New Faces of CIS and Comeback of Veterans: BLAST.tv's Most Interesting Teams

Valve officially released the long awaited stickers and battle pass for the last Major in CS:GO history on the morning of May 5th. This means that the BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023 is about to start. Many teams have already arrived and are actively practicing at the venue: it's the first Valve tournament for some of them.

In the article from Telecomasia.net you can read about the most interesting and surprising teams in Paris.

We should start with the main sensation of the European qualifiers. We can't say that the British team made it through a tough grid, but the Knights should be proud of their contribution to the elimination of the reigning champions.

During the RMR tournament, Into the Breach lost its first match to Natus Vincere, but rebounded to beat Sprout, Virtus.pro, and B8. Speaking of the roster, it's worth focusing on rallen: the Polish veteran has successfully rebooted his career with the international team, becoming one of the powerhouses alongside the young talents. After years of wandering and returning to Endpoint, Thomas finally got his chance. Born in the UK, he can be considered his country's biggest star in CS:GO, especially after the retirement of ALEX. For other players, the future Major is not only the first Valve tournament in their career, but also a very rare experience on the LAN in general. That's why experts are predicting that the Brits won't make it to the playoffs.

It's also worth mentioning an interesting historical phenomenon in connection with Into the Breach. At the beginning of the CS:GO era, teams from the UK often participated in majors and tier-1 tournaments, and after a long silence, they will be back to see its sunset.

Do you remember any successful Polish teams after the old-school Virtus.pro disbanded? Only strong mid-level teams like AGO come to mind, but we've definitely missed the Polish fives in the majors. The eyes of the fans will be on the team's main talent, sniper hades. Currently, Olek is the best sniper in his country, even after the offensive kick from ENCE. He proved with his own example that it is possible to return to the level of tier-1 even with a team "from the bottom".

9INE is also unique because even for the local scene, the faces on the team are new. The players of "nine" didn't often appear in famous teams until 2023, so the story of entering the major is not only about hades. The main characters are also KEi, Goofy, mynio, Kylar and coach nawrot.

Ninjas in Pyjamas could hardly be called a surprise of the tournament, but the team's new build is certainly interesting. The strategic duo of Aleksib and coach djL reinvents the details of the team's play every tournament. Most importantly, these arrangements really pay off. Whether k0nfig is a snapper or a more usual entry-fragger, every pattern looks seamless. It will be interesting to see how both the experienced players and the young headtr1ck develop in their first major.

The Ukrainian sniper will be a reason for many CIS fans to cheer for Ninjas in Pyjamas. The former NAVI Junior player had a rough start to the year, but as the ESL Pro League Season 17 approached, his stats started to rise. Moreover, Danylo began to show a stable positive rating on RMR and is about to get rid of the "lost talent" label.

And although Ninjas in Pyjamas has long since removed the Swedish flag from his HLTV profile, it is the Swedish fanbase that is waiting for the once-legendary team to return to their former glory.

FORZE became the only all-Russian team in Paris after Cloud9 unexpectedly dropped out of the RMR qualifiers. Like for Into the Breach, there are no big expectations for FORZE, but it's a lot easier to get from the qualifiers to the Legends stage than from the Legends to the playoffs, right?

Despite the team's rare appearance in the major, the roster isn't exactly a no-brainer. What stands out is Krad, a participant in the legendary DreamEaters race in Berlin 2019. Paris will also be a great experience for Jerry as captain: the FORZE line-up hasn't looked this strong in a long time. It will be a lot of work for Andrey to lead such a promising team against serious opponents.

The boys were very lucky in the draw: their first opponent is Grayhound, another lightweight team from Australia. Their match will take place on May 8th at 15:30 GMT+3.

Rounding out the selection is a team led by the legendary captain of the CS 1.6 era. After nearly a year of coaching an international squad, Kuben makes his first appearance in the major since Virtus.pro. The roster is equally interesting, with three big names known for their past achievements in different periods.

The biggest surprise is STYKO, whose name hasn't been in the headlines for a long time since he left MOUZ in 2019. That's not to say that Apeks has no chance of going far, but the very participation of the Slovak legend in the major is an achievement in itself. Joining this list is jkaem, known for his appearances for the Renegades and 100 Thieves. The Norwegian has only recently returned to the European scene, but he's already reached great heights with Apeks. Rounding out the list is nawwk, who got an unfair shake when device was transferred to Ninjas in Pyjamas. The young Swede hasn't had many chances to play at a high level in the last two years, but he hasn't lost his will to win.

The BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023 will start on April 8th at 12:30 GMT+3. Stay tuned for more Telecomasia.net updates on the last CS:GO major!