Esports tournament organiser BLAST has unveiled an expanded qualifying series that will provide more teams with the opportunity to enter into the BLAST Premier Spring Showdown.
The expansion comes as part of the organiser’s ambition to offer ‘a Counter-Strike tournament series that provides opportunities for countless regions and organisations’.
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Qualifiers for the Spring Showdown will be open to over 1500 teams across a total of 20 countries. Five places in the tournament will be made available in the qualifiers, alongside a $25,000 (£17,891) ‘participation fee’ for each team up to invest in the development of their respective organisations.
Andrew Haworth, Commissioner for BLAST Premier, commented on the new format in a release: “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.
As of this writing, BLAST has revealed five tournaments for the Spring Showdown Qualifiers. These include Latin Power (LATAM), the Unity Cup (Iberia), the Fantasyexo Cup (Western Europe), Nordic Masters (Nordics), and the North America Qualifier (USA and Canada). On top of the five confirmed qualifiers, more tournaments for different regions will be announced in the coming weeks.
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It has also been announced that the Unity Cup will be operated by Spanish tournament organiser LVP. Sponsoring the tournament for the Iberian region will be beer brand Mahou Cinco Estrellas.
Jordi Soler, CEO of LVP, commented on collaborating with BLAST: “The Unity Cup is an explosive competition that allows Spanish teams to make the leap to the international scene, one of the traditional demands of our ecosystem. At LVP we are delighted with this connection with BLAST and also convinced that it is the best bet for the CS: GO season.”
Esports Insider says: BLAST expanding its qualification process to provide an opportunity for smaller organisations to qualify for some of CS:GO’s biggest tournaments is great for unknown talents to showcase their skills on the big stages.