The upcoming BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025 will be a landmark event as the tournament format expands from 24 to 32 teams. This significant increase will provide more opportunities for teams from all regions and ensure the highest level of competition.

Invitation Distribution

The 32 teams will be divided into three stages:

• Stage 1: 16 teams will qualify through regional qualifiers (MRQ)
• Stage 2: 8 teams will receive invitations based on Valve Regional Standing
• Stage 3: Another 8 teams will also be invited based on VRS, considering high regional performance in the last major

The invitation distribution considers the regions' performances in the previous major. For example, a slot in Stage 2 is awarded to each region for a team that reached Stage 3 in the winter major of 2024, and invitations to Stage 3 are granted to regions whose teams reached the playoffs.

Valve updated the MRQ format

RMR tournaments are no longer, and instead, a new format called Major Regional Qualifiers (MRQ) is introduced. However, it's hard to call it entirely new, as the trusty Swiss system will remain for Europe and America, and Asia will retain the Double-Elimination playoffs.

But there's one significant change — all invitations will now be issued exclusively based on the Valve ranking. This means every game in the season will carry even more weight for the teams aiming to reach the major.

More about Major Regional Qualifiers

In short: it's just like closed qualifiers to the RMR, and the RMR has turned into the first stage of the major. Here are the main rules for MRQ:

• Each region conducts one qualifying tournament for the Major.
• MRQ may take place in an online format.
• If a region needs to be split to provide optimal ping for participants (e.g., AMER -> NA and SA), quotas for participation in the Major will be equally distributed between subdivisions. If equal distribution is not possible, the remaining slots will go to the subdivision where a team with the highest regional ranking plays.
• All MRQ participants receive invitations based on their positions in the regional ranking. If it's not possible to fill all spots in the closed qualifier using ranking, organizers can supplement it through open qualifiers.

Regional Distribution

The MRQ slots and Stage 1 invitations vary depending on the strength of each region:

• Europe: 16 invitations via MRQ and 6 slots in Stage 1
• America: 16 invitations via MRQ and 6 slots in Stage 1
• Asia: 8 invitations via MRQ and 4 slots in Stage 1

Invitations for Summer 2025 by Region

The final distribution of invitations for the Summer 2025 major demonstrates Europe's leadership at all stages:

• Stage 1: 6 teams from each major region.
• Stage 2: Europe (4), America (4), Asia (0).
• Stage 3: Europe (6), America (1), Asia (1).

BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025 will take place from June 9 to 22, with a prize pool of $1,250,000 USD.

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