Gooseman Shares Screenshot of Counter‑Strike’s First Ever Match

Gooseman Shares Screenshot of Counter‑Strike’s First Ever Match

On September 4, 2025, Minh “Gooseman” Le, co‑creator of the original Counter‑Strike, released a screenshot from what appears to be the very first match in the game’s history. The image shows an early session played on the map cs_mansion from Beta 1 of the game’s development.

Le’s post, shared via his personal X (formerly Twitter) account, included a nostalgic caption:

“Notice how awful our ping was… In 1999, that was the height of dial‑up internet. […] The build was horrible. The shotgun could kill someone from the other end of the map.”

He also reflected on his first time attending a modern Counter‑Strike event:

“It’s amazing. For the last 25 years I’ve been immersed in my own world—I haven’t seen how the community has grown.” 
This was in reference to his appearance at the BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025, marking his first visit to a CS Major.

Additional Coverage & Insights

• TheCSTimes on X reported that Gooseman shared a screenshot from the very first play session for Counter‑Strike BETA1, inviting fans to “look how far we've come”.

• In a July 2025 interview with GamesRadar, Gooseman expressed a nuanced view of his past decisions:

  “If I had stayed with Valve, I would have been able to retire by now,”
  he said, admitting he “kind of regrets” leaving the company but also recognizing that the experience shaped his growth as a developer.

• Per Wikipedia, Minh Le’s background includes co‑creating the Half‑Life mod Counter‑Strike with Jess Cliffe in 1999. He later worked at Valve (2000–2006), earlier on titles like Tactical Intervention, and most recently has been involved in projects like Rust and Alpha Response