Preview: BLAST.tv Austin Major – EU Major Regional Qualifier

The time has finally come for the BLAST.tv Austin Major cycle to get underway.

First up are the Major Regional Qualifiers (MRQs) – formerly known as the RMRs – which act as the official gateway to the season’s first Counter-Strike Major for all non-invited teams.

Among the regional qualifiers, the European MRQ stands out as the largest and most competitive. High-profile teams such as Astralis, HEROIC, GamerLegion, and BIG are among the 16 contenders battling for six available slots at the Major in Austin, Texas later this spring.

All matches in the MRQ will be played online, as confirmed by Valve.

Attending Teams

Here’s the full list of teams competing in the European MRQ:

How do you qualify?

Down below you will find the format for the European MRQ.

Swiss Stage:

• 16-team Swiss system format
• All matches (except elimination and advancement) are Bo1
• Elimination and advancement matches are Bo3
• The Buchholz system is used to seed matches from Rounds 3 to 5
• Top 5 teams advance directly to Stage 1 of the Major
• Next 3 teams move on to the Play-In Stage
• Bottom 8 teams are eliminated

Play-In Stage:

• Single-elimination gauntlet
• Winner advances to Stage 1 of the Major
• All matches are Bo3

Opening-Round Matches

The action kicks off on April 14 with eight best-of-one matchups. A second round will follow later that day, continuing the Swiss format.

Headlining the opening round is Astralis vs OG, while teams like HEROIC, fnatic, and GamerLegion also face tough opening tests.

10:00 – 500 vs ENCE
10:00 – B8 vs Metizport
11:30 – HEROIC vs PARIVISION
11:30 – BIG vs 9 Pandas
13:00 – SAW vs BetBoom
13:00 – BC.Game vs fnatic
14:30 – GamerLegion vs Nemiga
14:30 – Astralis vs OG
16:00 and onwards – Round 2 begins

Broadcast Talent

Here are the commentators and observers bringing the European MRQ to life:

Commentators:
Dweg (Joshua Nathan)
TheEternalJay (Jamie Martin)
Tedd (Teodor Borisov)
ExWarrior (Pavlos Georgiou)
Vince (Vince Hill)
Hawka (Alex Hawkins)
LucyLuce (Lucy Eastwood)
BDog (Brandon Rawlings)
xner (Cole McHenry)
Phy (Garret Schier)
GrimyRannarr (Freddie Pritchard)
Zerpherr (Jack Kelly)

Observers:
shev (Marko Krajčeski)
mata (Mateja Ivanović)
kub3 (Kosta Rakić)
migz1 (Milan Popović)
Lancemi (Milan Vukoje)

The five other MRQ tournaments, covering Asia, the Americas, and China, are set to begin on April 15.

You can read more about the MRQ system and format here.