GamerPay Times - January

Your monthly briefing on everything CS, and more!

January 2024 issue

amerPay Times For all your skin needs visit: www.gamerpay.gg

1 Million dollar AK finally

unboxed !

After 10 full years of CS:GO, it finally happened!

The elusive AK-47 | Case Hardened with the Pattern 661 in StatTrak Factory New condition, the rarest possible version of this skin, has been unboxed recently.

Counter-Strike 2 and its skin game are off to quite an amazing start!

This skin was never unboxed or traded up to in StatTrak Factory New condition up until now! Many people have tried obtaining this expensive and legendary skin by trying to trade up to it, but it always evaded capture.

Not too long ago, one insanely lucky Chinese Citizen actually managed to unbox this behemoth of a skin! A insanely lucky feat!

This is so absurdly rare because the odds of unboxing one are approximately 1/20,000,000! While the odds for trading up to one are only 1/2,000. This skin is the Crème de la Crème, yes a magnum opus of the skin universe!

We at GamerPay are very happy to welcome this legendary, mythological, highclass skin to our beloved game. Congratulations!

Interview with @superfkr1

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See page 3

Read up on this months unboxes

screenshots by @zeusperCS

RMR Recap

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Read up on the major qualifiers

Investigating the market with @RaCSGO

“ What can be the future of CS2 skins” 1

Your monthly briefing on everything CS, and more!

January 2024 issue

Gungnir, Gungnir who?

How our favorite skin got it’s name!

“Gungnir never misses its target, no matter the skill or strength of the wielder.” (Edda) Well, it’s not quite that simple to AWP in Counter Strike 2, but let us tell you the story of Gungnir. Gungnir is Odin’s weapon, as it says in the introductory sentences, a spear that never misses its target. But how did Odin get this pretty handy weapon?

Both dwarf families compete to create the three gifts for the gods, of which the three gifts of the Ivaldi siblings (Brokkr, Sindir) became particularly famous.

The spear Gungnir, Thor’s hammer Mjölnir and Skidbladnir, a foldable ship for Freyr.

According to the prose edda, it all started with Loki, an Æsir, who is known for his charm, his malice and that he will bring the end of the world. Loki cuts off the golden blonde hair of Thor’s sleeping wife (Sif). To protect himself from Thor’s revenge, he tricks the two dwarf families into forging three gifts for Thor, Odin and Freyr, one of which he orders to be a head of pure gold hair for Sif.

Like what you read? Check out our blog here for more content like this!

Why does the CS2 player always carry a pencil?

Because he wanted to draw first blood!

Soldier: “Tell my mom I love her” CS2 player: “Tell your mom I love her”

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Your monthly briefing on everything CS, and more!

January 2024 issue

The big Kato14 recap the crafts, the prices and what’s to come

But where’s our content??? by @RaCSGO

Ever since the introduction of CS2, players have been yearning for new content.

It’s been four months and nothing exciting has happened! What’s going on? And what could we expect moving forward?

2023 has ended, and that means the yearly Kato recap from @RaCSGO is here again! Let’s compare 2023 with the previous years to see what we can learn.

With over 500k USD applied in 2023, we can clearly state CS2 is not dead yet! Even though Kato crafts are in decline compared to previous years, the most expensive craft since 2021 happened this year. A whopping 4 Titan holos with a value of over 320k USD was the craft to take the top spot. A direct cause of this craft was the immediate skyrocket of Titan holos, causing them to be the biggest gainers for 2023, with a whopping 33% increase in value, every Titan holo (craft) owner must have gotten a little excited.

With the diminishing supply of Kato stickers, it is evident that the capsules holding these rare stickers are sought-after items. What used to sell for 0.25 USD in 2014 sold for 25k USD in December 2023, that is a whopping 105% average increase from the start of the year.

It’s clear this trend is everlasting, as in the beginning of January 2024, not one but 2 Kato capsules sold for 30k USD. A promising start to this new year!

This brings us to the start of 2024. Let’s hope that these trends push through to CS2.

Even though it’s a new game, we remain hopeful that the Kato market is still stable. X User leafy already kicked off the new Kato season with a questionable craft. He crafted a Fnatic holo on the scope of a MW Desert Hydra.

The Fnatic holo also happens to be the same sticker that was applied first in 2023.

Even though it was the first sticker to be applied, it wasn’t the most popular one. 3DMAX holos took the top spot for the most applied Kato in 2023, closely followed up by mousesports, of which 7 were applied last year.

The Revolution Case was released on February 9th 2023. Operation Riptide ended one year prior (February 2022). While nothing new or exciting has been introduced since fun maps and game modes have been sacrificed with CS2’s release.

It’s safe to say CS2 was released prematurely.

The game wasn’t ready at its core. But Valve made their promise to release in the summer of 2023, so they did. Leaving countless bugs and exploits to be fixed while cheaters are flooding our servers. There’s still a lot to be done at the core. It’s clear that this is Valve’s current main focus. And it should. As it’s detrimental to the game’s long-term success.

So can we expect any exciting content soon? I’m afraid we can’t. With the Copenhagen Major on the horizon, expect all time and energy to flow towards fixing important issues that guarantee a successful tournament. Valve can’t afford having game breaking problems or “olofboost”-like exploits happen at the first CS2 Major. Even if an operation would be ready, releasing it requires a lot of developer capacity to constantly monitor and update all the problems that come with it.

I don’t believe such capacity is available in the game’s current state. In the best-case scenario, a new weapon case is introduced. This type of content doesn’t usually require much aftercare.

Despite the game’s disappointing launch, I believe Valve has set its priorities right by fixing the game at its core before introducing big content updates. If you believe in the longevity of the game, there will never be a better time to buy your dream skins or investments. I’m convinced the game will return stronger than ever and you’ll regret not picking up that Factory New Dragon Lore for $10,000.

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Mail your GamerPay shop to: Nathan@gamerpay.gg 3

January 2024 issue

Your monthly briefing on everything CS, and more!

Inside the mind of a crazy crafter

Today, we have the honour of exploring the mind of a talented individual who is widely recognized for their unique sticker crafts. Our interviewee, a self-proclaimed “humble billionaire” from the United States, has kindly provided us with insights into the fascinating world of CS2 crafting.

The person responsible for these impressive crafts is @ superfkr1. Super has applied a total of 5 mousesports | Katowice 2014 Holos, with a total value of ~17.5k USD. While these crafts may seem random to some, they hold a deeper meaning for Super. His love for the mousesports sticker began with his AWP Blackiimov, which had a mousesports paper sticker on the scope. This craft sparked his imagination and led to the creation of the five new mousesport holo crafts.

Most of his crafts are impulsive moments which all add to the hype formed around him. In a split decision, he seems to follow his heart and do what he thinks is right and looks good.

Despite this some of super’s crafts are planned out. Like the usp-s whiteout he crafted, that was an idea provided to him by his friend @sh9ce. To the question if he would ever sell his unique collection of self-crafted Katowice 2014 skins, he promptly said that he rather give them away before selling them.

He is quite the collector and connoisseur when it comes around to his unique skins. His whole collection also might be a bit of an acquired taste. Not everyone will like it, but those who do enjoy it will think it is quite remarkable. A craft that has been on his wishlish for quite some time is the iconic MAC-10 | Heat with 4x Reason Gaming | Katowice 2014 Holo’s. This would be the second time this gun has ever been crafted, and it is quite an insane fit. We wish Super the best in fulfilling his goals and thank him a lot for doing this interview with us.

screenshots by @zeusperCS

This months crazy unboxes

Right at the start of the year, @ pxllage unboxed Sport Gloves Vice in Factory New of which only 136 existed. With a price tag of 18,000 USD, it is pretty safe to say his year started with a bang. Not too long after, another insane unbox happened.

Streamer Trainwreckstv pulled 12,500 USD in the form of FN Moto Gloves | Spearmint. Both of those gloves would pair well

with the also in January unboxed lowest float Crimson Web knife in the world, which could fetch around 15,000 USD on its own! But always remember: Do NOT open cases for profit. These items are some of the rarest you can get in the entirety of Counter-Strike. The chances of obtaining them are so astronomically low.

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Your monthly briefing on everything CS, and more!

January 2024 issue

AK glowups in CS2

AK-47 The empress

Screenshots: @rosedtofu

If you are looking for something very high class, we suggest you get an AK-47 | The Empress! Everyone should own or owned an Empress.

This skin is just pristine. Its upgrade in CS2 made its colours especially its golden effects pop even more.

The gold draws attention to it and its darker colours give it a nice frame.

AK-47 | The Empress is not too expensive with a price of 21€ in Field-Tested.

(This skin only gets darker with a higher wear)

xW

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AK-47 Cartel

The Cartel skin did not receive a warm welcome in GO. While it had a small group of devoted fans, many dismissed it as just a “Vanilla Gun”. However, with CS2, its intricate details and expert craftsmanship finally shine. The intricate carving is truly mesmerizing, and the 3D effects are more pronounced thanks to the improved lighting in CS2. When you look at the skin again, you gain a new appreciation for how it shines and reflects. With the added depth in CS2, this is undoubtedly one of the best upgrades from CSGO.

Balls of steel

On 28/01 the most expensive craft of this year happened. X user @hours applied 4 katowice 2014 hellraiser holos on a blue phosphor totalling a totally insane 35000 USD. We at GamerPay love the contrast on this craft. That

Especially for the affordable price of around 15€ in Factory New, and only 6€ in Field-Tested on GamerPay!

was also the reason hours crafted this, stating that he previously had the kato15 variant of this and since he loved the contrast so much he decided to ball out and craft this as a replacement Congrats on the craft hours!

Art by @bahbotato

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January 2024 issue

Your monthly briefing on everything CS, and more!

Everything you need to know about the RMR Danes Lead the Charge for Nordics in PGL RMR With the first ever CS2 Major taking place in Copenhagen, it seems only fitting that four Danish cores still have a chance at qualification on home turf, along with a few rogue players dotted around international lineups. And with GamerPay also sharing their Danish roots, we feel that it’s fitting we bring you up to speed on their journey, If you opened Twitter or tuned into any of the community broadcasts surrounding the RMR Open Quals, then you’re sure to have heard that they weren’t all smooth sailing. Plenty of daily delays, servers on fire, no seeding, and a lack of a serviceable anti-cheat allowing cheaters through to the RO16 about covers the bigger mishaps, but on their second attempt, the Danish core of Heroic still managed to make it through after an initial tumble to Nemiga. They were followed by ECSTATIC, winners of OQ3, who both went onto join Preasy and Astralis waiting for them in the Closed Qualifiers with a tough pair of Swiss Brackets.

Less drama but plenty of upsets were to follow with the RMR Closed Quals. In CQ B, Astralis looked set to go 3-0 in their bracket but fell to the ex-1Win core in Amkal before slipping past Pera. Heroic had 4 rounds to close Vs MOUZ but lost in OT, then lost in OT again to KOI before finally finding their feet in the BO3 stages to clean up 3-2.

Our four qualified teams now join karrigan, HooXi, es3tag, k0nfig, Snappi, Magisk, br0, acoR and gla1ve scattered across EU RMRs A & B, all jostling for their spots at the first ever home-turf Major from February 14th. That’s a Valentine’s Day Massacre if we’ve ever seen one. And it’s made even worse by the fact that every Danish core has been lumped into the same RMR meaning the chances that all of them make it are pretty slim… but to distract our Danish readers from the stress of the Swiss system, as promised, here are some of the coolest combos and biggest flexes wielded by our Great Danes throughout the qualifiers so far!

Qualified Danish teams:

And in CQ A, the only Danish side in Ecstatic were definitely capable of making it through via the Swiss system but it was a tough loss to 9Pandas and fnatic and an understandable fall against NAVI that left them to squeeze through in the decider bracket too.

Skin spotlight:

We all know the more skins you have, the better player you are. Star Rifler Nertz proves this statement correct as he has some insane juicer skins. Let’s take a look at his best skin This right here is the well-known ST FN M4A4 Howl Which without stickers would already set you back a cool 12000 USD. But with the stickers it would set you back approximately 39000 USD. Fun fact about this skin: It has been duplicated 18 times by a steam support exploit back in the days.

Special thanks to @sneakybeakyttv for writing the article 6

Your monthly briefing on everything CS, and more!

January 2024 issue

Crossword puzzle

Down 1.

The visible mark in the center of the screen representing where bullets will hit.

2.

Iconic map known for its long A and B tunnels.

3. grenade used to block enemy paths.

4.

Advanced movement technique allowing players to gain speed by jumping and strafing.

5.

Tactical grenade used to obscure vision.

10.

Strategy where a team spends minimal money on weapons and utilities.

12.

Map with narrow chokepoints and a distinctive banana area.

13.

Player specializing in aggressively entering bombsites and getting the first kill.

14.

Powerful pistol known for its one-shot headshot capability.

Fill it in here

Across 6.

Winning a round in a disadvantaged situation, often alone against multiple enemies 7.

Powerful sniper rifle in CS:GO. 8.

A strategy where players help each other reach elevated positions.

9.

Heavy machine gun often used for suppressing fire.

11.

The initial round where players use only their knives to determine sides.

15.

Objective in Bomb Defusal mode. (Tip: Where do you plant)

Thank you for reading!

If you’d like to give feedback on the GamerPay Times you can do so by sending a mail to: nathan@gamerpay.gg

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