BLAST is better known in the Counter-Strike community than the other tournament directors. The business was established in 2016 and began holding CS:GO competitions in 2017 with its Pro Series circuit, which eventually changed its name to BLAST Premier, one of the most esteemed professional circuits in Valve’s FPS.
Over these years, BLAST has been highly praised for the production quality of its tournaments and the community has been wondering why it has never organized a Major. There were rumors that BLAST wasn’t interested in running a Valve-sponsored event, but those were dismissed by BLAST’s managing director Charlotte Kenny in July.
“We always get lots of comments on whether we are interested in hosting a Major or not. Just to dispel any rumors; BLAST is always interested in hosting a Major,” Kenny said in an interview with Pley.gg. “What’s important is that our community wants to have a Major hosted by BLAST, so that we can make sure that is the best Major that ever will be and that it fits in with our strategy. Watch this space. When the time is right, we will do a Major.”
Perfect World, on the other hand, is known as the Chinese version of CS:GO. The company hosted some events in Asia before the COVID-19 pandemic that featured international teams. Should Perfect World get the green light to run a Major, it would be the first time a Valve-sponsored event would be held in Asia.
There will be two CS:GO Majors in 2023 and it’s unclear at this point who will organize them. The next Valve-sponsored tournament will be the IEM Rio Major. The $1 million event held in Brazil will run from Oct. 31 to Nov. 13.