São Paulo marks the beginning of the most exciting BLAST year yet

Sãu Paulo is the host city for the most exciting BLAST Pro Series year yet, 2019.

Jordi Roig, Executive Producer for BLAST Pro Series:

- The Counter-Strike Major is being played in Katowice these days and the BLAST teams coming to São Paulo have all advanced to the play-offs. That should tell you exactly how prestigious BLAST Pro Series São Paulo is going to be, Jordi Roig says.

BLAST Pro Series São Paulo will begin on March 22 with the group stage matches. On March 23 the Ginásio do Ibirapu arena will be transformed into the biggest esports event ever in Brazil with 6,000 fans cheering, and millions watching from around the globe on stream and TV as 6 of the best teams in the world compete for a staggering prize pool of 250,000 dollars.

Jordi Roig, Executive Producer for BLAST Pro Series:

- The interest for BLAST Pro Series São Paulo has been overwhelming. The audience have made a clear statement that they’re more than ready for BLAST, and we’ll be ready for them. The Counter-Strike Major is being played in Katowice these days and the BLAST teams coming to São Paulo have all advanced to the play-offs. That should tell you exactly how prestigious BLAST Pro Series São Paulo is going to be, Jordi Roig says.

The full team list for BLAST Pro Series São Paulo has been finalized and aside from the local favorites from MIBR, the audience can look forward to getting really close with five of the world’s best teams:

BLAST Pro Series São Paulo, March 22 and 23:

Astralis (world’s number 1)

Team Liquid (world’s number 2)

MIBR (world’s number 4)

FaZe Clan (world’s number 5)

Ninjas in Pyjamas (world’s number 6)

+ One team to be announced!

FalleN and the rest of MIBR is ready to give São Paulo a show.

MIBR: The Legendary Locals

Gabriel “FalleN” Toledo, In-Game Leader and professional Counter-Strike player for MIBR, is excited to play BLAST Pro Series São Paulo but first and foremost he is excited to hear the fans roar:

- We’ve been all around the world but playing on home soil reminds us of where we come from. The passion of Brazilian fans is unmatched by all other countries. Even though in Portugal at BLAST Pro Series Lisbon the fans made the entire Arena shake, this will be even louder", “FalleN” says.

MIBR won the very first BLAST Pro Series tournament ever, in Copenhagen in 2017.

Astralis: The #1 Team in the World

To win BLAST Pro Series São Paulo there’s no getting around Astralis. Currently ranked #1 in the world, Astralis is the team to beat in Brazil.

The Danish team had a spectacular run in 2018 winning almost every single tournament in the last half of the year including BLAST Pro Series Istanbul and BLAST Pro Series Lisbon. Astralis arrive in São Paulo as the reigning BLAST champions.

Peter “dupreeh” Rasmussen of Astralis:

- We know MIBR will be huge fan favourites on home turf, but we can’t wait to play in front of the Brazilian crowd. MIBR and Astralis have had some big rivalries going on, and we love playing each other. We have a huge respect for the guys on the team, and outside the server there is a great connection between the players. They beat us on home ground in Copenhagen, and we hope to take that back in Sao Paulo, but I expect them to be very strong this year.

Astralis is coming to São Paulo as the reigning BLAST Pro series champions.

Team Liquid: The Heavy Contenders

Trailblazing just behind Astralis as the best team in the world, Team Liquid is a North American team that sends several teams packing in every tournament they play.

BLAST Pro Series São Paulo will be Team Liquid’s first BLAST tournament but that shouldn’t distract from the fact that they were runner up for the titles of several major tournaments in 2018.

Ninjas in Pyjamas: The Dark Horse

Without a doubt the most dominant team in the early days of CS:GO. Few players remain from the original roster that made the famous 87-0 win streak in tournaments, but the new players are equally, if not more dangerous.

Ninjas in Pyjamas are no strangers to BLAST Pro Series although they have yet to win one. But NIP has always been a team full of surprises and should never be counted out.

FaZe Clan: The Mercenaries

FaZe Clan consists of some of the individually best players in the world. The team started out as an experiment to see if you could just fill a team with mixed European superstars and win tournaments.

The experiment secured the players a number of titles and their explosive and dynamic playstyle still manages to catch even the best teams off guard.

One team to be added - programme to be announced soon

One more team will be added to the line up over the coming weeks where the full programme for BLAST Pro Series will be announced. One thing is certain - it’s going to be world class. On stage, in the arena and on all screens worldwide.