Tenz & Zellsis discuss: Is VALORANT or Counter-Strike the HARDER game?

Thank you to Tenz and Zellsis for doing this interview on the difference between Valorant and Counter-Strike! Also, thank you to Zowie for giving us the opportunity to shoot this at the Sentinels HQ, where we got to test out the U2 mouse and the brand new ZOWIE XL2568X 540hz monitor.
0:00 Intro
0:55 Interview Start: Which is harder?
2:02 Which is a better esports product?
3:52 Biggest challenge switching to Valorant
5:46 Skills from CS that applies well to Valorant
7:29 Advice to people making the switch?
Hosted by: Steven Cropley (@S_Cropley)
Produced by: Joseph Sim (@thejosephsim)
Edited by: Maria Mc Gee (@1mpeach.emoji_)
Thumbnail by: Benn Adorna (@bennnndesigns)
#valorant #tenz #sentinels #zellsis #counter-strike

[@ONEEsports]

We love seeing the passion in the comments! Just remember to keep things clean 😁

[@uresfffff222]

Valorant is a true global esport that most games can’t achieve, every region in this game is strong, while cs revolves around EU and CIS.

[@whfftagged1504]

Due to the fact as they said in the video of having a low skill ceiling & everyone is on the same playing field, where in CS you need to catch up to over how many years of mechanics that EU and CIS regions have cultivated that is why they are strong there but it makes for a better underdog story especially when a small team from a far off region wins over those 2 having a feel of conquering legends.

[@larry2281]

Certain reasons why though. Ever since covid there has been a EU bubble which hurts every region outside of EU. Prior to Covid NA, SA, and Australia were all doing pretty well except for Asia. However Valorant forces all regions into the game unlike CS where the best teams qualify and everyone has to play each other. As where in Valorant, yeah you have 2 teams from each region but you only have 8-12 teams compared to a CS event that has 24 teams.

[@whfftagged1504]

@@larry2281 So basically CS events are a meat grinder while Valorant isnt? and care to elaborate on the EU bubble?

[@larry2281]

@@whfftagged1504 don’t know what you mean by meat grinder but in terms of the bubble. Prior to Covid events used to be more spread out. For example, NA used to get 6 events a year compared to now we are lucky to get 1 or 2. Basically the best teams and players in the world went from coming 6 times a year to 1 which greatly impacts not only the pros but tier 2/3 because they don’t get to practice/scrim etc. Most events are in Europe now with a handful outside of it. But during Covid everything was in Europe. Essentially every region that wasn’t EU/CIS was stuck having to beat in EU months at a time and traveling. None of the young na players would gain experience because the good players in their region are gone and EU and so on doesn’t even come to NA. Now also put that in other regions. There are a few reasons why EU/CIS currently ahead of every other region in CS and one of them just has to do with the game being centered in Europe since 2020. Hard for other regions scenes to produce new and upcoming players if the only way they can play the best is by being in Europe. Prior to Covid it wasn’t that bad but covid did a lot. Covid hurt NA CS more than Valorant did. Few other things as well but don’t want to get too in depth about it. Keep in mind cs plays way more events compared to Val where they play 5 events a year (including the pro league).

[@fvjxznvueaepd8u]

@@whfftagged1504 playing cs in asia is pretty much impossible too, game is full of cheaters since csgo.

[@Nixe-1292]

I don't understand the debate I play both games, why cant we all just play the games as they are, games? Both are fun and hard in their own ways and people just keep saying one or another is harder. Both are fun just play them and improve. Edit: I appreciate you guy's thoughts they've been very insightful and funny. Thank you

[@cap-ml7ky]

Theyre not real people. The people who shit on these games dont exist outside. I know a few guys who have a couple thousand hours on cs and are still fans of valorant, whilst still having a normal social life. These guys are all terminally online and not right in the head, normal people just wont give af.

[@cap-ml7ky]

Also, just take a look at aspas (the actual goat of valorant rn), bros been playing cs1.6 since he was 3 years old. Mans more of an OG and fan of the game than anyone here, and he's a pro valorant player. He's literally born into and a part of the cs community, just like how volcano is, cs and valo should be like that arnold meme, not at each others throats. Alot of the valorant figures came from cs, just because they work in a different company now doesnt mean theyre on the other side.

[@Nixe-1292]

@@cap-ml7ky couldn't agree more ✊

[@Farr77]

It's pretty normal to have an opinion on what Is harder

[@uresfffff222]

@@Farr77there is no harder , both games are different types of people cs is more slow methodical while valorant you could do more crazy adhd shit.

[@and3rzzzz]

They're both easier and harder in different ways. I don't understand why people have superiority complex over this. Literally the pros who have played both professionally are saying they're just different so you're just trying to compare oranges to apples. Just enjoy the games for what they are.

[@offfplays]

Mechanically CS just clears val , no debate what so ever . Coming to micro play and what are the demands of an IGL , val is harder and demands way more hardwork and anti strating than Cs .

[@melihdrms1182]

mechanically cs is harder but in terms of tactics rotations baiting etc is harder on valorant

[@u3k1m6]

Similar to how Dota2 is the much harder and more technical moba game compared to LoL

[@oooh6997]

@@u3k1m6 different tbh, dota2 is harder in general. While CS is only difficult on the mechanical skills

[@uresfffff222]

Cs is not even mechanically that hard of a game neither is valorant, games like quake, apex on mnk are lot harder.

[@rdmz135]

@@uresfffff222 Completely different types of games. Cannot compare.

[@architecthyde]

mechanically CS, strategically Valorant

[@yalocaldex]

can't agree more

[@yalocaldex]

can't agree more

[@spooderman4990]

Both are hard in their ways. Mechanics wise - CSGO of course Game sense, team play and utility usage- VALORANT

[@really3201]

Csgo is basically who has better mechanics. It isn't valorant where individual mechanics becomes nonsense when people just throws a bunch of flashes, bombs, and stuns on you.

[@epicsomethin1635]

Part of micro is finding your light in the storm of util

[@Katniss0000]

they don't understand the strategic depth alone. 24 agents with different combinations of abilities and 5 different maps. You really need a lot of vod reviewing and theory crafting with your team. Macro is the big picture, meaning map rotations, objective control, etc. Macro is what will truly win you the game. more abilities = more macro play. Try to pick 5 duelist vs normal comp in Tier 1. You will get destroyed.

[@Jinx-iw6zb]

Csgo is a game that tests your consistency and mechanics to a limit whilst Valorant focuses more on adaptability and coordinating utility more. It can be seen clearly by how cs pros always stay consistent whilst Valorant pros dominate one act and fall off another.

[@really3201]

@@Jinx-iw6zb again, there are more changing variables in valorant thats why consistency is way harder than csgo. You just prove my point, thank you.

[@Jinx-iw6zb]

@@really3201 i was just adding onto your point

[@dexq1k]

both have hard things but i can for one say cs2 has a harder learning curve in terms of aiming whilst valorant heavily depends on rng and luck , and im not going to compare both games cause both are good in their respects but im just here to say what game does better than the other from both povs of games , whilst aiming is harder in cs, valorant has better util usage capbilitys but csgo doesnt granted molly flash smoke is the same thing people buy within a round nothing differant and are fairly easy to use to their full potential, theirs whole paragraphs i could go on but ima keep it simplistic, aint comparing which is harder tho cause each game has harder learning curves for specific things

[@MS-vk9ph]

its simple cs is for geriatric boomers and valorant adhd zoomers

[@Katniss0000]

cs is for nostalgia players like some old mmorpg is still alive today. Doubt they will still play runescape or wow if they release it today without the nostalgia bias.

[@sedwars3616]

I feel like valorant is terrible for adhd

[@miza4938]

⁠​⁠@@Katniss0000 I mean runescape is growing and getting new players to date I think they just hit 100k online a while back so

[@S1LynKz]

@@Katniss0000idk I’m pretty young and got a pc 3 years ago, but cs is definitely my favorite game ever, I like valorant too but the movement feels so slow and I do not like the gunplay, feels like you’re moving through mud and idk gunshots just feel goofy.

[@ak.9459]

Before Valorant exist NA/SA and Asia struggle to dominate CS unline in Valorant all region have chance to win this show how hard is CS when only EU and CIS keep dominate the scene even some people said CS only about mechanical and just throw ulitity every game doing the same thing than why NA/SA and Asia cant dominate it like EU and CIS?

[@rusolaboasbeh2263]

Music too loud in the interview

[@ctrlhiro]

this valorant vs cs reminds me of ps vs xbox pointless bc they are two diff things

[@milkywayxd1803]

That’s what we hate about valorant the randomness if you run and gun you don’t deserve a killl final only with judge specter you can get away with this but all the rest na

[@hydrosphere49]

Valorant pros are typically former CS players that couldnt make it in tier 2 so it's pretty obvious which one is harder tbh. Copium to even equate the two.

[@yj-yuanjun]

was it worth the 2 likes

[@dariusgarlandbf]

@@yj-yuanjunhahahahaha

[@larry2281]

This video will start a war. Can tell by the comments a lot of people haven't played CS or was ever good at CS and have a Valorant bias which is fine. Enjoy both games and play both games. CS is harder, especially mechanically but Val is still a solid game. The worst part about Val is the community and sometimes the RNG. Considering most Val pros were CS pros/semipros/players and they say CS is harder should give you your answer. The games are similar but not at the same time.

[@ewan1462]

CS is harder mechanically but Valorant is much harder strategically. you can tell when there is a cs bias when people dont recognise this... its a reason so many old cs boomers think they can just switch over but they get shit on expecting to coast based on their cs ability, from this you can tell who has never played valorant or gotten good at it from when they say this but CS is still a solid game

[@larry2281]

@@ewan1462 I disagree my friend. If you haven’t played CS at a high level you can’t say it’s strategically harder. I’d say it’s about the same and when you break it down majority of the abilities is similar to CS utility. Who are these CS boomers you speak of btw? You realize majority of the na pros in Val are former CS pros/semipros?

[@ewan1462]

@@larry2281 I disagree my friend. I think the fact you think cs utility is even comparable to the number of things you need to consider and mid round for in valorant is laughable after all. Yes there is utility in cs but all of this utility is equal to one single agent in Valorant. It’s okay that you like CS but you fail to understand the depth of Valorant at the highest level. It was true 3 years ago that cs players could easily make the switch but players have improved 10 fold from then and most val pros and now players that have never touched CS. You thinking that they are the same game with a smooth and simple transition makes me think you haven’t played Valorant at a high level.

[@jettthor8000]

CS without a doubt has better mechanics rather than Val. Valorant on the other hand needs better team work and team coordination along side with the random BS you have to deal with (playing against different team comps and team adapting to how each team plays a comp, anti strating, etc etc)

[@katsumoto9143]

They are both so nice. Wonderful people

[@stephaniedang2242]

Sen!

[@alborsellino]

If u have a good hands = CS If u have a smart brain = Val

[@yalocaldex]

Valorant just requires you to play more as a team rather than just shoot everyone in the head. So yeah mechanically cs is harder but valorant is more team based.

[@franciscoderodriguezbazan5025]

Of course valorant is way harder than CS. Valorant has different agents and maps constanly, which CS not. U can even see that pro players from valorant are more irregulars, due the own nature of the game, it changes a lot in a short period of time

[@larry2281]

Love CS but CSGO > Valorant > CS2

[@sedwars3616]

I agree but for me I used to enjoy both valo and csgo but sometimes I liked csgo more

[@subtitles9185]

if you think playing valorant is easier try playing it and tell me how it goes

[@suprdez3617]

Mechanically cs is hard. Tactically and iq wise Valorant clears

[@jkgiron1]

i dont get this from exCS players at all, its like they dont want to hurt their alma matter. i started in CS as well (pre 1.6) and yes i love CS. but this is not hard to see that OVERALL valorant is harder than CS. yes, CS shooting mechanics is harder and has a higher skill ceiling than valorant, agreed. however thats just one piece of the pie. aside from that, if you consider everything, including just the sheer amount of abilities (how to use each one, how to counter each one), knowing how to play each agent, knowing different comps per map (some agents are better on some maps than others), way more strats than CS because of vast amount of agent/abilities combinations, know how to counter and be more adaptive to whats going on becuase of the amount of variables the game has, the huge verticality in aiming because of agents that can go way high up in the air at fast speeds (jett updraft/dash, raze double satchel), learning other aiming techniques like tracking (neon's ult), and predictive projectiles (like sova's abilities), etc etc. i understand some ppl hate valorant because of its aesthetics(cartoony, looks like it was made for kids), but if you consider everything objectively, there is no question, valorant is overall harder than cs.

[@AstroSully]

They don't have the pedigree to say it's easier considering they were not even top players in CS. Lmao. It's a different game with different style. Mechanically CS is superior whilst Valorant is more complicated tactically with the amount of abilities and agents.

[@jkgiron1]

@@AstroSully i guess you're right. that could be what they're feeling. but still, you dont have to be a pro to be able to objectively judge which game is overall harder. all you need is ample time to play both games and a sound objective mind to be able to compare the two.

[@vishalattri744]

Valorant is more Harder cause there are many Variables, everyone have a chance to win against more mechanical players Using their Brain. It leads to Diff. playstyles Like - Run it down Duelists, Outsmarting Controllers, Utility Baiting sentinals or the Supporting Initiators It is also more fun and engaging cause every person has more to contribute to the team Rather than just their mechanics.

[@QurttoRco]

Silver comment. Pro cs is way harder than valorant

[@melihdrms1182]

@@QurttoRco pro cs just comes down to mechanics and aim with valorant you have many thinks that you can do to outplay mechanically better players than yourself (also cs has the same executions for yearssss ) but on valo you can always mix and match abilities and agents to do diffrent executions so ….. is cs harder ? Mechanically yes but all the other categories valo is harder because there are more variables

[@Katniss0000]

@@QurttoRco lol same execute for several years. Cs is chess but valorant is chess with changing rules every 3 month and different pieces ability. Now the king could move like a Knight.

[@AstroSully]

Valorant doesn't reward better mechanics. In theory a player with significantly worse mechanics can win their duel because of ability. You don't have that in CS. You consistently beat someone mostly due to your own ability not what the game gives you.

[@uresfffff222]

Lot of cs players have superiority complex if they were to play a game like quake they would get their asses handed to them 😂

[@larry2281]

Would be the same thing if a Quake player were to play CS lol. Don't see where you are going here. Regardless Quake and CS aren't even close to being similar so why compare?

[@ashishsinghedu]

If have aim but no game sense u can perform well in cs But in valo u need both aim and brain 😌

[@larry2281]

Just simply not true lol. Don't know what rank you are in either game but its just a well known fact it is easier to aim and move in Valorant and you need a brain in both games lol.

[@em3_scro]

@@larry2281you use your brain more in valorant compared to cs.

[@larry2281]

@@em3_scro Thanks for telling me you never made it out of gold nova.

[@leosimvuiseng2926]

yes it does need aim in valorant because of rng even low skill player can beat anyone which is why valorant where games are harder and low skill ceiling where anyone can beat anyone where cs is not everyone beat anyone where using raw skill

[@CantCookForLife]

I mean Valorant for sure is the easier game. Like no disrespect but majority of the goats in val had a mediocre career in CS. The only thing I find difficult in val are lineups and sprays thats over 3 seconds

[@jkgiron1]

if valorant is a direct 1 to 1 copy of CS then you can make that argument, but truth is, valorant is based in CS, but its also different in many ways. so that argument doesnt work.

[@StuckupBronze]

after playing Valo for a year, i recently played CS 2 for the first time ever... i uninstalled the game after 1 deathmatch cuz of how hard this game is lmao💀

[@fanofallfans4994]

Valorant>>>>>>>>>>>>>CS2

[@saikatmaity5822]

both is hard when you can't play lol

[@erenyeygerkenny]

Cs is fking ez like child play

[@LevelUpMMO]

CS > VAL

[@13NST]

simple. tenz goat in valorant but was shit on cs. so you know which is harder

[@kayziii_]

he shit in valorant now wdym hahhaha

[@cap-ml7ky]

eh, you can do the same for valo as well. Braxton was a god in cs, but is shit in valorant. As tenz said, theyre different games and its up to your preference.

[@eraaj2899]

brax was a god? Everything youve ever said about val is now null and void. ​@cap-ml7ky

[@Zzzsleepers]

Aspas clears

[@Katniss0000]

even if all goats in cs try to play valo now. they will get sh*t on by top teams. Tenz even just young(17-18) in cs with weak mental and undiagnosed Adhd. when did s1mple won a Major?? around 23-25. plus NA CS died around Tenz time lol. cs is just EU tournament. all former cs veterans are just being carried by young valorant pros.

[@LevelUpMMO]

Crazy that even world champion Valorant players will admit that the difficulty of Valorant comes from RNG and a lack of a skill gap and folks still think it’s a harder game 😂 like they literally just said the game raises the players at the bottom and limits the people at the top. CS >>>>>>

[@spiritolaminato654]

It’s because these guys are in the server, the skill diff in Val is outside of the server. You have way more ability to cook strats and anti-strat other teams in Val compared to CS because of the abilities. There will never be a coach like Potter in CS, who can beat superstar teams no matter what players she’s given

[@bear916]

it is in fact, but u also need to be SKILLED to prevent and doge RNG like yeah , there is a shit ton of util in coming but once it happend u can also outskilled that util with movement and brain

[@really3201]

Thats literally why Valorant is harder, because you have to THINK MORE and take into account more things than just braindeadly aim diffing everyone in the game.

[@LevelUpMMO]

@@really3201 ...so because the game took away skill separation and the better mechanical player can lose to the worse player more frequently due to a squished skill gap. Got it.

[@really3201]

@@LevelUpMMO having better mechanics doesn't necessarily make you the overall better player. If you can think better and have decent aim, you are 100% better than someone who can only aim.

[@nartouthere]

cs is way harder than valorant

[@LevelUpMMO]

Fax

[@mixedval]

Bros delusional

[@Sheeprr]

"It has to be a lot harder! I mean it's the game that I like!"

[@rectified638]

Ngl cs is like way harder (coming from val)

[@Farr77]

Tell me you have 2 brain cells with a comment

[@QurttoRco]

If Tenz is mechaniclly skilled they his stat in csgo were so bad ? 🤣🤣🤣 Bro dont act like both are you just didnt fail as csgo pros no shame in it you found success elsewhere.

[@uresfffff222]

S1mple the goat of valorant can’t even get past diamond in valorant ?? 😂 what’s the point maybe different people are good at different things 😂 imagine a guy who was born to play soccer(football) plays basketball and sucks.

[@enquixLr]

Because he was younger back then and he improved now? Troglodyte lmao. Also tenz is mid tier pro at best in val

[@puckered6036]

valorant is legitimately for midwits who are by colorful effects blasting in their face at all times and edgy anime characters. Genuinely the lowest common denominator as a person

[@haxor-rex5705]

mfs when a game has different graphics than their broken game- 🤬🤬😡😡

[@rebsinfxrebs]

stopped watching after a child's game

[@kayziii_]

cs2 > val

[@brunomiceli4885]

nah as a cs player val rn is better

[@wutangsaiyan9556]

Nah csgo. Cs2 is just so bad rn

[@Katniss0000]

tried cs2. Still bad should announced as early access. need to beat csgo first.

[@uresfffff222]

Cs2 is horrible lmao 😂😂 csgo was the goat but right now valo clears cs2

[@brunomiceli4885]

@@wutangsaiyan9556 fr

[@redox6160]

CS is shit game.

[@wrhabbel]

WHY ARE YOU AMERICANS ALWAYS YELLING?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

[@uresfffff222]

And why do Americans live in your head rent free.

[@wrhabbel]

@@uresfffff222 ?