BLAST to reportedly add four more teams to the circuit for 2024 season

BLAST Premier circuit will reportedly add four more teams to the circuit, taking the total count of partnered teams to 16 for the 2024 season.

The BLAST Premier circuit has announced its expansion from 12 teams to 16-member teams for the 2024 season, according to reports from HLTV. The decision to create an expedited membership process came after BLAST identified an overwhelming interest in BLAST Premier membership. Recently, Evil Geniuses’ BLAST Premier membership spot was acquired by Cloud9 for a reported sum of USD 1 million. Before this, BIG purchased 100 Thieves’ spot, and the Danish Organization Heroic won the bid for MIBR’s slot in 2022.

BLAST intends to expand to a 16-team circuit

After witnessing high demand for EG’s slot, BLAST realized how much the new slots would be worth and has put a minimum for them. The four new slots will be offered at $350,000 each at the minimum, hinting at a bidding war for teams to qualify, with the winner paying the amount by the first quarter in 2024. It is expected that demand will outpace supply, so BLAST will evaluate proposals based on their pricing and payment terms.

BLAST Premier does not provide revenue distribution rights to the new partner clubs, which are not in the same category as the other 12 organizations. They will only compete for the individual tournament prize pool. Moreover, the four new teams will be part of the BLAST circuit for only one year before the league transitions to a fully open circuit starting in 2025.

The upcoming year will be the last time we see ESL and BLAST running a closed circuit in competitive Counter-Strike. Valve announced in August that tournament invites will be determined by either rankings or open qualifiers starting in 2025. While many organizations are struggling to stay afloat amid the esports winters, some have massive financial backing and will be presumably excited with BLAST’s move.

Team Falcons, particularly will be looking to join the prestigious CS 2 circuit now that they have assembled their super team starring Emil “Magisk” Reif, Marco “Snappi” Pfeiffer, and Alvaro “SunPayus” Garcia. With this slot, the Saudi Arabian organization can ensure its new team has enough playtime in the Tier-1 scene in 2023 since they are not partnered team with ESL, which means their only entry to international events is RMR qualifiers.

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