BLAST announces Spring Showdown qualifiers

The winning teams will earn a spot in the prestigious tournament as well as a $25,000 participation fee.

BLAST has announced that the qualifying process for the BLAST Premier Spring Showdown will begin next month in five regions. Teams from North America, Latin America, Iberia, Western Europe and Nordic will be able to qualify for the $162,500 competition, with more qualifying events to be announced in the coming weeks.

As announced in December, the Spring Showdown will focus on the Americas and Europe. The Fall Season will be the first in the circuit's history to include qualifiers in Asia and Oceania as BLAST looks to offer teams from all over the world the chance to compete in its showpiece tournaments.

"This expanded qualifying circuit reaffirms our commitment to offering a Counter-Strike tournament series that gives a wide range of teams opportunities to succeed with over 1,500 teams getting a chance to progress through to BLAST Premier Spring Showdown and compete against the world’s elite on a global stage," BLAST Premier Commissioner Andrew Haworth said in a statement.

"There are so many countries around the world that have thriving CS:GO grassroots scenes, and we’re delighted to be able to put a spotlight on these areas, invest in the organisations and give them a platform to showcase their talents to the world. With more qualifiers to be announced for both the Spring and Fall seasons, we’re looking to create a tournament that every team in the world has a chance to compete in and possibly even win."

The BLAST Premier qualifiers will be organised by regional partners and will feature eight teams. Qualification for these eight spots will be determined in the form of existing tournaments, local leagues, open qualifiers and direct invites.

Below you can find the first five qualifiers announced by BLAST:

Latin Power by FiReSPORTS: March 19-21 (Latin America)
Unity Cup by LVP/RTP Arena: March 22-24 (Iberia)
Fantasyexpo Cup: March 23-25 (Western Europe)
North American Qualifier: March 26-28 (USA & Canada)
Nordic Masters: March 26-28 (Nordic)

The winning team from each regional qualifier will secure a spot in the BLAST Premier Spring Showdown, scheduled for April 13-18, and receive a $25,000 participation fee "to invest into growing and developing their organisations." The team list for the Showdown event currently features the bottom two teams from each group of the Spring Group stage, who are as follows: