BLAST Premier has announced plans for an expanded Qualifying Series that will span multiple continents and be open to over 1,500 Counter-Strike teams with five places in the Spring Showdown up for grabs and more to be announced.
The expanded Qualifying Series is part of BLAST Premier’s 2021 ambition to offer a Counter-Strike tournament series that provides opportunities for countless regions and organisations – giving both the world’s elite and the scene’s underdogs a shot at reaching the prestigious World Final in December.
40 teams will be directly involved in the finals of the BLAST Premier Qualifying Series across five events, which will be accessible to more than 1,500 teams via open qualifiers that feed into these regional competitions. Five places in the Spring Showdown will be up for grabs along with a $25,000 participation fee for each team to invest into growing and developing their organisations.
The qualifying events will feature teams from over 20 countries in the Nordic region, South America, Western Europe, Iberia and North America with more to be announced in the coming weeks. The Fall Season will be expanded further to include other continents and regions of the world.
Each BLAST Premier Qualifier will consist of eight teams competing across three-day tournaments organised by leading regional partners. Qualification for the eight spots will be organised through these partners in the form of existing tournaments, local leagues, open qualifiers and direct invites.
Andrew Haworth, Commissioner for BLAST Premier, said: “This expanded qualifying circuit reaffirms our commitment to offering a Counter-Strike tournament series that gives a wide range of teams opportunities to succeed with over 1,500 teams getting a chance to progress through to BLAST Premier Spring Showdown and compete against the world’s elite on a global stage.
“There are so many countries around the world that have thriving CS:GO grassroots scenes and we’re delighted to be able to put a spotlight on these areas, invest in the organisations and give them a platform to showcase their talents to the world. With more qualifiers to be announced for both the Spring and Fall seasons, we’re looking to create a tournament that every team in the world has a chance to compete in and possibly even win. We’ve teamed up with five trusted and leading regional partners who will deliver the qualifiers – and we’ll be eagerly watching to see some of the world’s most exciting and talented teams compete for a place in April’s Spring Showdown.”
The winning team from each of these five regional qualifying events will earn a spot in the BLAST Premier Spring Showdown and chance of claiming part of the $162,500 prize pool, with the ultimate aim of progressing to the Spring Final and World Final, to compete against the best teams with some of the biggest prizes up for grabs.
BLAST Premier Spring Qualifier dates:
- Latin Power by FiReSPORTS: March 19-21 (Latam America)
- Unity Cup by LVP/RTP Arena: March 22-24 (Iberia)
- Fantasyexpo Cup: March 23-25 (Western Europe)
- North American Qualifier: March 26-28 (USA & Canada)
- Nordic Masters: March 26-28 (Nordic)
More qualifiers and announcements to be confirmed in the coming weeks.
