The general manager of the Complexity CS2 team, messioso, published on X the revelation of the penalty system at BLAST tournaments, which had remained confidential until now. It turned out that for violating the regulations, tournament participants receive penalty points, and accumulating six points within 12 months leads to disqualification for one match.

However, even more interesting was the information that there was a rule, possibly still in effect, prohibiting public discussion of the sanctions received — for which players would receive additional punishment.

Closed Penalty System

In the world of esports, transparency of tournament regulations is an important aspect of fair competition. However, BLAST has kept information about imposed sanctions hidden for many years, only informing the offending team directly. According to messioso, this is an unacceptable practice that undermines trust in the tournament. In his opinion, such decisions should be part of a public registry.

How Does the BLAST Penalty System Work?

According to the published data, penalty points are awarded for various violations, including non-compliance with media and advertising obligations. For example, failing to meet BLAST's promotional activity requirements can lead to a warning or a penalty expressed in points. If a player or team accumulates six penalty points over 12 months, they will be forced to miss one match.

As an example, messioso mentioned a situation with NiKo, who damaged a table at a tournament. Theoretically, he should have been awarded at least three penalty points for this, but confirmation of their issuance is still lacking. This approach to disciplinary measures only intensifies criticism towards BLAST for the lack of transparency.

Disclosing information about penalties can change the esports industry, making disciplinary measures more transparent and understandable for players and teams. It can also help combat possible bias from organizers. BLAST's openness remains in question, but the data leak may push the tournament towards changes.