Latest news with #Counter-Strike:GlobalOffensive
New Statesman
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- New Statesman
Gen Z cannot stop gambling
Illustration by Hardie / Ikon Images Every generation through history has had its vices. But Gen Z has apparently bucked the trend. Reading the headlines, you will learn that none of us have sex, and that we only drink when the ever-steepening pub prices seem marginally more affordable. Oscar Wilde would ask rightly whether we have a single redeeming vice. But as Gen Z teeters back and forth on the ledge overhanging conservative prudism, gambling appears to be emerging as our sole saving grace. The stoner has become the dopamine junky. Research shows that Gen Z – and specifically its male cohort – is leading the way on most gambling and sports betting participation. That's not to say that Gen Z are devotees at the altar of the cardsharp and the crapshooter. If you happen to find yourself at any sport-inclined pub in student areas on a Sunday afternoon, you will likely find a hyper-focused group of early-twenty-somethings huddled around the almighty deity that is Paddy Power. Séanced around a few Wetherspoons pitchers, these believers pray to the benevolent bookies and footballing gods that their bet-builder on an irrelevant 3pm mid-table Premier League clash pulls through, so that they can enjoy the fruits of their hard-earned labour – another round of drinks. None of them really care about the result, of course, but their fixation is symbolic of the ever-growing love for online betting as a social occasion. In some cases, the stakes seem to be drifting away from the old football-horse axis and becoming increasingly abstruse. Gen Z have collectively staked millions on things including ferret bingo, wife carrying and even who the next pope would be. A new national survey by the Gambling Commission found that the 18-24 demographic led all respondents in saying that they take part 'because it's fun' (87 per cent), 'to be sociable' (55 per cent), and 'because it's something I do with my friends or family' (58 per cent). Conversely, in comparison to older punters, Gen Z ranked last in interest of winning a large payout. This normalisation of gambling, of course, has seeds in Gen Z's native habitat: the internet. Influencers and online streamers have popularised the gamification of gambling. Platforms like Stake and Rainbet have capitalised on the trend of micro-transactions. The game Counter-Strike: Global Offensive has a market for in-game skins (essentially, avatar costumes), now worth $4.3bn. And, similar to physical casinos, this digital house always wins, and handsomely so. Influencers entice their (often underage) audiences with the promise of riches won at the online table. Félix 'xQc' Lengyel switched from the conventional streaming site Twitch to the younger, hotter and more libertarian Kick – in order to maintain his partnership with an online casino upon which he has placed more than a million bets totalling more than $3.6bn. Luckily for Lengyel, his sponsorship more than recoups the $100m or so that he's lost over the course of his illustrious career. His audience cannot rely on the same guarantees. The hit of dopamine that flows on each gambling win supports a common theory that the attention spans of Gen Z have declined. Their ability to concentrate is, as the lingo goes, 'cooked'. The consensus seems to be that Gen Z are only more prudish because we are less socialised, or that we drink less only because we cannot afford it. But our woes aren't helped by an increasing dependence on Bet365 and Stake to make our lives more exciting. Instead of heeding the wisdom of Kenny Rogers' 'The Gambler' – 'Know when to walk away/And know when to run' – Gen Z are increasingly choosing to sprint towards the embrace of Big Gambling's hedonistic abyss. Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month Subscribe [See also: Brewdog Britain is dead] Related
Canada News.Net
26-07-2025
- Sport
- Canada News.Net
FURIA, Team Liquid among 5 to advance at IEM Cologne
(Photo credit: Nick Oza/The Republic via Imagn Content Services, LLC) FURIA, Astralis, HEROIC, 3DMAX and Team Liquid grabbed the final five berths into the group stage of the Intel Extreme Masters Cologne event as the play-in stage wrapped up Friday in Germany. FURIA swept Astralis 2-0 in the last of the upper-bracket matches where the winner advanced to the next stage. Astralis dropped to the lower bracket, but was able to overcome paiN Gaming 2-1 in a do-or-die match while HEROIC, 3DMAX and Team Liquid also advanced through the lower bracket. The play-in phase of the $1 million Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournament began with 16 teams competing in a double-elimination bracket of best-of-three matches. Eight teams earned spots in the group stage, which also will include eight teams that received direct berths: Team Vitality, MOUZ, Team Spirit, Team Falcons, The MongolZ, Aurora Gaming, G2 Esports and Natus Vincere. The group stage, which begins Saturday, will consist of two double-elimination groups contesting best-of-three matches. The two group winners will advance directly to the semifinals, the two runners-up will move to the quarterfinals as high seeds, and the two third-place teams will head to the quarterfinals as low seeds. The playoffs, which will start on Aug. 1, will be single elimination. The quarterfinals and semifinals will be best-of-three ahead of the best-of-five final on Aug. 3. The winning team will receive $400,000, and the runner-up will get $180,000. On Friday, FURIA staved off Astralis in a 13-11 win on Nuke and a 13-9 triumph on Dust II. Brazil's Kaike 'KSCERATO' Cerato of FURIA led all players with 45 kills and a plus-17 kills-to-deaths differential. In the lower bracket, paiN Gaming finished Round 1 Friday by rallying past BIG 2-1. They moved on to face Astralis, who opened with a 13-4 blowout on Nuke; after paiN evened it up with a 13-8 win on Ancient, Astralis pulled out a 13-11 win on Inferno. Denmark's Jakob 'jabbi' Nygaard led Astralis with 56 kills on a plus-17. HEROIC swept 2-0, with a 13-8 victory on Overpass and a 13-10 win on Mirage. Belarusian Andrey 'tN1R' Tatarinovich had 42 kills and a plus-16 K-D to pace HEROIC. 3DMAX faced TYLOO went deep into overtime to pull out a 22-20 win on Inferno before finishing the job with a 13-10 triumph on Ancient. Lucas 'Lucky' Chastang of France starred for 3DMAX with 59 kills on a plus-14 K-D. Finally, Team Liquid beat FlyQuest 2-1, sandwiching a 13-6 win on Nuke and a 13-9 result on Ancient around a 13-3 loss on Dust II. Liquid was led by Canadian Russel 'Twistzz' Van Dulken, who posted 48 kills and a plus-12 differential. The group stage begins Saturday with six upper-bracket quarterfinal matches: --Team Vitality vs. Astralis (Group A) --FURIA vs. G2 Esports (Group A) --Team Falcons vs. GamerLegion (Group A) --3DMAX vs. The MongolZ (Group A) --FaZe Clan vs. Natus Vincere (Group B) --Aurora Gaming vs. Ninjas in Pyjamas (Group B) Intel Extreme Masters Cologne prize pool 1. $400,000 2. $180,000 3-4. $80,000 5-6. $40,000 7-8. $24,000 9-12. $16,000 13-16. $10,000 17-20. $4,500 -- paiN Gaming, TYLOO, FlyQuest 21-24. $2,500 -- BIG, MIBR, Complexity, B8 --Field Level Media
Economic Times
14-07-2025
- Sport
- Economic Times
Chinese university expels female student for sexual relationship with Ukrainian Counter-Strike player
Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel A Chinese female student has been expelled from her university for allegedly entering into a sexual relationship with an esport player from Ukraine , who was in Shanghai in December 2024 for a tournament. Though the incident took place later last year, the Dalian Polytechnic University where the female student was enrolled took the decision to expel her for "inappropriate behavior", using the term to describe the sexual encounters between the two, only in July 21-year-old Chinese female student has only been identified by her last name Li. The Ukrainian player Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) player has been revealed as Danylo "Zeus" Teslenko. He visited Shanghai for the Grand Final of the Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024 his Shanghai tour in December 2024, the 37-year-old Zeus, who is married and has a child, came in contact with Li. The two stayed together in a hotel on December 16 from where Li posted several photos of her in an intimate positions with Zeus. Zeus, too, sent the photos and videos of the two staying together in the hotel to his fan the photos became viral on the Chinese social media and online users tracked down the female student to be studying at the Dalian Polytechnic seven months after the alleged sexual encounters between the two, the Dalian Polytechnic University issued a public statement on July 8, announcing Li was to be expelled for her misconduct due to her relationship with Zeus on December 16, 2024."Your inappropriate behavior on December 16, 2024, has caused a severe negative impact. You are hereby subject to expulsion from our university," an English translation of the university's statement statement cited the Provisions on the Management of Students in Regular Institutions of Higher Education issued by the Chinese Ministry of Education, and its own disciplinary regulations for expelling can appeal against the decision to the university within 60 days of the announcement.
Time of India
14-07-2025
- Sport
- Time of India
Chinese university expels female student for sexual relationship with Ukrainian Counter-Strike player
A Chinese female student has been expelled from her university for allegedly entering into a sexual relationship with an esport player from Ukraine , who was in Shanghai in December 2024 for a tournament. Though the incident took place later last year, the Dalian Polytechnic University where the female student was enrolled took the decision to expel her for "inappropriate behavior", using the term to describe the sexual encounters between the two, only in July 2025. The 21-year-old Chinese female student has only been identified by her last name Li. The Ukrainian player Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) player has been revealed as Danylo "Zeus" Teslenko. He visited Shanghai for the Grand Final of the Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024 tournament. During his Shanghai tour in December 2024, the 37-year-old Zeus, who is married and has a child, came in contact with Li. The two stayed together in a hotel on December 16 from where Li posted several photos of her in an intimate positions with Zeus. Zeus, too, sent the photos and videos of the two staying together in the hotel to his fan group. Soon, the photos became viral on the Chinese social media and online users tracked down the female student to be studying at the Dalian Polytechnic University. Almost seven months after the alleged sexual encounters between the two, the Dalian Polytechnic University issued a public statement on July 8, announcing Li was to be expelled for her misconduct due to her relationship with Zeus on December 16, 2024. Live Events "Your inappropriate behavior on December 16, 2024, has caused a severe negative impact. You are hereby subject to expulsion from our university," an English translation of the university's statement read. The statement cited the Provisions on the Management of Students in Regular Institutions of Higher Education issued by the Chinese Ministry of Education, and its own disciplinary regulations for expelling Li. Li can appeal against the decision to the university within 60 days of the announcement.
Time of India
20-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
BTS' V goes bare-faced live: Kim Taehyung flexes muscles, changes outfits, plays music and Counter-Strike as ARMY loses it
There's a reason ARMY - one of the world's largest fandoms - believes that the love they give BTS is always returned. On June 20, not long after waking up, the ever-charming Kim Taehyung, better known as V from BTS, surprised fans by going live on Weverse. He casually told viewers he had just gotten out of bed and decided to start a live - a sweet gesture that instantly made ARMY feel like they were the first people on his mind. But what truly caught fans off guard was the display picture he chose: a mirror selfie in a sleeveless shirt, which immediately sent the fandom into a frenzy. BTS' V shows off bare-faced visuals During the live, Taehyung appeared in a white-and-black tank top but quickly commented that he felt he was showing "too much skin." He also mentioned that his room was messy, with clothes scattered around. 🐻 Hold on... there's clothes everywhere so hold on. Okay, wait a sec!🐻 I'm going to grab a water!#thv @bts_bighit @BTS_twt #TAEHYUNG #KIMTAEHYUNG #BTSARMY #BTS #BTSV #BANGTAN #TYPE1 #TAETAE #WinterAhead #BTSisCOMING So what did V do? He paused the video screen continued to play music, took time to change into a t-shirt, and cleaned up his room - before returning to the live to chat more with ARMY. He turned on the Live as soon as he woke Up,changed his clothes and he's cleaning his room with us nowTAEHYUNG WHAT ARE WE? V's love for gaming makes a comeback While interacting with fans, Taehyung began playing what many believe was Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. Listeners could hear the shooting effects and voiceovers, leading fans to excitedly guess the game in real-time. TAEHYUNG IS PLAYING GAMES WE ARE SO BACK YALL !!#TAEHYUNG #BTSV #BTS #V "Kim Taehyung is back," Say ARMY Seeing Taehyung share music and play games on live brought back memories of his pre-enlistment days. Many fans on X (formerly Twitter) couldn't contain their excitement over everything that happened in the short Weverse live -bare-faced visuals, gaming sounds, music, and a surprise chat. MY MANN SHOWING HIS ARMS RIGHT ON MY FACE I'm so sorry Taehyung but you like a character in BL manhwa 😭😭😭 the face card, the body, the sex appeal 💯 Bare face hottie, Kim Taehyung Live 🖤🤍🌟 taehyung and his gay ass music god i love him More about BTS V After serving 18 months in the South Korean military, Kim Taehyung was officially discharged on June 10, marking his return to civilian life. According to Allkpop, V received over 4.5 million messages via Goondori, a military platform that allows civilians to send letters and encouragement to soldiers, including public figures like celebrities, athletes, and influencers. On June 9, just one day before his discharge, V became the first and only celebrity to surpass 3 million messages on the platform - setting a new record and demonstrating the immense love he continued to receive even while serving. For all the latest K-drama, K-pop, and Hallyuwood updates, keep following our coverage here.
