BLAST has shared details of its 2025 circuit, which will significantly change the tournament’s events. Valve plans to open the CS2 circuit in 2025 by eliminating partner leagues and using Valve rankings to decide tournament invites. This move is causing the Danish tournament organizers to rethink their plans for BLAST.
In addition to overhauling their format, BLAST announced plans to hold arena events in Lisbon and London in 2025. The MEO Arena and Wembley Arena will host these events.
BLAST Bounty
BLAST Bounty
The first event hosted by BLAST is the BLAST Bounty. In this event, 32 teams will compete in a best-of-three single-elimination bracket. The first week of matches will be held online in Europe. The eight teams that advance to the quarter-finals will be invited to complete the bracket at the BLAST Studios in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Thirty participants in the BLAST Bounty will be chosen from the Valve rankings, and the remaining two teams will be wildcard teams selected by BLAST.
Additionally, every team present will receive a ‘bounty’ based on their seed in the event. The victorious team will receive 50% of their opponent’s bounty as a cash prize, while the remaining 50% will be added to the winning team’s total bounty for the next match.
In the BLAST Bounty, the lowest-seeded teams get to pick their opponents from the higher-seeded teams, with seedings resetting after each round.
BLAST Open
BLAST Open
The upcoming event is called the ‘BLAST Open’ and will feature 16 teams. Twelve teams will be invited based on their rankings from Valve, and the remaining four teams will qualify through regional qualifiers.
The 16 teams will be divided into two groups of eight, and they will compete using a BO3 double-elimination format at BLAST Studios. Three teams from each group will advance to the playoffs. The top six teams will then travel to a host city to compete on stage in the playoff bracket.
BLAST Rivals
BLAST Rivals
The reworked circuit will culminate in the ‘BLAST Rivals’ event, featuring the top eight ranked teams in the world. The event will begin with a group stage, followed by a single-elimination playoff culminating in a best-of-five grand final.
BLAST’s schedule for 2025
BLAST 2025 Schedule
- January 13-26: BLAST Bounty
- March 17-30: BLAST Open Lisbon
- April 28-May 4: BLAST Rivals
- June 9-22: BLAST.tv Austin Major
- August 4-17: BLAST Bounty
- August 25-September 7: BLAST Open London
- November 10-16: BLAST Rivals
We will be overviewing every BLAST Event closer to its date, so stay tuned!
