BLAST Premier expands its spring qualifiers

The world of competitive Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is simply not slowing down. 

After Blast Premier decided to increase the prize pool this year and expand the regions covered, the organizations have also committed to giving more people a better chance to make the cut in what is arguably the leading Global Offensive tournament series out there. To get a feeling of how busy the world of CSGO is all you need is to jump to CSGO stat tracker, which will show you the sheer variety of the competitive scene.

Well, this same competitive scene now stands to benefit even more as Blast Premier is clearly taking good care of it. The company revealed that the Blast Premier Spring Showdown in April 202 will come with a $135,000 prize pool and it will also feature an additional slot to the $425,000 Spring Finals, which essentially means more money and more chances for talented players to prove themselves.

The big event will be attended by some of the most accomplished teams out there, including Team Liquid and Ninjas in Pyjamas. Over the last years, Blast Premier has been rapidly trying to change the way it engages with public and up-and-coming players. Much of the focus has been on the professional organizations out there and the organization is now bucking this trend in an attempt to add more grassroots organizations.

Of course, the professional organizations have been in business for a while now and it’s unlikely that an unknown challenger would emerge. It’s far more important, though, that the qualifier reflects on Blast’s broader policy which basically says that anyone gets a shot. With over 100 countries out there that are eligible to participate, Blast is sending the message loud and clear and that is inspiring for the thousands of people out there who have half a mind to try CSGO professionally – well, try in the very least. 

Andrew Haworth, BLAST Premier’s commissioner, has welcomed the opportunity.

“We are now in a position where we are working with leading regional partners to offer teams from over 100 countries the opportunity to feature in our Spring Showdowns,” Haworth said.

CSGO may not be the most played game out there, but it’s certainly one of the most watched one. Blast Premier may be where all the built-up fan enthusiasm converges, but it’s the grassroots that truly make the game so special in the end.