BLAST Pro series kicked off their first ever Los Angeles Counter-Strike tournament today and included some incredible features for fans in attendance. BLAST Pro has opened opened the doors to those that want a behind the scenes look at how a large scale tournament operates by giving fans unique access to the facility by way of a guided tour.
Not only can fans see the inner workings of the tournament, they're also able to participate in a variety of ways. Attendees are invited to sign up for demos teaching hands-on broadcast monitoring, engage with players in the press area in between games, and even take a guest spot casting the games along side pro casters Launders and Hugo.
The event, which takes place Saturday and Sunday in Los Angeles, features a "Front Row Experience" that is designed from the ground up to get fans as close to the action as possible. Upon arriving, fans will first be met with the the outdoor stage, where lucky attendees are brought onto stage to guest cast the games for a few rounds, and leave with various prizes. There are also a handful of food trucks and merch tables to peruse during the 2 day CS:GO tournament.
Inside, however, is where the main even takes place: all 6 teams, FaZe Clan, Cloud 9, NRG, Renegades, MIBR, and Team Liquid, are seated up together in the player area facing the intimately-close audience. Around the stage fans will find the casters calling the game, the Twitch studio live streaming between games, the red carpet, photo zone, and bar. All accessible, all designed to put fans right there in the action.
Fans can sign up for a behind the scenes tour, happening hourly, that will take them through all the various departments needed to make the tournament work. The tour begins with a short elevator ride into the belly of the arena, where a guide will take fans into the production space filled with dozens of tournament employees working on replays, graphics, broadcast monitoring, social media content, and more.
Next, fans are brought back upstairs directly behind the players where they can get a glimpse of the matches being played right at the source. A sheer curtain is the only things separating fans from players as they compete for a $125,000 prize pool.
Finally, the tour takes you down the red carpet to experience what it's like for the players to stand in the lime light between matches. It's an unprecedented level of access in a tournament of this size and creates an environment well worth attending if you want to get in on the action.
BLAST Pro Series LA starts today with qualifying rounds and concludes tomorrow. Tickets are available on the BLAST Pro Series website, but if you're not in Los Angeles, you can watch the entire tournament on their Twitch channel.