BLAST Paris Major teams, schedule, talent, prizes

Find out all you need to know ahead out CS:GO's last-ever Major in Paris, France.

The BLAST.tv Paris Major, the 19th and final Valve-sponsored event to be held in CS:GO, is due to begin on Monday, May 8, where competition will play out over the course of a fortnight before concluding with a best-of-three grand final on Sunday, May 21.

The 24-team tournament will be split into three parts: the inaugural Challengers Stage, the Legends Stage, and the Champions Stage. The first two phases will employ Swiss-style group stage formats, with teams needing three wins to advance to the next stage of play. Eight teams (see below) will bypass the Challengers Stage altogether, instead beginning their Major runs from the Legends Stage thanks to their high placings at their regions' RMR qualifiers.

After the conclusion of the two initial stages, play will transition to a single-elimination best-of-three format for the playoffs, which will be held in the Accor Arena. The eventual victors of the Major will take home the $500,000 cash prize, spots at IEM Cologne 2023 and the BLAST Premier World Final, as well as etching their name into the history books before Counter-Strike 2 takes center stage in the summer.

HEROIC make the journey to Paris, France, as the world's No. 1 team, and are one of the tournament favorites — the squad sit atop the HLTV power ranking for the event. Casper "⁠cadiaN⁠" Møller and company have secured grand final appearance in two out of their three Big Event outings in 2023, and previously made the IEM Rio Major title decider in November before being felled by Outsiders, 0-2.

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Are we heading for a Rio Major repeat?

Also looking to take home CS:GO's final Major trophy are G2, one of the best-performing teams of 2023 thus far, even if their form has taken a bit of a hit in recent times. The team around Rasmus "⁠HooXi⁠" Nielsen were ranked the best team in the world for 10 weeks from February to April, with a first-place finish at IEM Katowice being their 2023 highlight so far. The European combine will begin their Major run with an opening matchup versus The MongolZ on Monday at 13:00

Date	Matches
BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023 Challengers Stage
08/05/2023	G2 13:10 The MongolZ	Match

The BLAST.tv Paris Major arguably means the most for Vitality — the organization is based out of the French capital, and Mathieu "⁠ZywOo⁠" Herbaut and Dan "⁠apEX⁠" Madesclaire are the only players from France set to attend the event on home soil. A boost of confidence for the quintet undoubtedly comes from the side's trophy-lifting run at IEM Rio in April, where the squad dropped just one map across the playoffs en route to their tournament win.

9INE are the sole Polish roster set to attend the Major in France, the first roster from the European country to qualify for a Valve-sponsored event since Virtus.pro made it to the FACEIT London Major in 2018. The Wiktor "⁠mynio⁠" Kruk-led team raised eyebrows at the RMR qualifier in Denmark, earning a Legends Stage berth and being able to bypass the cut-throat Challengers Stage entirely after taking down G2, BIG, and Vitality en route to an unblemished 3-0 record.

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From Cash Cups to the Major, paiN's quest to join the world's elite continues in Paris

paiN are one of three Brazilian troupes making the journey to France to try their hand at winning the Major trophy. The squad, captained by Rodrigo "⁠biguzera⁠" Bittencourt, have slowly made their way up the world ranking, where they now rest at No. 17. paiN were also close to picking up the sole Legends Stage berth up for grabs at the Americas RMR in Mexico, losing out to FURIA in a hard-fought three-map series to be forced to settle for a Challengers Stage place.

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Participating teams

The team list for the BLAST.tv Paris Major is as follows:

Legends

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Schedule

The 24-team event will span two weeks, starting on May 8 and concluding on May 21, with each stage lasting four days. Below is the most up-to-date schedule of the BLAST.tv Paris Major.

Challengers Stage

Date	Matches
BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023 Challengers Stage
08/05/2023	Monte 11:45 FaZe	Match
08/05/2023	paiN 11:45 Fluxo	Match
08/05/2023	G2 13:10 The MongolZ	Match
08/05/2023	GamerLegion 13:25 Complexity	Match
08/05/2023	FORZE 14:25 Grayhound	Match
08/05/2023	Apeks 14:40 Liquid	Match
08/05/2023	Ninjas in Pyjamas 16:00 MOUZ	Match
08/05/2023	OG 16:00 ENCE	Match
08/05/2023	FaZe 17:55 paiN	Match
08/05/2023	Complexity 17:55 G2	Match
08/05/2023	ENCE 19:10 Ninjas in Pyjamas	Match
08/05/2023	Apeks 19:15 Grayhound	Match
08/05/2023	Fluxo 20:00 Monte	Match
08/05/2023	GamerLegion 20:20 The MongolZ	Match
08/05/2023	FORZE 21:20 Liquid	Match
08/05/2023	MOUZ 21:40 OG	Match
09/05/2023	Complexity 11:30 paiN	Match
09/05/2023	Grayhound 11:30 The MongolZ	Match
09/05/2023	Ninjas in Pyjamas 12:25 OG	Match
09/05/2023	FORZE 12:40 Monte	Match
09/05/2023	Apeks 13:55 G2	Match
09/05/2023	ENCE 14:05 FaZe	Match
09/05/2023	GamerLegion 16:20 MOUZ	Match
09/05/2023	Fluxo 18:15 Liquid	Match
10/05/2023	GamerLegion 11:30 OG	Match
10/05/2023	The MongolZ 11:30 Monte	Match
10/05/2023	Complexity 14:15 Liquid	Match
10/05/2023	FaZe 15:20 FORZE	Match
10/05/2023	Apeks 16:35 paiN	Match
10/05/2023	Grayhound 18:10 Ninjas in Pyjamas	Match
11/05/2023	FORZE 11:30 GamerLegion	Match
11/05/2023	Monte 14:25 paiN	Match
11/05/2023	Grayhound 17:50 Liquid	Match

Legends Stage

Date	Matches
BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023
13/05/2023	Natus Vincere 11:30 GamerLegion	Match
13/05/2023	9INE 11:30 Liquid	Match
13/05/2023	FURIA 12:45 Monte	Match
13/05/2023	fnatic 12:55 Ninjas in Pyjamas	Match
13/05/2023	HEROIC 13:50 FaZe	Match
13/05/2023	Into the Breach 14:10 Apeks	Match
13/05/2023	Vitality 15:05 G2	Match
13/05/2023	Bad News Eagles 15:25 ENCE	Match
13/05/2023	Liquid 17:20 Natus Vincere	Match
13/05/2023	fnatic 17:20 Monte	Match
13/05/2023	Vitality 18:40 ENCE	Match
13/05/2023	HEROIC 19:10 Apeks	Match
13/05/2023	FURIA 20:05 Ninjas in Pyjamas	Match
13/05/2023	9INE 20:20 GamerLegion	Match
13/05/2023	Bad News Eagles 21:15 G2	Match
13/05/2023	FaZe 21:40 Into the Breach	Match
14/05/2023	Natus Vincere 11:30 Ninjas in Pyjamas	Match
14/05/2023	fnatic 11:30 GamerLegion	Match
14/05/2023	ENCE 12:45 Into the Breach	Match
14/05/2023	Apeks 12:55 Bad News Eagles	Match
14/05/2023	Monte 14:00 Vitality	Match
14/05/2023	9INE 17:00 FaZe	Match
14/05/2023	FURIA 17:55 G2	Match
15/05/2023	ENCE 11:30 Ninjas in Pyjamas	Match
15/05/2023	FaZe 11:30 Bad News Eagles	Match
15/05/2023	Monte 14:00 Natus Vincere	Match
15/05/2023	fnatic 15:45 G2	Match
15/05/2023	Liquid 16:25 Into the Breach	Match
15/05/2023	Apeks 20:00 GamerLegion	Match
16/05/2023	FaZe 11:30 Natus Vincere	Match
16/05/2023	fnatic 15:45 Into the Breach	Match
16/05/2023	Apeks 19:30 Ninjas in Pyjamas	Match

Champions Stage

The schedule and distribution for the eight-team playoffs are yet to be announced, but teams will take to the Accor Arena on May 18-21. It can be expected, following previous Major formats, that the four quarter-finals will be held across Thursday and Friday, the two semi-finals following suit on Saturday, concluding with the grand final on Sunday.

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Talent lineup

A total of 20 broadcast talent members will be bringing the action to life at the $1,250,000 spectacle, with some covering the whole event and some only powering select stages. Freya "⁠Freya⁠" Spiers will be one of two desk hosts alongside Sam "⁠Tech Girl⁠" Wright, whilst Mohan "⁠launders⁠" Govindasamy and Conner "⁠Scrawny⁠" Girvan are one of four casting pairs.

The talent list for the BLAST.tv Paris Major is as follows:

Freya "⁠Freya⁠" Spiers - Desk host
Sam "⁠Tech Girl⁠" Wright - Desk host (Not Champions Stage)

Mathieu "⁠Maniac⁠" Quiquerez - Analyst
Jacob "⁠Pimp⁠" Winneche - Analyst
Alex "⁠Mauisnake⁠" Ellenberg - Analyst
Zvonimir "⁠Professeur⁠" Burazin - Analyst (Not Champions Stage)

Mohan "⁠launders⁠" Govindasamy - Caster
Conner "⁠Scrawny⁠" Girvan - Caster
Anders "⁠Anders⁠" Blume - Caster
Jason "⁠moses⁠" O'Toole - Caster
Alex "⁠Machine⁠" Richardson - Caster
Chad "⁠SPUNJ⁠" Burchill - Caster
Harry "⁠JustHarry⁠" Russell - Caster (Not Champions Stage)
Hugo "⁠Hugo⁠" Byron - Caster (Not Champions Stage)

James "⁠BanKs⁠" Banks - Interviewer, Stage host
Adam "⁠Dinko⁠" Hawthorne - Interviewer
Mads “Massive” Petersen - Interviewer (Not Champions Stage)

Danny "⁠mahone⁠" Hsieh - Weatherman

Francois "Cnd" Balembois - Arena host (Just Champions Stage)

Jake Lucky - Overtime host (Just Champions Stage)

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Prize distribution

The BLAST.tv Paris Major will boast a whopping $1,250,000 prize pool, following the trend of a $250,000 increase compared to the previous $1,000,000 tournaments thanks to the transfer of cash prizes in the Regional Major Ranking events to the Major itself.

The prize pool distribution is as follows:

1. $500,000 + BLAST Premier World Final + IEM Cologne 2023
2. $170,000
3-4. $80,000
3-4. $80,000
5-8. $45,000
5-8. $45,000
5-8. $45,000
5-8. $45,000
9-11. $20,000
9-11. $20,000
9-11. $20,000
12-14. $20,000
12-14. $20,000
12-14. $20,000
15-16. $20,000
15-16. $20,000
17-19. $10,000
17-19. $10,000
17-19. $10,000
20-22. $10,000
20-22. $10,000
20-22. $10,000
23-24. $10,000
23-24. $10,000

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On-site coverage

As always, HLTV.org will be in attendance at the Major in France, so stay tuned as we'll bring you full coverage of the final CS:GO Major, including galleries, videos, interviews, social media updates, as well as a live HLTV Confirmed episode.