During the break between the BLAST Premier: Spring Final 2024 quarterfinals featuring Team Vitality/FaZe Clan and Astralis/Virtus Pro, BLAST announced that Lisbon and London will be the host cities for tournaments in 2025.
In 2025, BLAST is implementing significant changes to the structure of its events, following Valve's decision to open up the Counter-Strike esports scene by eliminating partner leagues and using Valve rankings for tournament invitations.
In addition to these changes, BLAST announced that events will be held in Lisbon at the MEO Arena and at Wembley Arena in 2025. The first event in the revamped cycle will be BLAST Bounty. This event will feature 32 teams in a BO3 format, starting online in Europe. The top eight teams will then compete at the BLAST studio in Copenhagen, with a BO5 format final.
BLAST Bounty will include 30 teams from the Valve rankings and two additional teams personally selected by BLAST. Each team will have a bounty based on their seed. Winners will receive 50% of their opponents' bounty as a cash prize, with the remainder added to their overall bounty for subsequent matches. Additionally, lower-seeded teams can choose their higher-seeded opponents, with seeds resetting after each round, allowing for strategic opponent selection.
Another new event, BLAST Open, will feature 16 teams, including 12 invited from the Valve rankings and four from regional qualifiers. Teams will be divided into two groups of eight and compete in a BO3 double-elimination format at the BLAST studio. The top three teams from each group will advance to the playoffs, held in one of the host cities.
BLAST Rivals will invite eight top teams to participate in a BO3 GSL group stage, followed by a single-elimination playoff and a BO5 final.
The BLAST calendar for 2025 includes:
- January 13-26: BLAST Bounty
- March 17-30: BLAST Open Lisbon
- April 28-May 4: BLAST Rivals
- June 9-22: BLAST.tv Austin Major
- August 4-17: BLAST Bounty
- August 25-September 7: BLAST Open London
- November 10-16: BLAST Rivals
BLAST will also host the first Major of 2025 in Austin. The tournament will be held at the Moody Center, which has a capacity of 15,000 but is expected to draw 50,000 attendees. Tournament details are yet to be announced.
Comments