All CS:GO teams competing in the upcoming BLAST Premier Fall Series will do so from Europe, the European tournament organizer announced today. Some American teams, like Evil Geniuses and FURIA, will make the move to Europe to compete. Others, like Team Liquid, have dropped out of this stage of the event.
BLAST’s first Premier season took place earlier this year, with teams competing on LAN for the initial stage of the event. Due to COVID-19, later stages of the tournament were played out online, with teams separated by region. BLAST will return with the Fall Series later this month, with all teams competing online from Europe. The tournament organizer says it is “thrilled to welcome the NA teams to Europe” while hyping up the return of North American and European rivalries.
Two US-based teams originally set to compete in the BLAST Fall Series, Team Liquid and 100 Thieves, have dropped out. 100 Thieves released its CS:GO roster earlier this week, while Team Liquid will instead move on to the BLAST Showdown, a later stage in the tournament. Taking their places are FURIA, a Brazilian team that will make the move to Europe to compete, and German squad BIG, who currently stand at sixth in the World Rankings. American team Evil Geniuses will also make the move to Europe.
The BLAST Premier circuit was originally structured to host international teams in LAN competition, with teams qualifying for different stages throughout each season. Spring and fall seasons were scheduled to take place live, all culminating in a live global final event. The circuit was restructured for regional online play after quarantine measures were implemented worldwide.
“We’re over the moon that we’ll be able to bring the 12 BLAST Premier Fall Series competing teams to Europe and welcome the exciting additions of FURIA and BIG,” said BLAST CEO Robbie Douek. “The Counter-Strike scene has been crying out for both regions to renew rivalries in recent months and we’re delighted that we can deliver this for fans.”
The BLAST Premier Fall Series is set to begin on October 29th, with all teams competing online from Europe. The Fall Series Showdown will take place in November, and the Fall Final will go on in December.
Source: BLAST