BLAST Premier host city process underway for 2023 season

Norwegian organisation buy IGC’s MIBR BLAST Premier Member Team slot

Norwegian-based esports organisation Heroic has become a BLAST Premier Member Team after acquiring the slot owned by Immortals Gaming Club, following a highly competitive bidding process.

Founded in 2016, Heroic are one of the world’s top Counter-Strike teams and are currently ranked fifth in the HLTV rankings. They join other top esports and CS:GO organisations in owning a BLAST Premier Member Team slot.

The Norwegian-based organisation, with a huge following globally, have had recent successes winning ESL Cologne Europe 2020, claiming first place in ESL Pro League Season 13, finishing fourth at the BLAST Premier Fall Final 2021 in Copenhagen’s iconic Royal Arena and finishing 3rd/4th in the Stockholm Major 2021 and IEM Katowice 2022.

After Immortals Gaming Club decided to sell the Member Team slot, a highly competitive and in-depth bidding process was undertaken with a number of leading esports and Counter-Strike organisations showing an interest in the slot sale.

IGC, who own MIBR, were an original BLAST Premier founding Member Team and have played in the tournament circuit since its inception in February 2020, competing in nine BLAST events during this time.

Charlotte Kenny, Managing Director of BLAST Premier, said: “We thank MIBR for being one of our partners for the last two years. Their renowned and passionate Brazilian fanbase have ensured there’s never been a dull moment, even when we had to pivot to online-only shows in 2020. We look forward to having them back competing in our global qualifiers and regional Showdowns in the future.

“We’re delighted to welcome on board Heroic, they’ve proven through their performances on the server over the last few years, that they belong alongside the world’s elite of Counter-Strike. Their impressive showing at last year’s Fall Final in Copenhagen highlights what they will add to our tournaments. The level of interest, competition and investment shown for this slot highlights just how much BLAST Premier has grown in the last 12 months alone.”

Joachim Haraldsen, CEO for Heroic, said: “Today marks a massive milestone for Heroic Group. Our entry into BLAST Premier provides us with a unique position alongside the biggest brands in our industry, and a platform for collaborative growth that we strongly believe in. We are really impressed by the product that BLAST has built so far and are super excited to contribute to the continued success of the tournament as one of the 12 members.”

The BLAST Premier circuit will continue to offer opportunities for non-Member Teams to reach the ultimate stage of competitive CS:GO through the global qualifying series, which covers key regions around the world and feeds into the tournament series’ regional Spring and Fall Showdowns.

BLAST Premier is one of the world’s leading Counter-Strike tournament series, hosting the best players and teams, offering opportunities to regions across the globe and crowning the world champions of CS:GO. Up to 32 of the best teams take part in the seven BLAST Premier events across the year with a combined prize pool of $2,475,000 on the line.

BLAST Premier Member Teams: Astralis, NIP, G2 Esports, OG, Team Vitality, NAVI, FaZe Clan, Complexity, Team Liquid, Heroic, Evil Geniuses and BIG.

Related