The conclusion of the BLAST Premier Fall Groups 2023 on July 23 has stirred up the World Rankings. Snappi, the in-game leader of ENCE, has accused the tournament organizer of “gaming the system” with their world rankings after they tweeted about the changes post-tournament. This could result in changes being made to the BLAST CS:GO Circuit Format.
Snappi believes that the impact of tournaments like the BLAST Premier Fall Groups on the world rankings is detrimental to the CS:GO competitive scene. His concerns stem from the fact that only partnered teams can participate in the Fall or Spring Groups, which he sees as a harmful influence on the scene.
BLAST CS:GO Circuit Format Under Review?
Snappi highlighted that the last event before the summer break was the Spring Finals in Washington. The Spring season followed the same format as the Fall, which kicked off with the Fall Groups in July. In the current BLAST CS:GO circuit format, non-partnered teams can only qualify for the Season Finals via the BLAST Showdown. However, to qualify for the Showdown, teams must either receive a direct invitation from the organizer or win a second-tier online tournament partnered with BLAST. This makes the path to participating in either season finals incredibly long, time-consuming, and exhausting.
This is not the first time Snappi has criticized this aspect of BLAST’s format. He previously voiced his concerns after ENCE qualified for the BLAST Premier Spring Showdown 2022. The European team had to win two qualifying events to reach the Spring Showdown, which was a qualifier for the BLAST Premier Spring Final 2022.
The debate over the partnered teams system in CS:GO has been ongoing for years. Many fans and players, particularly from non-partnered teams, believe there is an urgent need for change, including more open circuits for tier-two teams.
Fortunately, there have been reports of potential changes. In June, Richard Lewis reported that Valve has asked BLAST and ESL to abandon their closed tournament systems. This is to provide a healthier competitive circuit in CS2.