The CSGO viewer's guide to BLAST Premier: Spring Groups 2022

William Davis Published 21/01/2022

BLAST Premier: Spring Groups 2022 marks the new beginning of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’s biggest third-party circuit.

BLAST has quickly become the biggest tournament organizer in CSGO outside of Valve itself. Last year’s BLAST Premier circuit ended with a bang with in-person play returning to BLAST Studio in Copenhagen for $1 million in prize money. Now the exciting action is gearing up for another year of seasonal play. The Spring Groups is your chance to catch the action early. Successful teams become one step closer to attending the $1 million World Final at the end of the year. Here’s everything you need to know before tuning in to BLAST Premier: Spring Groups 2022.

What teams are playing at BLAST Premier: Spring Groups 2022?

The 12 BLAST partner teams get an express trip to the first BLAST event of the year.

Astralis
BIG
Complexity
Evil Geniuses
FaZe Clan
G2 Esports
MIBR
Natus Vincere
Ninjas in Pyjamas
OG
Team Liquid
Team Vitality

Teams qualified for the first BLAST Premier event of 2022 by being partners with the BLAST organization. More teams will gain access to the series as the year goes on.

The favorite for this event is undoubtedly Natus Vincere. The Russian-Ukrainian team absolutely dominated the 2021 season, and its era may just be getting started. But the online nature of the tournament hurts Na’Vi more than it helps. While longtime Na’Vi rival Gambit will not attend, Ninjas in Pyjamas pose a serious threat to the Eastern European juggernaut. Multiple remixed rosters including G2 Esports, Team Liquid, and Team Vitality also stand a chance.

CSGO Spring Groups prize pool and format

The Spring Groups of the 2022 BLAST Premier circuit has a prize pool of $177,500. The event will take place entirely online on European servers. The 12 teams will divide into three groups of four. Each bracket is double-elimination with tiebreaker matches for each placing. The winners of each group will face off at the Spring Finals.

10,200 BLAST Premier circuit points are also on the line. The top team from each group will earn 1,600 point each while the bottom three teams earn just 400. These points will eventually decide which teams attend the $425,000 Spring Finals in June.

The bottom six teams of Spring Groups will also advance to the Spring Showdown, where they and 10 qualifier teams will compete to join the circuit. That event will take place in April with a $135,000 prize pool.

Who’s casting at BLAST Spring 2022?

Four casters and two analysts have been announced for BLAST Premier: Spring Groups 2022. The first casting duo is Anders Blume and Jason “moses” O’Toole. The pair are a classic duo seen at dozens of CSGO events throughout the years. The other commentator pair will be Conner “Scrawny” Girvan and Mohan “launders” Govindasamy. Both are slightly newer to the scene, but are still well-recognized names in the world of pro CSGO.

The analyst desk will consist of Mathieu “Maniac” Quiquerez and Jacob “Pimp” Winneche. Freya Spiers will attempt to control the commentary banter as the desk host. Fan-favorite James Banks will lead player interviews. No observers have yet been announced for BLAST Premier: Spring Groups 2022.

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