The Esports league, BLAST Premier, has added four new Affiliate Member Teams ahead of its Spring Groups in Copenhagen.
After announcing the vacancy, BLAST received a high level of interest from across the Counter-Strike ecosystem. Esports team Cloud9 was announced as the newest Member team however.
BLAST decided to create an Affiliate Membership, giving fans more matches and broadcast hours in 2024 than in previous seasons. In total there will be 26 matches at each event (Fall and Spring)
The four new Affiliate Member Teams that will join the BLAST Premier circuit are Falcons, GamerLegion, Team Spirit and Virtus.pro. BLAST made the decision to expand following Evil Geniuses‘ decision to sell their Member Team slot at the close of 2023.
BLAST Premier Affiliate Member Teams gain the same access to all BLAST Premier tournaments as the existing Member Teams.
All four teams will play in the Spring Groups in Copenhagen in January and have a chance to be one of the six teams to play in the Final at London’s OVO Arena Wembley in June.
Andrew Haworth, Programme Director for BLAST Premier, said: “We are excited to be expanding our pool of participating teams in the BLAST Premier circuit with four new Affiliate Member Teams.
“During the bidding process for Evil Geniuses’ Member slot, it became apparent there was a strong appetite to be a part of BLAST from teams across the Counter-Strike ecosystem.
“Virtus.pro are an organisation with a deep history in Counter-Strike and GamerLegion experienced great success at the Paris Major last year. Both Falcons and Team Spirit have made statement signings as well and we cannot wait to see all four teams debut later this month and compete across the year.”
The expansion will change the BLAST Premier format as both the Spring and Fall Groups will be expanded to 16 teams. Six teams will advance to the Spring and Fall Finals and 10 teams will drop to the Spring and Fall Showdowns.
This will add 2x Bo3 matches to each group, removing all redundant matches in the process and increasing the prize pool to $190k for each Spring and Fall groups.
Haworth added: “BLAST is always looking to innovate and enhance the BLAST Premier product for fans across the Counter-Strike space and the expansion will add four new hungry competitors, each with the chance to play on the biggest stages in esports in exciting locations across the world.
The four new Affiliate teams have responded.
Nicolas Reber, CEO of GamerLegion, commented: “We are delighted to have secured a position in one of the best Counter-Strike 2 leagues worldwide. The monumental triumph at the BLAST Major in Paris 2023 has served as a driving force for our team to give our best to consistently demonstrate our ability to compete and emerge victorious against the world’s top-tier teams.
“Our participation in BLAST Premier is a testament to our commitment to excellence, and we eagerly anticipate engaging in more high-stakes matches throughout the year.”
Ruslana Berest, COO of Team Spirit said: “Partnering with BLAST is very exciting for Team Spirit. We have always strived to play the best teams at the best tournaments, and the BLAST circuit gives us this opportunity. We are looking forward to showing our best Counter-Strike, see you at the events soon!”
Nikolai Petrossian, CEO of Virtus.pro, remarked: “We are honoured to join BLAST Premier as we see it as an additional opportunity to cement Virtus.pro’s status on the global CS2 scene. This investment will allow our players to compete with the strongest opponents more frequently contributing to our team’s professional growth.”
Grant Rousseau, Global Director of Esports and EU Operations of Falcons, stated: “Falcons are extremely excited to be joining the BLAST Premier circuit. Competing at the best tournaments in Counter-Strike means needing to be a part of the best setups available globally, which BLAST very much provides.
“We look forward to working with them in the time ahead to help grow their CS ecosystem, and aim to bring home some of their trophies alongside!”
