CS 2
NA CS in a nutshell.
CS:GO’s esports is all about perfection, where teams follow everything to the minute detail, calling the right shot with flawless communication, lining up the utility by the millimeter, and waiting for the right moment to go all in just to make the perfect execution and win the round. Well, at least that’s what most teams try to do, unless you’re a team from NA, then you’re most likely to mess up at some point.
Read more: oSee: "I can still do a lot better"
If you happen to come across a poorly executed smoke grenade on the map, it likely came from a North American team. When it comes to making the worst possible plays, professional players from North American teams often take the cake, embodying what is now known as peak NA CS.
Here’s an example of an NA CS moment:
Origin of the meme
The meme is relatively old and originates from the early years of Counter-Strike but still relevant as NA always has something, let's say special, for us. Regardless of the jokes and memes around the region, it’s never good to see an entire region slowly diminishing as the North American region is at the moment.
North America used to have Major winning teams and players that made the fans proud and always thrived for glory. Winning was always a possibility for a North American side at every event. Unfortunately, that is no longer the case with an organization deciding to have multiple lineups that led nowhere but the bottom of every tournament and players trolling qualifiers. Why? Probably because it’s NA.
The NA CS meme originated from the poor plays made during competitive matches. Often seen as a missed smoke, molly or even attempting the worst plays the human eye can see.
Mostly noted during matches against teams from other regions especially Europe, which gets the Twitch chat on spam mode spamming NA smoke, or peak NA CS.
Typing “NA CS in a nutshell” will be enough to see how big the meme is among the community as countless videos were made as a summary of North American Counter-Strike.
It might not be only a meme but a part of a bigger reality, NA teams have rarely dominated the esports scene, except for a few times, maybe it’s a curse or simply an unfortunate name that will forever haunt the region.
You know it’s a fact when a professional player calls out the region, Joshua "steel" Nissan was a star in iBUYPOWER before getting banned for match-fixing and of course, the scandal has to come from that region. Nevertheless, “steel” was fed up with how bad the region was which led him to say on stream: “People will sit there wondering why NA CS is a fucking meme where Twitch chat constantly spams NA CS, NA smoke, NA movement, NA whatever. It’s a meme at this point, and they don’t understand that it’s a meme because no one actually cares about getting better, no one takes the time to actually learn, no one cares to practice all the time…”
A-site Vertigo Smoke.Quiz: Can you guess which region threw this smoke?
If you guessed North America, then congratulations, you are correct.
All in all, while the NA CS meme may continue to persist, it's important to remember that it is not a reflection of the entire region's capabilities. Instead, it is a humorous nod to the times when North American teams have fallen short of expectations.
North America was once on top, and we sure hope the region gets back on its feet and provides us, not only with entertainment but rather with high-level competition.
