A month off from competitive CS:GO has come to an end: the teams have transformed, drawn lessons from the past season, and are ready to shine in 2023. The first tournament in January is the spring stage of the annual BLAST Premier Series. Read about the tournament's format, the favorites, and those who are making their debut at the top level in this article from Telecomasia.net.
BLAST Premier Spring Groups 2023 start date
The Spring Group Stage begins on Thursday, January 19, with Group A games. The format of the tournament series is unchanged for the third year: over ten days, the twelve teams are divided into three groups. The winners of each group qualify for the final tournament of the semester directly, and the rest will compete for the slots in the Play-In Stage. Unlike last year's Spring Groups, this year's BLAST Premier will begin immediately in LAN format. The tournament will take place in Copenhagen.
BLAST Premier Spring Groups 2023 prize pool
The teams will compete for $177,500, which is about one-third of the total BLAST Premier half-year prize pool. Half of the teams will have a chance to win more money if they qualify for the Spring Final, and the teams that drop out will try to qualify through the Showdown tournament. In addition to the small prize fund, the teams will also receive the points from the BLAST standings, which will help them qualify for the final tournament of the year. The distribution of the funds at Spring Groups is as follows:
- Group winners - $27,500, 2,400 BLAST points and a slot in the Spring Final;
- Playoff winners - $17,500, $1,200 BLAST points and a slot in the Spring Final;
- Places 7-9 - $8,500, 900 BLAST points and a slot in the Showdown;
- Places 10-12 - $5,700, $600 BLAST points and a slot in the Showdown.
BLAST Premier Spring Groups 2023 schedule
Bet on BLAST Premier Series with 1xBetThe BLAST Premier will have a pretty light schedule, with no more than three matches per day. The schedule is available below, GMT+3:
January 19, Thursday
- 17:00, Heroic vs Evil Geniuses (Group A);
- 20:30, Vitality vs Astralis (Group A).
January 20, Friday
- 14:00, FaZe vs Complexity (Group B);
- 17:00, Liquid vs OG (Group B);
- 20:30, G2 vs BIG (Group C).
January 21, Saturday
- 14:00, Natus Vincere vs Ninjas in Pyjamas (Group C);
- 17:00, Upper Bracket Final (Group A);
- 20:30, Group A elimination match.
January 22, Sunday
- 17:00, Upper Bracket Final (Group B);
- 20:30, Group B elimination match.
January 23, Monday
- 17:00, Upper Bracket Final (Group C);
- 20:30, Group C elimination match.
January 24, Tuesday
- 17:00, lower bracket final (Group A);
- 20:30, lower bracket finals (Group B).
25 January, Wednesday
- 17:00, lower bracket final (Group C);
- 20:30, final (Group A).
26 January, Thursday
- 17:00, final (Group B);
- 20:30, final (Group C).
January 27, Friday
- 17:00, first round of Play-Ins;
- 20:30, first round of Play-Ins.
January 28, Saturday
- 17:00, first round of Play-Ins;
- 20:30, qualifying match.
Sunday, January 29
- 17:00, qualifying match;
- 20:30, qualifying match.
BLAST Premier Spring Groups 2023 participants
Traditionally, the majority of BLAST Premier participants are the organizers' partner teams. In 2023, these are Heroic, G2, Liquid, FaZe, Natus Vincere, Vitality, OG, BIG, Ninjas in Pyjamas, Astralis, Complexity and Evil Geniuses. We should note that this tournament will be the debut of headtr1ck - Ukrainian Ninjas in Pyjamas sniper, and also wiz - new sniper from Evil Geniuses system.
BLAST Premier Spring Groups 2023 favorites
The favorites should be divided into two groups: those who can qualify immediately, and those who will do well in the playoff stage. For Group A, it's undoubtedly international HLTV standings leader Heroic, who will make their first full roster appearance since November. The Danes will have to prove that the first place in the world ranking isn't a mistake, and the semifinals of the major are not the limit.
Group B can be confidently topped by FaZe - the best team of 2022 and the champion of the Antwerp major. It's only rival is Liquid, which confidently held the final part of the last season and kept the lineup during the New Year break.
And Group C will be a battlefield for G2 and Natus Vincere. The latter is by no means a wild card, despite npl's debut as a player in the main roster. Even if one of the teams loses in a head-to-head encounter, it is likely to pass the qualification barrier confidently through the Play-Ins.