On August 19, the fall part of the CS:GO competition season will begin in Copenhagen. The teams will participate in BLAST Premier Fall Groups 2022. The tournament is part of a series of BLAST operator events, which will offer prize money and ranking points. All the information about the upcoming event is in our article.
BLAST Premier Fall Groups 2022 - what kind of tournament is it?
The upcoming event is one of the selection stages for the main event from tournament operator BLAST: World Final 2022 in Abu Dhabi, with a prize pool of $1,000,000. At this tournament, 12 BLAST partner organizations will draw six entries to the BLAST Premier Fall Finals 2022 (the winner goes to the world final) and the BLAST Premier Fall Showdown 2022 (the top two teams go to the first tournament).
The teams are divided into three groups of four. Games will be played in Double Elimination until two losses. All teams qualify for play-ins, which will also be held under the Double Elimination system.
In the final part of the tournament, the upper bracket includes quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals. The teams ranked 3-4 in groups play in the first round, while teams ranked second in groups meet them in the semifinals. In the final, the semifinals winner meets the team ranked first in their group. A special feature of the tournament is three different top brackets, so the number of winners is increased to three. They receive a cash prize and advance to the BLAST Premier Fall Finals 2022. In the bottom bracket ("last chance matches", according to the tournament description), the teams that lost the semifinals and finals also play in three rows. The winners get an invite to the BLAST Premier Fall Finals 2022. The remaining six teams go to the BLAST Premier Fall Showdown 2022, where they will compete for another slot in the final qualifiers.
It's important to note that each bracket features teams from a different group. The tournament format involves plenty of matches, which means that during these eight days, the CS:GO community will be compensated for the lack of games from the world's best teams.
Tournament participants
Twelve partners of tournament operator BLAST will meet in Copenhagen. The Danish company works mainly with top CS:GO organizations that succeed on the international stage, particularly in the majors and large events.
At BLAST Premier Fall Groups 2022, organizations will try out their new rosters. Team Liquid will play with YEKINDAR again at the position of entry fragger and will surely decide on his further stay in the roster. Natus Vincere let their main star take a longer break and took headtr1ck from the academy. Team Vitality continues to break their French core and recruited Spinx from ENCE.
The experiment in G2 is also of great interest to experts and analysts right now. HooXi assures that he'll be able to shut NiKo up and lead the team, but for now, it's hard to believe Dane's words. At the event in Copenhagen, the roster will play many matches, and it will already be possible to draw our first conclusions from their pattern.
The tournament will feature OG with a new sniper named Degster. Remembering Abdul's performance in the spring, we can believe in a drastic roster growth and even expect their first big results. The European organization already played with the Russian player in the BLAST Spring Finals and showed good play. Now all that's left for nexa to do is spend more practice with the newcomer and give him a free hand again.
Full list of tournament participants:
- Astralis
- BIG
- Complexity
- Evil Geniuses
- FaZe Clan
- G2 Esports
- Heroic
- Natus Vincere
- Ninjas in Pyjamas
- OG
- Team Liquid
- Team Vitality
BLAST Premier: Fall Groups 2022
The tournament has a prize pool of $177,500. That's less than the majors and Intel Grand Slam Series events, but it is worthwhile for the teams to compete. In addition to the money, the organizations will be rewarded with BLAST Premier ranking points, which will affect the final placement of teams in winter before the BLAST World Final. The entire prize pool is distributed as follows:
- 1-3 place - $27500 + 2400 BLAST Premier points
- 4th-6th place - $17500 + 1200 BLAST Premier points
- 7th-9th place - $8,500 + 900 BLAST Premier points
- 10th-12th place - $5666 + 600 BLAST Premier points
Broadcasting BLAST Premier: Fall Groups 2022
The rights for BLAST tournaments coverage are owned by WePlay. The official Russian-language BLAST broadcast will be available on Igor SL4M Sopov channel. The fact is that due to the geopolitical situation, WePlay prohibited broadcasting BLAST tournaments matches in Russian, and the RF Prosecutor General's Office included the coverage studio in the list of banned in the country. As a compromise, the caster broadcasts BLAST tournaments on his personal channel.
Schedule of matches
The tournament will take place between August 19 and 28. The first three days will feature group matches. The play-ins will be held from August 25 to 28.
Group A
- 19.08 14:00 Vitality — OG
- 19.08 15:00 NiP — Astralis
- 19.08 16:30 TBD — TBD
- 19.08 17:30 TBD — TBD
- 19.08 19:00 TBD — TBD
- 19.08 20:00 TBD — TBD
Group В
- 20.08 14:00 Natus Vincere — Complexity
- 20.08 15:00 G2 — Team Liquid
- 20.08 16:30 TBD — TBD
- 20.08 17:30 TBD — TBD
- 20.08 19:00 TBD — TBD
- 20.08 20:00 TBD — TBD
Group С
- 20.08 14:00 Evil Geniuses — FaZe Clan
- 20.08 15:00 BIG — Heroic
- 20.08 16:30 TBD — TBD
- 20.08 17:30 TBD — TBD
- 20.08 19:00 TBD — TBD
- 20.08 20:00 TBD — TBD
Play-ins
Last chance matches
- 28.08 14:00 TBD — TBD
- 28.08 17:30 TBD — TBD
- 28.08 20:00 TBD — TBD
BLAST Premier: Fall Groups 2022 is the first tournament after a 1 month break. Many teams have made roster replacements, which adds to the intrigue of the upcoming event. CS:GO fans are going tol enjoy watching the world's best teams play.