Teams aiming to compete in BLAST Austin have to account for the addition of the Major Regional Qualifying system before coming to the US for a shot at CS2 championship glory.
CS2 majors are the highlight of the year for the game’s teams and fans alike. Players and teams spend months grinding through regional tournaments for a chance at global fame and a share of the prize pool. Fans get to see their favorites compete on the international stage and potentially get some cool CS2 merch out of it. The road to a major, however, can be both time-consuming and difficult for those who dare to travel it. Most qualifiers rely on having high regional standings just to make it to the biggest events.
Ahead of the first major of the year, BLAST has announced the newest CS2 qualifying system. With 32 spots available for the Austin Major in June, here’s how fans can expect to see teams qualify in the coming months.
The BLAST Austin Major Regional Qualifiers split the competition into three areas, with the heaviest focus on teams from Europe.
BLAST Austin has three stages leading up to the playoffs, each more competitive than the last. Each team in the BLAST Major Regional Qualifiers (MRQs) is competing for a position in Stage 1 of the final competition. BLAST has split the qualifiers into three regions, with sub-categories: Europe, the Americas (North and South), and Asia (China, Mongolia/Western Asia, and Oceania/SEA). Eligible teams are determined by their own respective regional rankings. All three regions have different conditions for eligibility.
Based on Valve Regional Standings, 16 teams will be getting direct invitations to either Stage 2 or Stage 3 without having to compete in the Major Regional Qualifiers. For Stage 2, four teams from Europe and the Americans each will be invited. Stage 3 will see the top six European teams and a single top team from both the Americas and Asia. Invites to both the major and the qualifier will be sent out on April 7.
All of the BLAST Major Regional Qualifiers will take place between April 14/15 and 17. This gives teams a week between invitation and competition to practice.
One of the newest changes coming with the BLAST Major Regional Qualifiers is the addition of online play.
In a recent update to the tournament rulebook, Valve stated that tournament organizers could run online competitions. However, as many CS2 players can attest to, online gaming is much more susceptible to cheating and other odd foibles. Even recently in-person, CS2 team Hesta has already been accused of cheating in the Dallas Qualifiers. Many fans worry that some teams will make it to BLAST Austin based on something besides their full merit as a result of these changes.
BLAST Austin takes place from June 9 – June 22, 2025. While the Major Regional Qualifiers may be closed and tickets for Austin completely sold out, fans can still watch on the official Twitch channel.
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