A new year in electric sport gets underway as the League of Legends championship machine thunders to life after a post-Worlds hiatus. There's money to be won by the best Dota 2 and CS:GO teams in Minsk, and even a little Chinese Heroes of the Storm if that's what you're into.

Dota 2: StarLadder i-League StarSeries XIII Finals

After a week of group stage matches, season 13 of StarLadder will come to an end this weekend in Minsk. The remaining teams in contention are LGD, Evil Geniuses, Team Liquid, Alliance and Team Secret—although we'll lose either Alliance or Secret very shortly (at the time of writing, their quarterfinal set is about to begin.) The Dota 2 metagame has changed dramatically in the aftermath of 6.86b's overhauls, so this is a good opportunity to get up to speed. The quarterfinals run on Saturday from 08:00 CET/07:00 GMT/23:00 PST (Friday night: sorry, America.) The grand final will take place on Sunday at 11:00 CET/10:00 GMT/02:00 PST. Find the stream here.

CS:GO: StarLadder i-League StarSeries XIV Finals

Running alongside Dota 2 in Minsk, the year's first subsantial CS:GO tournament has been underway for a little while. The quarterfinals are being played right now to determine whether Na'Vi or ? progress to the next stage (Fnatic have already earned their spot.) They'll join Luminosity, Fnatic, and EnVyUs in tomorrow's semifinals, which begin at 10:00 CET/09:00 GMT/01:00 PST. The grand final will begin on Sunday at 14:00 CET/13:00 GMT/05:00 PST. Here's the stream.

League of Legends: NA LCS, LPL, and LMS

LoL's new season kicked off earlier in the week across the world. Play this weekend will take place in North America, China and Taiwan as the NA LCS, LPL, and LMS all get underway. Click those links to check out schedules for each individual league, and you can find streams at lolesports.com: look for the 'watch live' button on the homepage when games are on.

Heroes of the Storm: Gold Series Heroes League 2015 Grand Finals

The playoffs aren't until next week, but this weekend will see China's best Heroes of the Storm teams battle through group stages for a shot at a share of $100,000. Play begins at 17:00 local time/09:00 GMT/01:00 PST on both days. You can find English-language casting on Gillyweed's Twitch stream.

PC Gamer Pro is dedicated to esports and competitive gaming. Check back every day for exciting, fun and informative articles about League of Legends, Dota 2, Hearthstone, CS:GO and more. GL HF!

As of January 13, competitive gaming group Titan is dead. Founder and CEO Damien Grust announced the disbandment on Titan's website, releasing all players and staff on its roster, which included Smite and CS:GO teams.

The group previously placed in the top 10 at The International 4, won in Quake at two DreamHacks and a QuakeCon, claimed a CS:GO Title at the DreamHack Invitational 2 and placed second in the 2015 Smite World Championships. However, as Grust details in his farewell post, the VAC ban dealt to CS:GO team member Hovik 'KQLY' Tovmassian in November 2014 would mark the beginning of the end.

"All the bad press that this brought and the major hit the image of an otherwise respectable brand took was too much," Grust writes. "Sponsors and partners with whom we were about to sign understandably backed out of deals, not wanting to be associated with a company that had just been tarnished. Needless to say, our budget for 2015 had gone up in smoke from one day to another."

It was a financial hit from which Titan has been unable to recover—a catastrophically high price for one member's cheating.

Last time we had a look at some cool tricks as CT on Overpass. Now it's time to indulge in the fine art of attacking the very same map.

My philosophy is that it's best to take control over key areas on the map before deciding where to attack. That gives you many more options as well as the freedom to back off again should anything go awry. In my CT guide I identified connector, lower tunnels and outside restroom as the key areas you want to control. This holds true when you're on the T-side as well. If you have connector you can change your mind and attack the other bomb site in a matter of seconds. But that s for later. The important part is how to actually execute the attack.

Utility grenades on B

A spot you almost always want to smoke off is sniper s nest. I always feel like a fool when I get killed from there because the solution to the problem is rather simple.

Note that this smoke is a really neat trick to use in one-on-one situations. Think about it: When the counter-terrorist finds himself alone it makes sense to go sniper s nest because it's close to both A and B. A very common reaction to getting smoked off in snipers nest is to go around down towards jungle. I've won more than one round by using this smoke and then run up through connector and plant the bomb on an empty bomb site on A.

You know that counter-terrorist who's on fire behind barrels? The guy who constantly stops you from getting through the pipe in canals? It's time to torch him, literally:

After that molotov it won't feel like you're crawling through the sewers anymore. Attacking canals will be a walk in the park.

If you know they usually have a guy behind barrels, and you have more time, you can use this boost instead:

This will save you the money you'd otherwise spend on a molotov, but after you've used it once they will be prepared for it. That guy might think twice before going barrels again.

Sometimes you want to smoke off the bridge to make it easier for your bomb carrier to enter the bombsite:

This smoke combined with the smoke on sniper's nest can also be used if you have an eco round and want to get the bomb down for that $4000 bonus ($800 per player.) Be careful, though: they can use the smoke to jump up on the ledge towards the water and sneak up on your guy while he's planting. It can be easy to forget that smokes aren't brick walls.

On the next page: controlling A and changing your mind.

Lay down a smoke screen on A

Bombsite A on Overpass is infamous for all the angles you have to clear when you enter the site. The counter-terrorists can hide on either side of the truck, around the van, inside bank, on the stairs or dance around the boxes. You get the point. Once you attack the site you don't want to have to worry about the guys rotating from B. For that reason you're going to lay down a smoke screen on the back of the site.

The first smoke is used to make it less attractive to go up the stairs as well as forcing a guy already peeking from there to change position. An enemy moving between positions is always an easier target. Simply aim slightly above this sign while standing on top of the bench outside restroom:

The second smoke is used to smoke off the bank, and can be quite tricky. Hold down the walk key (default is shift) and take two steps before you throw it. Otherwise it will bounce off the box on site and do more harm than good.

Where do you want to plant the bomb?

On bombsite A it's almost always preferable to plant the bomb towards restroom while using the boxes as cover. If you plant in that spot you can stop the defuse from all angles on the terrorist side of the site.

You're often very limited as to where you can plant the bomb on B. You need the cover from the woodblocks in order to get the bomb down safely. Not only is it the safest spot to plant in, but it gives you a lot of options for post-plant positions. You can stand back in canal, hide behind the pillar, fall back to construction or even go down to pit.

Final words

Like I mentioned earlier, it's important to take control over key areas of the map. Overpass is a map that's all about fast rotations. Use fakes a lot and don't be afraid to fall back if you notice that your opponents have a strong defense on the site you planned to take. Because of how fast the counter-terrorists can get to the other site it's almost always a good idea to have one guy engaging the enemy on the side of the map. Once you notice that the CTs are adapting to your slow style of play you can start playing a little bit faster and sometimes go for a five man attack. They won't rotate straight away if they're used to fakes. GLHF!

PC Gamer Pro is dedicated to esports and competitive gaming. Check back every day for exciting, fun and informative articles about League of Legends, Dota 2, Hearthstone, CS:GO and more. GL HF!

Just a couple of weeks after announcing its recruitment of the former Skyred Counter-Strike: Global Offensive team, Australian esports organization 24/7 Esports has cut ties with the group over allegations that its players were involved in match-fixing.

I am disappointed in the rumored conduct of the players, but for the sake of integrity in Esports, 24/7 Esports does not condone match fixing or even the discussion of it, Esports 24/7 owner Wei-Ning Yong said in a statement. Because of this, we have decided to terminate any support towards the team.

Somewhat surprisingly, the move has seemingly been made without any actual proof of match-fixing, and Yong has said he doesn't actually believe any wrongdoing took place. But when there is overwhelming public opinion to the opposite there is no choice but to cease all negotiations, the statement says. The organization wishes the team good luck in their future endeavors and with their quest to make the majors.

The decision to halt contract negotiations over unproved allegations may have been driven by the recent permabanning of 21 CS:GO players who were caught up in a match-fixing scandal in early 2015. Valve initially announced that those suspensions were indefinite and would be reviewed at the start of 2016, but instead of lifting them it dropped the hammer on all involved with permanent bans. In light of that unequivocal stance, 24/7 Esports may well have decided that distancing itself from even the appearance of impropriety was the only move it had.

Thanks, Kotaku.

The Overwatch beta has been gone for a little while, but there are plenty of ways to prepare for the game s return—or simply to pass the time while you wait for your invite. You can of course read up on heroes and abilities, watch videos or listen to podcasts, but if you re like me you d prefer to jump in right away. Overwatch is not a typical shooter, so get ready to practice your technique in a few different games.

Team Fortress 2

After having played Overwatch for a couple weeks, I can happily say that these are two very different games—but Team Fortress 2 is a close enough match for us to use as a learning tool. Playstyles are generally similar, and certain TF2 classes share close similarities with particular Overwatch heroes.

Picking up the Sniper with a bow is a decent way of getting used to the way Hanzo has to lead his targets, while using the basic sniper rifle is a good way to hone your Widowmaker skills. The Scout is a decent class for learning how to play as Tracer, but lacks Tracer s ability to quickly retreat from a dangerous situation. Get used to flanking your opponents and escaping when they turn their focus on you.

The similarities between Junkrat and the TF2 Demoman are very clear: They both have grenade-like ammunition which requires a very specific set of skills to use correctly. Torbj rn is Overwatch s answer to the TF2 Engineer. Getting used to carefully locking down an area while aggressively defending your turrets is valuable training.

Valve s Medic uses the same style of healing as Blizzard s Mercy: a healing streamforms between the healer and their target, forcing the two to stick together. The Medic will teach you how to dodge danger while maximising your usefulness.

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive

Overwatch is to Counter-Strike what a Steelseries Rival is to an Apple Magic Mouse. They might technically fall into the same category, but are almost nothing alike when you get your hands on them. The one thing you can get from playing CS in a competitive setting is communication skills. A Counter-Strike match stands or falls with a team s communication so try to focus on that while you use the new R8 Revolver, the gun that gets closest to making you feel like McCree. Aim is important in both games, which is the one skill that s very easy to practice in CS:GO. Download training_aim_csgo2 and try to get a decent score with the M4. Make sure you keep a note of your in-game sensitivity if this is the way you re going to be practising your aim, because you ll want to transfer that over to Overwatch:

Arena shooters

Everyone who played FPS games in the 90s has played at least one game in the arena shooter genre. The Quake and Unreal series are legends and have inspired many games that look at lot like them. Among those games is Warsow, a personal favorite of mine. The game is fast as hell and has a lot of cool movement mechanics that will teach you how to quickly maneuver yourself through a map: a skill that will come in handy when playing heroes like Genji, Tracer and Lucio.

Warsow isn t as popular as Quake so it s harder to find servers with players, but try finding an instagib server with a couple friends and you re guaranteed to have a lot of fun while getting used to the insane pace of the game. Warsow is free and won t take up much space on your PC so there s no reason not to give it a try!

Where are my wizards?

Many people have suggested games like Dota or League of Legends as a way to learn cooldown management, but the cooldowns in Overwatch are so low that there s really no point in trying to learn a much more complicated game just to take such a small part of it over to your professional Overwatch career. I do believe any class/role-based team game is a good tool for learning how to play in a team, but unless Overwatch is your first team game, you should already have a vague idea of how that works.

Overwatch relies on aim, teamplay and twitchy reflexes so any game that helps you improve those traits is a good way to spend your time while we wait for the beta to return—and hey, if you don t care about improving at Overwatch, there s always time for Agario.

PC Gamer Pro is dedicated to esports and competitive gaming. Check back every day for exciting, fun and informative articles about League of Legends, Dota 2, Hearthstone, CS:GO and more. GL HF!

In early 2015, Valve suspended a number of professional Counter-Strike: Global Offensive players after it came to light that they'd been involved in fixing matches and betting on the outcomes. A handful of them were ruled ineligible to compete at ESL One Katowice 2015, but at least 21 (including the seven who were banned in January) were given indefinite suspensions that Valve said would not be reviewed until 2016. Now that 2016 is here, a final ruling has been issued, and it's not happy news for the players involved.

Back in January and early February 2015 we took action after we discovered that a small number of professional CS:GO players were engaged in match-fixing. Our decision was to ban these players indefinitely from involvement in Valve-sponsored events, Valve wrote in a CS:GO blog post. To clarify, the bans for these players are permanent, and players proven to have taken part in match-fixing will be permanently banned.

As the scene grows, it s an unfortunate reality that some individuals will seek opportunities to take advantage of their fans, the statement says. We will continue to take whatever action we think is necessary to protect the entertainment value created by professional Counter-Strike, including, on occasion, terminating our relationship with individuals who have demonstrated a willingness to exploit their fans faith in the integrity of the sport.

While the ban only covers Valve-sponsored events, the likelihood is that it will ultimately extend beyond that. The ESL and ESEA both said that they would honor the suspensions when they were first imposed; the ESL later added that none of the suspended players would be allowed to take part in its CS:GO tournaments until these cases are reviewed by Valve. I've emailed the ESL to confirm that it intends to make the bans permanent as well, but given its willingness to follow Valve's lead with the original suspension, I'd be very surprised if it changes course now.

Overpass is a relatively new map that's "only" been around for two years. For this reason, and because it s not simply an update of an older design, it's probably one of the least figured-out maps in the current pool.

Due to the short rotation paths for the terrorists on Overpass, one could argue that good communication is even more important than usual. When you defend you have to make difficult decisions. Most of the time you'll want to play aggressively and push for information, but be careful. The further you push, the more danger you're in. Think of it as means to an end: a trade-off for information. Once you've cleared an area you should tell your teammates and get ready to either fall back or flank the enemy.

Control the map as a team

Even if I recommend aggressive play, it's better to stay defensive than to push the wrong areas at the wrong time. When I play CT on Overpass I usually think of my team as a single organism rather than five separate entities. What your A-guys do should dictate how your B-guys play and vice versa.

Connector, lower tunnels and restroom are by far the most important areas on Overpass. If you control these spots you can be certain that the terrorists can't rotate unless they decide to get some exercise and run all the way through T-spawn.

One of the most effective plays to gather information in lower tunnels is to blow up squeaky and build a tower of death to peek over this wall:

Now you'll be able to spot their feet before they can see you. All you need to do now is to shoot them or at the very least make them dance. This play is fairly easy to counter by using flashes and pushing pipe, so don't overuse it. If the terrorists come through the pipe it's crucial that you change positions immediately or else you will have given away the position of not one but two players. Sometimes you can do it like this instead:

This provides the same information but it's harder to get the kill. The plus side is that this is less risky than to boost.

Remember what I said about your team being a single organism? When you assign one or two B-players to peek lower tunnels, that means your squad on A don't have to work as hard for that paycheck. They can just sit back and make sure no terrorists take over the rest room area. The reason for this is that if you play aggressive on both sides of the map at the same time, you won't be able to rotate in time, should the enemy manage to pick up a few quick kills.

Aggressive AWP

Sometimes you want to play aggressive towards the fountain for information. The AWP is an excellent weapon for this task. However the AWPer will need a lot of backup, so you should have two guys joining him. One around restroom to make sure the terrorists can't backstab your push from party, the other player using flashbangs to help the sniper get an advantageous peek.

If the AWPer spots multiple enemies they should fall back as fast as possible with support from both of their bodyguards. If the terrorists doesn't chase them and push the rest room area, the two guys on B can start to cover more ground. You want the terrorists to have as little space to work with as possible.

If they can't see any enemies around fountain, the guy who threw the flashes earlier can clear playground. That way the terrorists are boxed in. Either they're moving towards B or they're in lower tunnels. That should be enough information for your team to have a good chance to secure the round.

Cool stuff

Sometimes you want to show off to your friends and be the center of attention for a while. This smoke is one of the coolest smokes on Overpass:

One of your A-guys can use their smoke at the beginning of the round to make it harder for the terrorists to rush B. Especially when you think that they might have an eco round, in which case rushes are quite common. Another cool thing about this smoke is that it gives you an extra smoke on B. Because of the tight choke points on that site, smokes are far more effective there than on A.

The infamous one-way smoke. You either love it or hate it. There are examples of smokes like these on a lot of useful spots in the game, but this one qualifies as one of my personal favorites:

You can see them, they can't see you. Just don't use it too often or they'll just prefire that angle. This is a play that can win you rounds. I find it especially useful as an anti-eco strategy when my opponents only have pistols. It's rather difficult to hit a head you can't see with a Glock.

I mentioned that a great counter for that boost on B is to push through the pipe. With this smoke you can be of great use to your team. Just remember to wait a few seconds into the round before you throw it or else it will fade too early.

To summarize: plug the pipes, work as a team and use unfair advantages. Next time we'll go over the terrorist side. Have fun on the field and may the odds be ever in your favor.

PC Gamer Pro is dedicated to esports and competitive gaming. Check back every day for exciting, fun and informative articles about League of Legends, Dota 2, Hearthstone, CS:GO and more. GL HF!

By Henry Stenhouse

On March 15th 2015 over one million people tuned in to watch the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Grand Finals at ESL One Katowice. At the previous year s event, viewer numbers peaked at 250,000. In just one year, the number of people watching had quadrupled.

But what caused this explosion in viewership? I've collected some of the most entertaining matches and moments from throughout the year. If you're looking for a reason to get into competitive CS, this is it.

New blood shines bright: Luminosity Gaming vs Team SoloMid

The world map of Counterstrike is dominated by European nations: Denmark, Sweden, Poland and France all field teams of considerable renown. After the only North American team fell in the group stages of DreamHack Winter, it was left to a surprise performance by the Brazilian team Luminosity Gaming to keep American hopes alive.

Defeating both EnVyUs and Ninjas in Pyjamas, LG secured a place in the semifinal. Facing the formidable Team SoloMid, they received a crushing 16-5 defeat on Mirage. With the second game taking place on TSM's map of choice, Overpass, the Brazilian dream looked to be over…

Despite a shaky start, LG finally found their form. A combination of patient approaches with blistering flashes of aggression concocted the perfect formula to overcome the Danish defence. Breaking through to map 3, both teams brought their best in a gut wrenching finale. Luminosity may not have left the tournament as champions, but with victories against three of the greatest teams in CS, Brazil has certainly earned its place on the map.

Old dogs die hard: Virtus Pro vs Team SoloMid

Counter-Strike teams are rarely stable. Replacements and restructures come fast and often. In this regard Virtus Pro are an anomaly, maintaining the same lineup since January 2014. VP's roster also holds a high average age, with three out of five players aged over 27. Without any recent major successes to speak of, questions had begun to rise over how long the beloved Polish side would continue to compete.

Enter the Dubai Invitational. Fielding eight of the best teams from across the globe, the event looked to be a tight competition between the two favourites, Fnatic and TSM. VP surpassed all expectations by breezing out of the group stages before scoring a confident 2-1 win over Fnatic. The five map grand final vs TSM proved nothing short of spectacular, with momentum swinging wildly between each side.

Virtus Pro excel in flexibility, seemingly any member of their team cable of both rifling and AWPing. The player to watch throughout the event was VP's Janusz 'Snax' Pogorzelski who exhibited exemplary rifling along with inventive use of smoke grenades to secure rounds.

Fantastic four: EnVyUs vs Mousesports

From the astounding to the amusing, the end of the ESEA Pro League looked to be a disappointing affair after EnVyUs's in-game leader, Vincent 'Happy' Cervoni, received a Denial of Service attack just five rounds in. Incredibly, EnVy decided to persevere with just four players, overwhelming a flustered mousesports to take the match.

A bold French performance and some unconventional casting by Lauren 'pansy' Scott and Alex 'machine' Richardson resulted in one of the most entertaining matches of the year. The duo livened the game with everything from speed and minimalist casting to a spectator fly-through race of the map.

Individual highlights

CS:GO may be a team game, but individual moments of exceptional skill (or luck) often provide the best memories. Here are some of the best from this year:

Nikola 'NiKo' Kova of team mousesports pulls off a series of phenomenal long range deagle kills to claim an ace and economy win against Titan:

H vard 'Rain' Nygaard recovers from 1 vs 4 to save match point. Surviving on just one point of health, he single handedly keeps Kinguin in the game:

NiP's Patrik 'Forest' Lindberg locks down Dust2's double doors, earning a knife kill and dispatching four of TSM's roster:

Of course no highlight reel for 2015 would be complete without THAT deagle ace by Vincent 'Happy' Schopenhauer:

Honourable mentions

Fnatic

To discuss the greats of CS:GO without mentioning Fnatic is to do a great disservice to the game. The Swedish team have proven themselves the kings of CS time after time. Securing no less than five $100,000 first place victories this year, Fnatic's reign looks far from over. The highlight? Katowice grand finals, map three:

Cloud9

The North American heroes may have run into trouble in the latter stages of the year but during the summer months they were in the form of their lives. Reaching three back to back finals at ESEA Season 1, ESWC 2015 and DreamHack Valencia, the team fell just short of tournament victories in each case. Despite this, C9 garnered key victories over EnVyUs and VP to show they could compete at the top of CS. Here they are at DreamHack Open Valencia:

Human error

After such a deluge of superhuman feats, I feel it's important to remind yourself that these professionals are, at the end of the day, still human. This year's Cluj-Napoca supplied an abnormal number of team kills, collected neatly in this montage by Kevin Tweedale:

Averaging 500,000 players daily, CS:GO sits happily at second place on Steam s player chart. With increasing prize pools and MLG Colombus hosting the first North American major in 2016, Counter-Strike s popularity growth shows no signs of slowing. If 2014 was the year CS:GO blossomed, then 2015 has proven to be its tour de force.

PC Gamer Pro is dedicated to esports and competitive gaming. Check back every day for exciting, fun and informative articles about League of Legends, Dota 2, Hearthstone, CS:GO and more. GL HF!

There s something special about this time of year. Maybe it s something we ve created for ourselves. Maybe it s part of human nature. Not only do we get to celebrate the holidays, but it s also a time for reflection. We think about the past year. All the goals we had set for ourselves, everything that happened in our lives and of course all the events in the game we all love: Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.

One thing I love about esports is how much can happen in a short period of time. The amount of tournaments, frequent roster changes and other things surrounding the game all add to the excitement of being a fan of the sport. It s mind boggling that it s not even a year ago that four players from iBUYPOWER got banned after a match fixing scandal that had taken place the previous summer. Nor has a year passed since the insanely close all-Swedish finals between Fnatic and NiP in Katowice during the ESL One Major, where Fnatic eventually managed to win the third map to seal the deal. That deciding map on Inferno is in my mind one of the most memorable moments from 2015. Fnatic were up 14-4 when NiP almost managed a heroic comeback. 16-13 was the final score. One dream crushed, another fulfilled. That's the beauty of our game. But let s not dwell on the past. We have yet another exciting year of CS:GO ahead of us.

MLG Columbus, ELeague, and the NA scene

The next CS:GO Major will take place at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, home of the glorious and heroic Blue Jackets (fanboy: a fan that lets his passion override social graces). To uncover what this means for the North American scene I asked the up and coming CS:GO analyst Janko 'YNk' Paunovic, famous for his in-depth play-by-play breakdowns.

"I don't think it will have that big of an influence. Maybe the ELeague if it offers more spots for NA teams. That would give some less-known teams like Splyce, Enemy or the former 3-sUP team, who all have the potential to break through in my opinion, a chance to play against top teams and gain that much needed experience."

What is ELeague, then? It's the result of a collaboration between the two media companies Turner and WME | IMG. During 2016 there will be two seasons with a prize pool of $1.2 million per season, making it the biggest league in CS:GO history money-wise.

"I hope that this will motivate NA teams even more, so that we can see other teams besides Luminosity being a threat to the EU teams."

From what we've seen so far in the first hype video none of the top tier European teams are featured. ELeague could be a great initiative if they go about it the right way. Each season stretches over a ten week period of time. That's a lot of time in esports and consequently a huge commitment. Because of that it's likely that a lot of top teams opt out until ELeague has proven itself.

Given that both the MLG Major and ELeague will take place in North America, I asked Janko whether thinks this will affect the level of interest among European fans.

"I don't feel that the level of interest will change. The majors are highlights of the year in CS:GO. EU fans might however not be able to watch as many games because of timezone differences."

He adds, "from what I've seen at IEM San Jose, I expect a big crowd and a great atmosphere."

Changes to the game and map pool

We talked about the weapon changes that have been a hot topic ever since the infamous Winter Update.

"Well, they reverted those changes, but I feel that the pistol changes were okay. The Glock nerf was unnecessary and the tec-9 could've been nerfed even more in my opinion."

Valve also decided to make changes to the most popular assault rifles in an attempt to make sprays less effective.

"As for the rifle nerfs I agree with the idea, but I feel that they went about it the wrong way. In my opinion, randomness is not good for a game like CS, it's just counter intuitive."

A lot of people have requested a remade version of the map Nuke in the official map pool. I asked Janko how he felt about this topic.

"Personally, I don't think Nuke was that bad of a map, I think teams weren't creative enough on their T sides, which resulted in big results for the CT's. I also disagree that if a map is to be good for competitive play it has to be 'side balanced'. For me Nuke was fun to watch because of how good some teams were as CT, hence making it look easy."

Side balance is often discussed within the community and the popular opinion is that maps should be as balanced as possible. Good arguments can be made on both sides of the fence and it will be interesting to see what Valve decides to do next.

"I would like to see Tuscan back in the map pool, that map was really fun to both play and watch."

No matter what we think about changes to the game and upcoming tournaments, it's impossible to deny that the scene is only getting bigger. The number of viewers is steadily increasing. The prize pools are growing, albeit slowly. There's no reason not to think that we're in for a treat in 2016. What a time to be a fan of CS:GO!

PC Gamer Pro is dedicated to esports and competitive gaming. Check back every day for exciting, fun and informative articles about League of Legends, Dota 2, Hearthstone, CS:GO and more. GL HF!