The time has finally come for the BLAST.tv Austin Major cycle to kick off.
First up are the Major Regional Qualifiers (MRQs) – formerly known as the RMRs – which serve as the gateway to the season’s first Counter-Strike Major, for all the non-invited teams.
The European MRQ is not only the largest in terms of team count, but also the most competitive. Profiled squads such as Astralis, HEROIC, GamerLegion, and BIG are among the 16 teams battling for six available slots at the Major in Texas later this spring.
Opening-round matches
The opening round begins today at 10:00 CET with eight best-of-one matchups. Round 2 will follow later in the day, featuring both 1-0 and 0-1 matchups, also in a Bo1 format. All matches at the MRQ will be played online.
Headlining the first round is Astralis’ battle against OG. You’ll find the opening-day schedule down below.
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
How do you qualify?
Here is the format for the European Major qualifier.
The European MRQ is played in a 16-team Swiss System format. The first two rounds are best-of-one, while all elimination and advancement matches from Round 3 onward are best-of-three.
- Top 5 teams qualify directly for Stage 1 of the BLAST.tv Austin Major
- Next 3 teams (those going 3-2) advance to a Play-In Stage
- Bottom 8 teams are eliminated
In the Play-In Stage, the three 3-2 teams will fight for the final Major slot in a single-elimination bracket, with all matches played as best-of-three.
The five other MRQ tournaments, covering Asia, the Americas, and China, are set to begin tomorrow, April 15.
You can read more about the MRQ system and format here.
