16 teams to compete for a $162,500 prize pool with the remaining seven places to be decided by global qualifiers in the coming weeks.
Gambit, HEROIC, and FURIA have received direct invitations from BLAST Premier for next month’s Spring Showdown (13-18 April) with the remaining seven places to be decided across qualifiers in the next few weeks.
Russian-based Gambit received an invite after an impressive start to the year that saw them claim an unlikely first place at IEM Katowice last month. Other invited teams HEROIC (10) and FURIA (12) both feature in the top 20 of the HLTV world rankings and impressed in last year’s Fall Showdown – with FURIA going onto play in the Fall Final and World Final.
Astralis, OG, MiBR, G2, Team Liquid, and Team Vitality confirmed their place in the Spring Showdown back in February after finishing third and fourth in their respective Spring Groups.
The remaining places will be made up of the winning teams from each of the seven BLAST Premier Qualifying Series tournaments, a global qualifying circuit that provides multiple regions and over 1,500 teams from around the world an opportunity to feature in the Spring Showdown.
BLAST Premier Qualifying Series:
- The Dune Cup by Calyx: March 18-20 (MENA)
- Winstrike CIS Cup: March 19-21 (CIS)
- Latin Power by FiReSPORTS: March 19-21 (Southern Cone of South America)
- Unity Cup by LVP/RTP Arena: March 22-24 (Iberia)
- Fantasyexpo Cup: March 23-25 (Western Europe)
- VENN Invitational: March 26-28 (USA & Canada)
- Nordic Masters: March 26-28 (Nordics)
Earlier this year BLAST Premier announced the expanded Qualifying Series as part of a 2021 ambition to offer a Counter-Strike tournament series that provides opportunities for countless regions and organizations – giving both the world’s elite and the scene’s underdogs a shot at featuring in a BLAST Premier event.
Every team that wins a BLAST Premier Qualifier event will receive a $25,000 participation fee for the team to invest in growing and developing their organizations.
Confirmed Spring Showdown teams to date: Astralis, OG, MiBR, G2, Team Liquid, Team Vitality, Gambit, HEROIC, and FURIA.
