The Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournament organiser, BLAST Premier has announced that it has expanded the reach of the Spring Qualifiers, so that the tournament now consists of eight individual events across various regions, with the competing teams fighting for one of eight total spots available in the Spring Showdowns.
According to the announcement post, the expanded qualifiers will be taking place in March and April and will each be organised through partners in the form of existing tournaments, local leagues, open qualifiers, and direct invites. As for the regions that will be getting a qualifier tournament, they are: South America, North America, Iberia, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Nordics, CIS, and South East Asia.
"We're delighted that we've been able to continually expand and grow these qualifiers year-on-year," said BLAST Premier's commissioner, Andrew Haworth. "We are now in a position where we are working with leading regional partners to offer teams from over a 100 countries the opportunity to feature in our Spring Showdowns. The qualifiers have become a hugely important part of the BLAST Premier and wider Counter-Strike ecosystem - giving teams of all ability and standing a shot at playing on a global stage, against the world's best."
The schedule and names of the upcoming Spring Qualifiers can be seen below:
- Firesports Latin Power (South America): 11-13 March
- RTP Arena Cup (Iberia): 18-20 March
- TWR Eastern European Masters (Eastern Europe): 18-20 March
- Pelaajat Nordic Masters (Nordics): 18-20 March
- MESA Nomadic Masters (South East Asia): 21 & 23 (online) & 26 (LAN) March
- WePlay CIS Masters (CIS): 25-27 March
- FantasyExpo EU Champions (Western Europe): 25-27 March
- Ace North American Masters (North America): 28-30 March
The teams who win each of these tournaments will earn a spot in the Spring Showdowns, which will take place between April 27 and May 1.
