BLAST and ESL respond to Valve’s announcements

One of the most acclaimed changes by the community and many Tier 2 teams in the Counter-Strike competitive scene is now a fact. Valve announced a series of changes to the CS2 esports ecosystem, and it won’t even be a shadow of what we’ve seen so far.

It’s a change in the qualification system for Tier 1 tournaments, as open circuits will be organized starting with the 2025 season. As a result, those tournament organizers, such as BLAST and ESL, will not be able to keep their “exclusive business relationship,” i.e., their franchise teams.

There is no doubt that this is great news for the community and all Tier 2 and 3 teams in the competitive Counter-Strike scene. Over the past few years, many people complained that participating in major tournaments was complicated, as BLAST and ESL had very few slots besides their franchised teams. In addition, to qualify for these tournaments, teams had to play many qualifiers and could eventually fail.

BLAST and ESL respond to Valve’s announcement

Valve announced, as we mentioned, on August 3, 2023, detailing drastic changes to the Counter-Strike ecosystem in 2025. As a result, both BLAST and ESL shared a response on their respective official Twitter accounts. Remember that these two organizers are among the most important in the CS:GO competitive scene.

First, Urich Schulze, ESL’s senior VP of gaming ecosystem, said that ESL is currently working on adapting its entire circuit following Valve’s announcement. In addition, he also said that the teams participating in the tournaments will have revenue, which is not currently the case, as only the 15 ESL partners are the ones receiving revenue.

The changes Valve announced to the CS ecosystem will come into play in 2025.

All competitions will be based on ranking/qualifiers from 2025 on. Implementing the vision Valve shared with us, we’ve been working on adjustments to our events (our flagships are already there).

— Ulrich Schulze (@theflyingdj) August 3, 2023

On the other hand, BLAST Premier also shared a statement on their Twitter account, where they reference that they intend to remain “an integral part” of the Tier 1 Counter-Strike ecosystem. Furthermore, they also note that they are excited to continue to innovate in the competitive scene and bring their tournaments to all corners of the world.

pic.twitter.com/WCEFiTZkId

— BLAST Premier 💥 (@BLASTPremier) August 3, 2023

ESL and BLAST have been in the spotlight

As mentioned, both ESL and BLAST have recently been in the spotlight of the community and many Tier 2 and 3 teams. This results from players feeling that the associated team system directly affects the competitive Counte-Strike scene.

In addition, after the pleasant surprises we had at the Paris Major, where some Tier 2 teams left Tier 1 teams in the dust, there has been a lot of talk about this issue.

Remember that these Tier 2 teams, such as Into The Breach, GamerLegion, Apeks, and Monte, not part of the ESL or BLAST franchise or association system, qualified for the Champions Stage at the Paris Major. On the other hand, tier 1 teams such as G2 Esports and NaVi did not make it. Also, it is worth noting that GamerLegion disputed the Grand Final of the Major against Team Vitality; although they fell, it is a great achievement for them.

Right now, we are too raw to make any predictions regarding these changes in the CS2 scene in 2025. However, there is no doubt that thanks to these changes, the competitive scene of Valve’s shooter will change, and we will have much more competitive tournaments.

Header: BLAST