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What is CS:GO?
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, widely known as CS:GO, is a competitive first-person shooting game.
CS:GO is the latest release in the Counter Strike series, and has attracted an average of 11 million users per month since its launch in 2012.
CS:GO was released on Windows, OS X, Xbox 360 and Playstation 3, but all professionals play the game on PC.
How does CS:GO work?
The game pits two teams of five players against each other, with each team having to complete certain objectives to win.
One team takes on the role of the Terrorists (Ts), while the other team are the Counter-Terrorists (CTs).
There are several game modes available, but professional esports matches are always played in five-on-five Competitive mode (5on5).
In this mode, the attacking Ts must plant and detonate a bomb in a specific location - site A or B - or take out all five of the CTs to win a round.
The CTs must defuse the bomb when it is planted, or take out all five of the Ts to win the round.
Each match comprises of 30 rounds in total, with rounds lasting a maximum of one minute and 55 seconds. The first team to win 16 rounds wins in the match.
CS:GO also incorporates an in-game currency system, which rewards players for winning rounds, killing enemies and successfully using certain weapons.
Players can then spend their dollars on new guns and grenades between rounds, increasing their chances of winning later rounds.
How do CS:GO skins work?
Skins are a cosmetic item that change the appearance of weapons in CS:GO. Although they make the weapons look different, they do not actually improve their stats.
Players can acquire skins by purchasing keys to open cases that occasionally drop in-game.
When a case is opened, the player will receive a skin at random. Each case contains different skins for different weapons.
Despite not improving the stats of weapons, some skins are graded higher than others - essentially, some skins are very common and easy to acquire, while others are extremely rare.
Skins range from Industrial Grade (Light blue) to Covert (Red).
Knife and Glove skins are even more rare than Covert skins, and it is very unlikely for a player to acquire them from a case.
Each skin has real-world value, with players able to trade and sell them on the Steam marketplace. Some of the rarest skins have been sold for tens of thousands of dollars.
Which team have won the most CS:GO Majors?
Astralis, from Denmark, are the most successful esports team in CS:GO Majors history with four championships.
They have won each of the last three Majors, in London, Katowice and Berlin, adding to their 2017 title won in Atlanta.
Swedish team Fnatic, who won the very first Major in Jonkoping, have won three Major championships.