If you are a fan of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (let’s call it CS:GO for short), then why not get paid to play? That’s right – you can make money playing CS:GO through streaming, betting, and entering tournaments!
CS:GO is one of the best first-person shooter games of today, great for team-based competitive gameplay making it one of the most popular eSports to date. In fact, it’s been nominated for “Best Spectator Game” at INGs Best of 2017 Awards, and “eSports Game of the Year” at the Golden Joystick Awards in 2017, 2018, and 2019!
There are also other more casual game modes. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive does take a while to master, but if you have some skill you can earn some serious dosh as you play.
Here are the best ways that you can make a decent income from playing this epic title.
Streaming CS:GO
One of the easiest ways you get paid to play Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is to earn money through live streaming.
This involves using a streaming platform such as Twitch, DLive, or YouTube Gaming to broadcast live videos of you playing CS:GO. You can then monetize your videos through a variety of different methods – from advertisements and subscriptions to brand sponsorships and fan donations.
Being known as one of the best spectator games, it is no surprise that CS:GO streams are popular.
One of the highest-paid CS:GO streamers is Summit1G. He is a variety streamer also playing games such as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and H1Z1, but is predominantly known for his Counter-Strike streams.
His net worth? $2 million USD. This is from his 3.1 million Twitch followers, plus his 28,000 subscribers.
Reaching this level of fame in the gaming world takes time, dedication, and skill. But if you love CS:GO, are pretty good at playing, and have an entertaining personality, you could start making money from playing.
Remember – even Summit1G started from the bottom!
Competing in eSports Tournaments
Are you pretty skilled at CS:GO? Why not enter eSports tournaments where you can win cash prizes?
You can partake in small online contests with prize pools up to $200 by paying a small entry fee and battling it out against other players. This is a great way to earn some extra cash while playing the game.
However, to earn enough money from competitive Counter-Stike tournaments you need to become a professional player or part of a pro team. You can then compete in top events with huge prizes up for grabs.
The richest CS:GO professional player is Andreas ‘Xyp9x’ Højsleth who plays for the Astralis eSports team. He is the first player to win four CS:GO Majors and to win three consecutively. His current overall winnings are over $1.75 million.[1]
However, the majority of professional eSports players’ earnings do not come from their prize money. Each player also receives a salary from their team!
Playing online CS:GO tournaments for money and working up to a professional level is a dream for many, but everyone started somewhere! Our page on competing in eSports tournaments will walk you through all the steps from newbie to pro.
Betting on CS:GO
Being such a popular eSport, it is no surprise that Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is also a great option for betting on.
The biggest CS:GO eSports tournament is the CS:GO Major Championships which takes place twice a year for a prize pool of $1 million. Due to the COVID-19 global pandemic, this year only one Major will be taking place in Rio on 19th-22nd November 2020. This will be a fantastic contest to bet on.
Other than the Majors, the ESL One and Intel Extreme Masters Leagues are famous and entertaining to follow and make wagers on.
Many US states have recently legalized online sports betting, so for millions of Americans, betting on CS:GO and other eSports is easier than ever before. Several mobile apps have launched meaning you can start making real money from anywhere in the state.
Visit our eSports betting page for tips on how to start betting on eSports and win real money!
Trading & Investing
Now is also a good time to start investing in CS:GO as a method for making money. It is possible to make money investing in eSports, such as buying shares in publishing, streaming, or hardware companies. However, when it comes to CS:GO, there is a much better thing to trade: in-game skins!
If you’re not already familiar with skins, these are in-game items such as graphics or audio clips that change your character’s appearance. They do not improve the abilities of your character. Skins are a purely aesthetic addition.
You can purchase skins, buy keys to open cases that may contain skins or pick one up from an in-game drop. The aim is to buy valuable skins for cheap and sell them for a profit. When trading skins it is best to do this frequently and not hold onto them for a long-term investment.
It is not only skins that you can trade. Other in-game items such as cases, stickers, and containers also hold value. These items are better for long-term investment as once used they are deleted. Therefore, as more time goes on these pieces get rarer and bump the price up considerably.
Top traders can earn thousands of dollars per week and it does not require much game skill. As long as you know what is in demand, you can make a lot of money from trading and investing.
Becoming a Coach
For serious Counter-Strike: Global Offensive players, there is not much more they care about than their rank. No one wants to be stuck on Silver! In fact, people will pay a small fortune to be coached at CS:GO so they can move up the rankings.
If you are a skilled player that is in a high rank, people will pay you for one-to-one tuition to help them hit the Gold Nova and Master levels. If you are a well-known streamer or can prove you have won CS:GO tournaments then you can put your prices up even higher.
Top gaming coaches can earn up to $200, but if you are starting out you can expect $10-20 which will increase with experience.
What Else?
If you like CS:GO, you may also be interested in making money playing these other first-person shooters:
Is the game you want not on this list? Our A-Z of gaming guides has even more options! Click here to take a look and browse for your favorite games so you can start getting paid to play.
It is not only as a player that you can make money from video games. There are also options to develop games, become a tester, and more! Head to our GameTutorials homepage for more info.
FAQs
The highest-paid CS:GO player to date is Xyp9x who has won a total of $1,621,921 over 152 tournaments.
Professional CS:GO players can expect to be paid $1,000-$7,000 per month on average, plus tournament winnings. Top teams can earn $17,000 each month.
There are two CS:GO Majors each year. However, for 2020 there is only one due to the global pandemic effecting the event.
The best CS:GO player is Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev, a professional Counter-Strike: Global Offensive player that has been playing at pro level since 2014.
Yes, you can make money playing CS:GO. You can become a paid streamer or partake in tournaments. There is also the option to bet on CS:GO eSports leagues, trade in-game skins, and coach other players.