BLAST unveil six events with a combined investment of $8.5 million.
During the BLAST Premier Spring Finals, the tournament organizer announced details of its 2025 calendar. Dates for six events were already known, but further details had not yet been revealed. BLAST, known for diverse venues, rarely sticks to one except in Denmark. Recently, they have visited four countries, with more in their BLAST Pro Series history. Fans anticipate exotic locations in 2025 with an open calendar. Here are all the details for the BLAST 2025 tournament announcement.
BLAST.tv Major 2025: Austin, Texas
North America will be getting its first Major in seven years. After the smash hit that was the BLAST.tv Major Paris, the tournament organizer won the bid for the 2025 Major. Held at the Moody Center in Austin, this Major hopes to be as thrilling as North America's last Major in Boston.
“We are delighted to bring North America its first Major in seven years next summer. Austin, Texas is renowned for hosting the biggest and best music and entertainment events in the world. We are proud to bring esports and Counter-Strike to this world-class city, with a best-in-class arena to match in the Moody Center.”
A new format for BLAST
First up in the BLAST 2025 tournament announcement was the new format. Inspired by Valve's "A Level Playing Field" statement, the tournament organizer has been working to craft an innovative experience that will ensure compelling storylines. Unlike BLAST Premier, these events will all be standalone, with trophies awarded at the end of each event.
"2025 is shaping up to be BLAST’s most exciting year to date."
BLAST Bounty 2025: Thrilling format with topsy-turvy rules
The first event of the calendar will be an online-studio hybrid event. With 32 teams competing, the event will feature invites for the top 30 teams in Valve's Global Ranking as well as two wildcard teams selected by BLAST. Inspired by poker, the event will have a unique prize pool distribution.
Bounty system
Teams coming into the event will have an attached bounty on them based on their seeding. Upon a match victory, the winning team will claim 50% of the available bounty as a guaranteed payout. The remaining 50% will carry over to raise the stakes in the next match.
Plus, in the opening round, the lowest-seeded teams will get to pick which of the highest-seeded teams they get to play. The seeding will then be reset in the following rounds, and the choice repeated.
BLAST bounty 2025 format
The event will feature 32 teams in a single-elimination, best-of-three (Bo3) system. The first two rounds will be held online before the top 8 teams head to BLAST's studio in Copenhagen to close out the event. The Grand Finals will be a best-of-five (Bo5) match that will crown the BLAST Bounty Champion.
BLAST bounty 2025 dates
The first BLAST bounty event in 2025 will run from Jan. 12 to 26, with the other kicking off on Aug. 4 to 17. Based on the dates, it looks like these will take over from BLAST Premier's season starting groups.
"We are ripping up the script at BLAST from next year onwards by introducing a fresh and exciting format that will keep fans and players on the edge of their seats at all times. Valve ranking-based invites and regional qualifiers, alongside dynamic prize pools and incredible arena locations will mean the world’s best teams will be competing on a global platform."
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BLAST Open: 16 teams GSL
Giving a chance to underdogs to face the world's best teams, the BLAST Open will be the arena event for 2025. This event will follow a more classic format, most commonly used in Intel Extreme Masters (IEMs). The event will start with the top 12 teams based on the Valve Global Rankings, joined by four teams decided through regional qualifiers.
The first week of the BLAST Open events will be held in the BLAST Studios. The 16 teams will be split into GSL double-elimination groups of eight to decide the top 3 teams from each. These teams will then fly over to the arena and battle it out in a single-elimination bracket. The quarterfinals and semifinals will be Bo3, with the finals once again running a Bo5 format.
BLAST Open 2025 venues and dates
The first BLAST Open of 2025 will be held in Lisbon. The Portuguese capital was previously the host for BLAST Spring Finals in 2022 and will now inaugurate the Open event on March 17, running through to March 30.
Another Spring Finals venue, London, will be the host of the second Open event in 2025, starting right after the BLAST Bounty in August. The event will begin on Aug. 25, with the finals on Sept. 7.
“As part of these changes, we have created stronger financial incentives for teams and a framework that will mean the world’s best and in-form teams will be rewarded and encouraged to compete in BLAST Premier events. We have an ambition to support a sustainable ecosystem, which means BLAST will be investing $6 millions into competing Counter-Strike teams and their long-term future as part of our payment framework.”
BLAST Rivals 2025: Season championship
The final event of each season will be the BLAST Rivals. This eight-team championship will be similar to the current BLAST Premier Finals. The top 8 teams from the season will be invited based on the Valve Global Rankings..
The format will be an right-team GSL leading into playoffs with Bo3 quarterfinals and semifinals and yet another Bo5 grand finals.
BLAST Rivals 2025: Venues and dates
So far, the venue for the BLAST Rivals has yet to be announced. But given the high stakes, we can expect some cool locations. For now, we know that the event will run from April 28 to May 4 in the first season, and Nov. 10 to 16 in the second season.
BLAST 2025: $8.5 million prize pool
In 2025, BLAST will be rewarding teams with a $8.5 million investment. This will be distributed like so:
- Participation fees - $4 million - Teams will be guaranteed income for participating in BLAST events based on their Valve Rankings.
- Frequent flyers program - $2 million - Teams that regularly appear in the BLAST events will be rewarded with an extra bonus.
- Prize pool - $2.5 million - The events themselves will reward teams with a pool of $2.5 million.
With so many interesting incentives, BLAST hopes to keep top teams captured in an ultra-competitive open calendar in 2025. Here are all of the BLAST events dates and venues:
Season 1 - Spring 2025
- BLAST Bounty: Jan. 14 to 26
- BLAST Open: March 18 to 30, Altice Arena, Lisbon, Portugal
- BLAST Rivals: April 29 to May 4
Season 2 - Fall 2025
- BLAST Bounty: Aug. 5 to 17
- BLAST Open: Aug. 26 to Sept. 7, Wembley Arena, London, U.K.
- BLAST Rivals: Nov. 11 to 16
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