10 years of CSGO and he still has no clothes on, what a legend

2013-2014/15 was my favorite era for CS:GO tournaments. It felt like the wild west out there.

I wonder what would happen if they did a sort of "throwback" tournament where they put pro players on a 2013 or 2014 build of the game on these same old maps but with all of their modern experience and knowledge at their disposal. How would it play out?

I really like how much the meta has shifted over the years, and how quickly the community has come together to learn some new line-up, or find something that is broken. Even after almost 11 years, the game still doesn't feel stale to me. Between the main competitive scene and then factor in the Community scene, I'm hoping that CS2 will keep this going, as the franchise has for years.

it’s crazy because at the time some of the stuff they did made sense. like the standard nade setup one nade, two flash, and one smoke. the retakes, the buys, everything takes me back

the flusha line about picking his mouse up was so funny

Just like in football, where Pele dribbled past 5 defenders and scored every single game... We dont see that in modern football, it evolved a lot and tactics, teamplay and strats play much bigger role than simple scoring

Damn, the game really did change a lot during these 10 years

This was an absolute treat to watch. The ending really tied it all together. I thoroughly enjoyed the positive "here's to 10 more years"- vibe. You sometimes forget how just a couple years ago everyone was saying Counter-strike dead game. I myself actually believed the series would have a fate similar to tf2 where it's just left to dust in a corner. It feels so good to actually have confidence in the game's future. I hope someday my kids will also be playing a version of Counter-Strike and hopefully, watching Warowl. Thank you for the years of videos.

That first A-take had me glued to the screen throughout the whole sponsor spot like subway surfer on a shorts feed 🤣🤣

Astralis is single handedly responsible for the great switch of the play style. Between the playstyle of 1st and the last major, its Astralis in the middle with an era so game defining, they literally changed the way how the game can be played.

Feels like an eternity waiting for a WarOwl video

I remember doing this sort of thing on myself for fun before and it's pretty good for seeing your personal and team improvement. I compared my winning match in the TF2 Newbie Cup Tournament to the very first scrimmage match I played and the differences were immense. It felt like I could spot a mistake I or any other player made for every few seconds that passed. We started off as the team that was losing most of their matches to the team that had to go against higher divisions because we were winning too often, since we were the only team that was dedicated enough to practice every single day before the tournament. So if you ever have second thoughts about your improvement try reviewing old matches, it can help your confidence.

The OGs were playing 1.6 with updated graphics, now we're playing actual CS GO, and I bet if you looked at a game from 8 or even 9 years ago you'd see more similarity to the way the game is played today. It took me a few months to switch from the 1.6 play style, I doubt it took them longer.

I had the same experience when I didn't see any majors for two years. It was between 2018 and 2020 and playstyles have changed significantly. much more professional (lineups), serious and reserved was played. Its interesting to see that such a "simple" game has that much potential to improve.

That was a throwback! I used to spend my off-days watching pro CSGO between my own ESEA/Competitive matches... Good times. It's interesting to see how change happens so slowly in CS. Molotovs were there, but they were new, so everyone just defaulted to that old school CS playstyle, before the new utility gradually became a part of the meta. But man, 10,000 hours, WarOwl? That's impressive.

This is such a good video! Amazing to see how it all evolved. Keep it up, WarOwl!

I love this comparison. I've been playing since 2016 and seeing how different the game was brought back so many fond memories of when I was a noob. Can't wait for CS2!

Very interesting to see how the game has evolved over the years. It happens in every sport, but in CS, it's even more noticeable because this game is relatively young. For that reason, we can see significant changes in strategies and in the way of playing in general in just a few years

MORE MORE MORE!!!! id love if you brought back matchmaking academy and pro reviews when cs2 releases warowl. you are a massive reason that players are so good now, keep it up

"Fight for Banana control" Is something you'd only hear in CSGO said in a serious manner.

I have been here since the beta and while I always knew the game kept evolving, seeing this large contrast is surprising. It almost looks and plays like a sequel to the original that released back then. Valve deserves credit for not only supporting the game by doing the bare minimum, but incrementally improving it to the point it becomes a different game, while retaining the core that we all know and love.

2:00 Yoo I remember this smoke this was so meta cause you wanted to deny the mid crossfire and pushing through your own smoke was so normal xD

i cant wait to watch your video in 10 years. i had been saying all beta that i cant wait till like 5 years into cs2 release and where the game will be. its already so amazing at beta, looking at go beta to now world of a difference. amazing video. i am so stoked for the next cs2 beta wave

Dont forget how hardware developed in these 10 years: Today you have really good 240 or even 360 hz displays, gpus and cpus developed faster than valve could push out graphical updates so you have way more fps on high end hardware. Also mice and keyboards are way better than in 2013. And dont forget these fancy gaming chairs. They are obviously the most important improvement.

Back in the day, when sponsors were part of your nametag.

7:39 I love the star rail reference

Love this contrast piece. Thanks

I love Valve's continual updates of maps, something almost unique. There are so many maps in other fps games that could be improved with small tweaks or simple changes that make a big impact on map balance/flow, but the devs just refuse to alter anything.

There is a missing informafion here that is crucial to the vast change, the round time and bomb time, back then the round was 20 second shorter(1 : 35) and the bomb 5 second shorter(35 second), I believe many in the comunity might not know be aware because the update was in late 2015, but at the time I played faceit in the lower round time, with the shorter round your tactical options were less, you had to commit once you choose a site a fake was hard, there was simply not enough time, running smoke was always a bad idea but Inferno was super CT sided back then because you could almost close the sites forever with the smokes, Valve decided to up the round time to make the game in competitive uniforme with casual experience which is important but 1.35 was too short for lesser players. They run smokes because they had too, winning on round time was Common for CTs. Also important this tournament had a 250k prize pool, that is the money for all team, I believe the winner got 100k which was very good at the time, Valve funded this prize pool entirely, also they get a share of sticker revenue, this was a Major Shift because sticker revenue share can outpace the prize pool, which guarantees revenue for all teams present. In 2013 most pro did not sustain themselves on counter strike only, not the case for these teams who probably had sponsors, but they were not rich, most in the tournament were what we could consider today amateurs, as in CS was a passion indeed but not their job, most prize pools were 25k for all teams and there was not a tournament season like today were some tournament dont have some teams because they cant possibly go to every single one. Today there is enough money for this players to play full time and have couches and we dont see this but these guys put thousands of hours we dont see and never will, this is what they do to the point were they live with each other in preparation for a big tournament for example and coordinate. Back then a lot of tournaments were online and some players were simply in their homes participativa, today they are in the HQ of their team paying together despite being online to guarantee all conditions(Internet and such, players like Adren from Kazahkistan had monstrous Ping,not something we see today at Tier 1).

it's a similar experience right now with the release of street fighter 6 just on the horizon. All the old metas, the old combos and strats, all the impractical combos no one thought would land in a real match, it's just standard fare now. Player growth is just so darn cool

Great video! Gradual changes over time often stay unnoticed, but the game play changed actually a lot.

Molotovs: 2013 pros: “I’m gonna pretend like I didn’t see that”

bear in mind that the game mechanics - shooting, damage of weapons was different (glocks were super strong for example) and the layout were different. No doubt that players improved over the years, but some things that seem crazy now worked before because the maps were very different from what they are today after numerous reworks. Inferno wasn't as narrow as it is today so molotovs didn't work as well as they do now. And A site was much easier to retake than it is now.

War owl I recently re-picked up cs again and watching your videos gives me nostalgia for the old cs days

This might be the best most refined, well researched, and orignal warowl video. not saying that the other videos are bad, but this one just take it to another level.

One thing I wanted to add about the awp purchases in the 2013 finals. Neither team had a true dedicated awper at the time, even JW still prefered rifles at the time, especially on Inferno. It wasn't until 2014 rolled around that the awp really became a staple part of the meta. Also given how well these two teams knew each other, it's safe to say they knew it would be rifles across the board the whole game.

We are gamers in morocco and we love the WarOwl videos. Great content, always entertaining and incredible sense of humor. The best CSGO content creator! I hope you keep doing this for many years to come and make a nice profit ;)

Someone get this man a closer! Going on ten years now! But seriously, you've been a huge part of csgo for many players, especially newbies. Thanks for sticking around all this time.

thats such a cool video idea! Could you make more comparisons? This could be a series!

WarOwl always delivers great and original content. Pure perfection!

7:25 wait that's not how inflation works lol

This high level stuff!! I love professional counter-strike, some of the most memorable moments have been done in professional CS.

yes! a major video! great commentary as always.

What I miss the most are the less cluttered maps. I like how the new maps look, but there's too much visual noise imo. (Not saying old maps were perfect, they all have their disadvantages too)

NiP was always so fun to watch

warowl, I just watched the marine fitness videos and I must say I appreciate you even more now, keep doing what makes you happy, I wish you all the best

My friends have convinced me to try CS:GO recently and my struggles with the obtuse mechanics have made me empathize with them for their struggles with Quake, which I am much more familiar with as I played it since I was a kid. So much of this game is unintuitive but "it's always been that way" so it continues to be so.

I miss old inferno and cobblestone so much. The nostalgia from watching those majors at school 😢

I still remember the term "Reset" in the old CS:GO economy. It's basically when you eco for 2-3 rounds and finally won a round but if you lost another it will reset your eco again. It was hell and at the same time, great. You can easily predict your enemies' economy. Unlike nowdays there's the Loss Bonus feature rewarding players who are losing and punishing players who are winning. Maybe this is the reason why the old tournament full eco'd and rarely bought the AWP because of the economy reset. Anyways, great video man, keep up the good work!

Honestly, I really enjoy your videos. But this one just hit me hard with a wall of nostalgia. I met so many good long term friends in 2013. CS was my literal life back then. Go to class. Do my work. Game the rest of the night. Summers off from Uni, worked all day then gamed all night til the wee hours to feel like complete shit going into work the next day. Man, how things have changed in 10 years lol Crazy to really think about. Great video man. Also, this makes me miss "Anne Frank" on inferno lol. I used to love that little spot with the broken wall.

The hard eco was a remnant from 1.6/source where we'd just hard eco and try to finish off the round asap or delay the round while talking about tactics instead of using up a tactical timeout. Although there were times that the hard eco somehow wins against a full buy, but those were rarer than stat trak reds so, hard eco was a better call than pistols with armor against rifles with will full gear.

I like turtles

I really wonder how this translates to non-pro play. Matchmaking. From my own experience playing since 2014, I think a modern DMG would probably destroy 2014 GE's lol. But maybe I'm just full of bullshit. Hey, maybe that's a good video idea? Kind of a follow up. If we, the viewers, send you 2013/14 demos and 2023 demos, could you perhaps compare and comment 14 GN's, LE's, GE's to 2023 equivalents? Would be really cool.

WarOwl deeply entertained me throw high school 2013 as a commentator of the professional games he uploaded. Watching WarOwl then go home and play csgo, good times:D

Great stuff as usual. You're really a professional.

I think there was a gentleman agreement in early pro csgo to not use mollies

Really miss the old NiP team

I only really played back in 2013-14 so it's crazy to see how much it's changed

fantastic video as always, WarOwl!

It’s a good day when Andy Warhol posts

Always fun to turn back the wheels of time

was so relatable back then. It felt like the way you played with your friends, just better ofc. now its a whole different game seeing pros, not just better at the same game.

great video idea man. Always get good content from Mr. No closer

2013 Pro CS looks about the level of 2023 MGE matchmaking. The whole player base has come a long way with the improvement of the game, and technology.

Ngl csgo has become a science at this point

i've always thought of this topic ty warowl

Really enjoyed this comparison. But when your favorite CS content creator mentions your favorite CS player in his video, it hits different! Good job iM for the great tournament. Can't believe only one year ago you were playing at Nexus and nobody outside Romania knew about you, and now you're the best prodigy in the world!

Nice video, but it still feels like you glossed over things, because you cant encapsulate 10 years of development into 8 minutes. I wouldn't mind seeing a 50 minute documentary if you're up for it

Thank you gla1ve and astralis for making the game better

WarOwl in 10 years: "looking back it's insane how in this 2023 major final only one shotgun was bought when it has replaced the rifle right now in CS 2.3"

I'm conviced that Globals back then are now the average Gold Novas. The popularity boom of 2015 made the already high skill ceiling go through the roof due to UKpostsrs sharing every bit of information they could and already experienced players innovated on that information.

i've been saying it for years and i still stand by it. a current LEM random team would demolish 2012 NIP

Wow, crazy you started promoting Control!, just as i had started ordering it, definitely going to use your code, thanks Warowl!

Such a great look at the change of the state of play. Top tier as always WarOwl

Please never incorporate the sponsor that way again. Hated it

Hey WarOwl! You could expand this series showing how the meta evolved!!! it would be fun. Cheers from Brazil

Wow what a trick to play that retake during the ad. I think there hasn't been single time before that i haven't skipped that in any video.

gotta love the upload schedule

Love the look back. Some good memories!

I never thought about doing this for CS, but I do this a lot with SC2. Some gold players today could be world champs back in 2011 for SC2.

good video man. very good content. keep it up :)

feels so good to see iM in a warowl video, he got shouted out aswell :)) (btw us romanians pronounce his name like "eat, met" but without the t's

More cimparisons like this! It would be cool to see how playstyles shift even on the same team from year to year, say Fnatic '13 to '17 or somethin

Good video! The skill ceiling has gotten so high now. 2013 CS looks like a bunch of regular CSGO players in matchmaking. Holding W. Id even say that their movement, gun and aim mechanics individually would be similar to my own today. Those same players got alot better over time and im still stuck in 2013 :)

I think cadian explained it very well during his crash at talent desk at malta. The game has been analyzed into seconds precision.

kinda cool to see how much change

this is actually very common in sports at one point i watched the historic wembley finale of the world cup in 1966 and my dad remarked that a amateur junior team from today would beat those teams today. its just fascinating that this kinda development happens in sports even if the basic rules are very static, even more interesting that it happens so fast in counter strike. like at one point it was like watching a game from a year ago felt outdated

I was introduced to CS esports by Warowl when he was commenting on a demo between NiP and some other team. Might've been VeryGames, but I can't remember 100%. My interest has waned since then, but I won't ever forget the 2014-2017 era.

This was such a fun ride to nostalgia town! Idea: Comparing individual pros in identical situations. 2013 cadiaN vs 2023 cadiaN.

love how you still use transistor sound track in your videos.

Love the FpsDough reference. Absolute legend

Never seen an ad and something I want to watch at the same time, big win.

That's a very cool video. Thanks, Warowl

iM played very well for an unknown player. Very impressed and hope he does well for navi.

nice now we also need a comparision like this for all 4 games: cs 1.6, source, csgo and cs2 on a map like dust2 for example would be super interesting!

I remember that top mid smoke... I still throw it sometimes because I got so used to it 😂.

Great video man

That ad placement was evil Props to you

He cracked the code, at 3:20 ish never watched an ad on youtube but this kinda forces me to take a difficult decision Well played sir