by BLAST, the esports tournament organizer has just announced details about its upcoming Counter-Strike: Global Offensive events for the BLAST Premier 2023 season.
The tournament organizer revealed the details of the 2023 season via a press statement on their official website.
“BLAST Premier returns for 2023 with 345 hours worth of world-class Counter-Strike being put on in its fourth year,” the statement read.
“Opening with Spring Groups in mid-January and closing with the World Final in December, BLAST Premier will be the start and end of the 2023 Counter-Strike season, with seven tournaments featuring throughout the year.”
According to the statement, the season will include a total of seven tournaments, with the prize pool totaling $2.4 million. The first event, the Spring Groups, will take place in January, and the season will conclude with the World Final in December.
“The BLAST Premier 2023 season will have a combined prize pool of $2,475,000 on the line across the seven events,” the statement continued.
One of the biggest changes for the 2023 season is the inclusion of best-of-three matches in the Spring and Fall Groups. This change from the traditional best-of-one format promises to make the matches more thrilling and unpredictable.
Teams that win their groups will qualify directly for the respective finals, while the remaining teams will be placed in a new competition called the Gauntlet. The winners of the Gauntlet will advance to the Spring and Fall Finals and the losers will compete in the Showdown events.
The Showdowns will be held online to provide a level playing field for teams regardless of their location. The Spring and Fall Groups, on the other hand, will take place in the BLAST studios in Copenhagen and will not be open to the public. The Spring, Fall, and World Finals, however, will be held in front of live audiences, with the venues yet to be announced.
In addition to these changes, BLAST Premier will also be hosting Qualifiers for the 2023 season. These open tournaments will give teams from a variety of regions the opportunity to showcase their skills and potentially advance to the Showdown events and even the Spring or Fall Finals.
The Spring Showdown Qualifiers will include Eastern and Western Europe, the Nordics, North and South America, and Asia. The Fall Qualifiers will include those regions, as well as China, Oceania, and MENA regions.
The Managing Director of BLAST Premier, Charlotte Kenny spoke on the development, expressing his excitement for the upcoming season campaign.
“We’re excited for what the BLAST Premier 2023 season has in store in its fourth year. 2023 will be the second year running where we have all of our finals in packed-out arenas in leading locations around the world,” Kenny said.
“We’re excited to deliver another 12 months of next-level entertainment and follow up on the success of last year’s arena events in Lisbon, Copenhagen, and Abu Dhabi.”
Aside from the changes to the Spring and Fall Groups format, BLAST also announced details about the World Final for the 2023 season. The World Final, which is the finale of the 2023 season with a $1 million prize pool, will have the qualification for the tournament intertwined with leading events throughout the year, adding an extra layer of excitement for teams and fans.
Two teams will be guaranteed a spot at the World Final via the “Race to the World Final Leaderboard.” The remaining six spots will be filled by the victors from the following 2023 tournaments: BLAST Premier Spring Final, BLAST.tv Paris Major, BLAST Premier Fall Final, Valve Fall Major, ESL Pro League Season 17, and ESL Pro League Season 18. If a team was to win a multiple of these events, a spot will be added to the Race to World Final each time.
The 12-member teams for the 2023 BLAST Premier season will include G2, Heroic, Liquid, Astralis, BIG, NaVi, NIP, OG, Vitality, Complexity, EG, and Faze. These teams will have a guaranteed spot at all BLAST Premier events throughout the 2023 season, providing a consistent level of top-tier competition for fans to enjoy.
The BLAST Premier 2023 season is shaping up to be an exciting year for esports, with changes to the tournament format, increased prize pools, and a diverse pool of teams from around the world.
