BLAST Pro Series: FaZe, Cloud9 and SK Among Invited Teams
BLAST Pro Series: FaZe, Cloud9 and SK Among Invited Teams
The organizers of the upcoming BLAST Pro Series: Istanbul 2018 event have established the list of participating teams, which consists of six top-tier Counter-Strike: Global Offensive teams.
The following teams received direct invites from RFRSH Entertainment, the company which will run the event: Astralis, Cloud9, FaZe Clan, Ninjas in Pyjamas, SK Gaming, as well as the local crowd-favorites Space Soldiers.
The competition for a $250,000 prize pool will start with a group stage, where all six teams will play in a single round-robin format with best-of-one series. Based on the results of the group, top two teams will advance directly to the grand finals, which will be held in a best-of-three format. In addition to the main competition, there will be a special showmatch called BLAST Pro Standoff with five 1v1 duels. The team placed 3rd in the group stage will be able to choose their opponent, the winner will take home additional $20,000.
All matches will be played on June 23-24 at Ülker Sports Arena in Istanbul, Turkey.
Prize pool distribution:
- 1st place – $125,000
- 2nd place – $50,000
- 3rd place – $25,000
- 4th place – $15,000
- 5th place – $10,000
- 6th place – $5,000
The first iteration of BLAST Pro Series took place in Copenhagen, Denmark on November 24-25. In the grand finals SK Gaming defeated Astralis 2-1.