BLAST has announced updates to its 2025 tournament circuit, adapting to Valve’s latest guidelines while maintaining the core structure set out in June. The Danish tournament organizer is set to host six major LAN events and the anticipated Austin Major, alongside eight regional qualifiers called “The Risings,” fostering broader team participation.
Key Adjustments and Participation Fees
The updated plan includes $4 million in participation fees, with allocations across various non-Major tournaments, alongside a separate $2 million budget for the “Frequent Flyers Programme.” The total prize pool for 2025 stands at $2.5 million, with detailed distribution forthcoming. To promote diverse competition, BLAST’s “Bounty” event will open the season as a 32-team online single-elimination event.
This tournament will feature 28 teams from Valve Regional Standings (VRS) and four wildcard entries, a slight increase from the initially proposed two. These wildcard slots are reserved for teams with either top-eight VRS members or recent Tier 1 tournament champions.
Diverse Competition with “The Rising” and “The Rivals” Events
“The Open” stadium events will invite 16 teams, with 12 coming from VRS and four through qualifiers within “The Rising.” This qualifier system allows emerging teams to join the main event, presenting a rare chance for lower-ranked teams. Four teams advancing from open qualifiers will compete in closed qualifiers, where top contenders from four regions will receive a $10,000 participation fee.
BLAST’s “Rivals” event, an eight-team competition exempt from standard Valve restrictions, will focus on regional diversity, with each of the four regions securing a wildcard slot. Adjustments to invitations and dates, in compliance with Valve’s criteria, will see the first invites for “The Bounty” on December 16, 2024.
Invitation Strategy and Valve Compliance
According to Valve’s rulebook, the invitation cutoffs depend on VRS standings effective from the 1st of the month prior to the Invite Date. This decision impacts team selections, potentially opening opportunities for teams like Fluxo, MIBR, and M80, based on current standings. The evolving circuit underscores BLAST’s commitment to integrating Valve’s new standards while broadening global representation and competitive fairness across its events.
