $1 million art contest for all CS:GO content creators, also dropped a new update for the game. The highlight of this 21st July Update was taking a strict step towards griefing in CS:GO. After taking steps towards filtering text and giving players an option to mute players, both opponents and teammates, Valve has now taken steps to ensure that griefers are not only blocked by other players but punished for griefing as well. In the latest CS:GO update Valve has come forward to state that, "Players that receive unusually high amounts of griefing reports will get a warning, followed by escalating competitive cooldowns."

Also Read: Valve Announces $1 Million CS:GO Dreams & Nightmares Workshop Art Contest

Griefers in CS:GO to be Handed Harsher Punishments

Valve has taken a huge step to ensure that griefers are heavily punished for their behaviour. However, this is dependent upon the amount of reports that a griefer receives. If a particular player is troubling or harassing their teammates across multiple matches and receives "unusually high amounts of griefing reports," only then will any action be taken against that griefer. Otherwise, there is a chance that they may go unpunished, so players have to make sure that they report a griefer when they come across one.

First time around, the griefer will be handed out just a warning similar to how a player receives one before getting a ban on the basis of toxicity. However, if the behaviour continues, the griefer will be handed a competitive cooldown which has a potential to keep escalating in duration.

This is another huge step taken by Valve to keep the community clean and less toxic, handing out punishments to those who actually deserve them. Just a few weeks back Valve had added 'Fair Play Guidelines' along with a new warning message pop-up that appears along with the 'Your Match Is Ready!' accept option.

CS:GO Fair Play Guidelines Message

There is a bit of a concern within the CS:GO community that four-man stacks would be able to abuse this, which would lead to a non-griefer getting punished. However, Valve has specifically mentioned that the number of reports would need to be "unusually high" for them to take action against that user, and four reports from a single match clearly does not fit this criteria.

Having said that, the scenario is still plausible just a little more scarce in number. The feature has rolled out today and only time will tell if it turns out to be an effective tool to combat griefers or not.

The complete list of patch notes can be read by 'Clicking Here'.

Also Read: CS:GO Update Adds Fair Play Guidelines, Competitive Matchmaking Presets, and More