Counter-Strike gambling site CSGOEmpire has issued an apology after an incident where fans rushed the stage during Counter-Strike 2’s first Major in Copenhagen last fortnight in protest against rival site CSGORoll.
In an April 6 statement from the gambling platform on X (formerly Twitter), CSGOEmpire apologized for its involvement in a stage rush incident during the G2 vs. MOUZ quarterfinal at the CS2 PGL Copenhagen Major. “We intended to send a message, but it was a mistake on our part to punish the wrong people, and things blew out of proportion,” CSGOEmpire said in the post. “We will also soon move our gambling customers over to Duel.com, which will be unrelated to Valve or Counter-Strike.”
While the platform admitted its mistake, it continued to condemn G2’s partnership with CSGORoll and declared that its mission would simply take a new form. A few minutes before the stage rush occurred, CSGOEmpire had posted a manifesto titled “The War We Wage,” accusing G2 of partnering with CSGORoll—a rival platform that reportedly scammed its users of millions of dollars.
Additionally, several pamphlets about G2 and CSGORoll’s partnership were distributed among the fans gathered in the Royal Arena just hours before the protest. Considering that the pamphlets demanded G2 chief executive Alban Dechelotte end the partnership and resign from his position, it’s no surprise that the invaders chose G2’s match to storm the Major stage. For the incident, the gambling platform was panned by pros and the wider community alike.
It’s also interesting to note that four days after the protest, CSGOEmpire tweeted that its P2P trading wasn’t working due to “tracking issues with today’s Valve API changes.” These issues weren’t resolved until shortly after the site issued its apology, with CSGOEmpire now up and running as usual. As part of the apology, the site will be moving operations to Duel.com, a “crypto casino,” but has not said when the move will take place just yet.
The community was quick to point towards a possible reason behind CSGOEmpire’s move, believing Valve’s response disabled CSGOEmpire’s ability to properly operate in the CS2 ecosystem. HLTV journalist Danish “Nohte” Allana also responded, indicating the site’s primary source of revenue through CS2 was in jeopardy due to the actions of the leadership group and the stage invaders. “[I] hope a cease and desist from Valve will be in your inbox soon if it isn’t already,” he added.
Update April 7, 7:37pm CT: This article originally suggested CSGOEmpire had ceased Counter-Strike operations and shuttered its site following its apology post on April 6. This has been updated to reflect that CSGOEmpire remains operational and will soon be expanding to Duel.com. We apologize for this error.
