A total of 56 teams from around the world fought for a spot at the very last CS:GO Major, the BLAST.tv Paris Major, and a good amount of surprises and upsets set up the stage for an exciting last dance in May.
Europe received the most spots at the Parisian Major, with 17 teams from the region securing their presence via European RMR A, RMR B and an extra decider bracket round. But even so, some of the bigger names faltered and missed the opportunity to play at the last CS:GO Major.
Among the biggest names that will miss the BLAST.tv Paris Major are Astralis. The organisation has won four Major titles in total, the most in the game's history, but unfortunately for them, this is the second time in a row that they fall short in the qualifier rounds. The likes of BIG or Cloud9 will also miss the Major in May.
More so, the BLAST.tv Paris Major will also be the first Major in CS:GO history that will not have the defending champions coming to fight to keep the title. Virtus.pro got eliminated 12-14th in the European RMR A, thus losing the chance to play in the Decider bracket as well.
Out of the 17 European qualified teams, 7 went straight to the Legends stage, 7 to Challengers and 3 to Contenders.
BLAST.tv Paris Major Legends
- Natus Vincere
- Fnatic
- Heroic
- Team Vitality
- Into the Breach
- Bad News Eagles
- 9INE
- FURIA Esports
BLAST.tv Paris Major Challengers
- G2 Esports
- OG
- Ninjas in Pyjamas
- GamerLegion
- Monte
- FORZE Esports
- Apeks
- paiN Gaming
BLAST.tv Paris Major Contenders
- MOUZ
- ENCE
- FaZe Clan
- Team Liquid
- Complexity Gaming
- Fluxo
- The MongolZ
BLAST.tv Paris Major begins next month, on the 8th of May with the Challengers stage followed by the Legends stage set to be played between May13-16. The Champions stage single elimination bracket will take place in the Accor Arena from the 18th to the 21st of May.
Both Challengers and Legends stages will be held in a Swiss System Format where elimination and advancement matches will be Bo3 affairs, while the rest of the matches will be Bo1. The top 8 teams of each stage will proceed further into the tournament, the bottom 8 will be eliminated. The Champions stage will be held in a single elimination bracket, Bo3 matches.
The French Major will boast a $1,250,000 prize pool, the winners taking home the larger portion of it, $500,000, along with a ticket to IEM Cologne 2023. The runners-up will take home $170,000, and those placing 3th-4th earning $70,000.
