Christmas came early for Counter-Strike players in the form of a new battle royale mode with its own fun (albeit compact) map.

Thanks to an Easter egg on that map, Portal fans think their Christmas might be coming, too. To this, Valve responded that no, there is no Santa Claus.

It’s a big day for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. Valve’s tactical shooter mainstay has gone free-to-play, and it’s added a battle royale mode called “Danger Zone.”

Gamers are gearing up for a lot of reveals this week, with The Game Awards just around the corner. But out of nowhere, one of the longest-serving fanbases are getting teased with a potential reveal: the Counter-Strike community.

Nikhil ‘forsaken’ Kumawat is a professional Counter-Strike: Global Offensive player who was caught cheating at a tournament last weekend.

In a video that went viral, he was seen trying to close an aim-assist program open on his computer mid-match Now banned for five years from any Esports Integrity Coalition-affiliated tournaments, Kumawat says he regrets ever playing the game.

Sometimes, absolutely nothing goes your way.

Good news: you don't have to stray far to get your weekend dose of esports. In fact, if you're in Victoria, the Melbourne Esports Open is happening right now. For everyone else, well, that's what Twitch is for.

Counter-Strike's Dust 2 is one of the most iconic maps ever made - and also ones who look has changed very little over the years. So one Aussie mapper decided to give the classic a bit of a cyberpunk touch.

Sometimes, a game isn't quite right without an old friend.

The inaugural season of Gfinity's Australian city-based esports league wrapped up over the weekend with a southern rout. Having solidified their position in the finals of all three games, Melbourne Order turned the weekend into a whitewash, taking home the trophy in all three matches and the club championship to boot.

Over the weekend, Gfinity's first city-based esports league will come to a close. So if you'd like to see who will sit atop the crown for Rocket League, CS:GO and Street Fighter 5, you can tune in here.

The weekend is typically a great time to chill, but that's not entirely on the cards this time.

The main event for IEM Sydney, the latest stop for ESL's world Counter-Strike tour, doesn't officially start until tomorrow. But thanks to a range of upsets and admirable performances from the Australian teams, IEM Sydney has already delivered.

Splyce announced today that it will be leaving professional Counter-Strike: Global Offensive to put resources towards other scenes.

Every competitive game has its more memorable maps. Blood Gulch, Facing Towers, 2Fort, and also, de_dust2. More well-known as simply Dust II, the map has been around for most of Counter-Strike's life and is considered one of the best, most balanced maps in the game. Now, it's back in active duty.

Niko "k1to" Gruhne has been suspended from the Faceit Pro League for a month after he made a racist comment during a pick-up Counter-Strike session.

During a recent celebratory birthday stream, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive commentator Matthew "Sadokist" Trivett called members of his stream chat the n-word on stream, as well as telling one member of the CS:GO community to kill themselves.

Despite Valve's crackdown on CSGO gambling sites that use Steam in 2016, there's still an active cosmetic skin trading (and yes, sometimes gambling) scene around the game. A recent set of trade limits from Valve, though, has skin lovers selling off their collections for fear that the scene is on its deathbed.

A new record was set for modern Counter-Strike this week, with one player upping the record for most kills in a professional match to a staggering 47. In an era where defuses doesn't add three to your score, it's a huge accomplishment - and one that was only possible thanks to the generous contributions of Australians.

There's no shortage of tournaments for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive teams out there, but there aren't that many routes in Australia to international competition. But this week, another avenue opened up for Aussie and New Zealand teams through the expansion of the ESL Pro League.