RFRSH Entertainment has introduced a global season format for its CS:GO tournament product BLAST Pro Series.
The new format includes seven live tournaments and a global final that will take place in December.
The format includes a point system that spans throughout the seven tournaments on the lead up to the finals, deciding the four teams that will make the semi-finals of the final event. The winner win be crowned the 2019 BLAST Pro Series Season Champion, receiving $350,000 (£268,121).
The seven teams that will take part throughout the season – which has a total prize pool of $2.25 million (£1.7 million) – are Ninjas in Pyjamas, FaZe Clan, Team Liquid, Cloud9, Natus Vincere, MIBR, and Astralis.
Each of the aforementioned teams will compete in five BLAST Pro Series stops throughout 2019, leaving room for qualifying teams and wild cards. Should they receive points, they won’t be eligible to make it to the global final.
BLAST Pro Series just had its second tournament of the 2019 in Miami, with FaZe Clan surprising the likes of Astralis and Team Liquid by going all the way. Other destinations announced for the current season include Madrid on May 10-11th and Los Angeles on July 12-13th.
Esports Insider says: There’s been a lot of criticism towards BLAST Pro Series as of late because of the format in each event and how closed off the series is. This update doesn’t address those concerns but it provides some focus for the 2019 season.