The ultimate guide to BLAST Pro Series São Paulo

BLAST Pro Series São Paulo, March 22-23, is ready to start.

Here is a compiled guide for the event answering any questions you might have about:

- La Tribonera, dedicated fan section for Brazilian streamer Gaules

- Detailed descriptions of attending teams and their rosters

- Full program for BLAST Pro Series São Paulo

- Tournament format, BLAST Stand-Off and prize distribution

The wait is almost over as BLAST Pro Series takes on São Paulo this weekend with initial group matches being played on Friday, March 22. You can follow the exciting first phase on our Twitch channel.

But Saturday, March 23 is when the beautiful city of São Paulo really gets a taste of what BLAST Pro Series is all about. The legendary Ginásio do Ibirapuera arena transforms into a mesmerizing display of lights, huge jumbo LED screens and of course the iconic A-shaped BLAST stage where six of the best Counter-Strike teams in the world will battle it out for a total prize pool of 250,000 dollars.

6,000 people bought all the tickets for the biggest esports event in Brazil in under 8 hours and an additional 7,500 people have signed up for our waiting list. The people of Brazil and travellers coming from afar are in for a treat. Read here exactly what to expect in regards to teams, format, program and overall entertainment.

La Tribonera

La Tribonera is a special fan area at BLAST Pro Series São Paulo which pays homage to legendary Brazilian streamer and former Counter-Strike professional Alexandre "Gaules" Borba and his famous fan group "La Tribonera". Gaules played for MIBR and later coached the team back in 2007-2008, long before the brand was revived by FalleN & Co. 

Gaules streams to his Twitch channel which currently sits at more than 560,000 followers. From here, Gaules commentates big tournaments and plays a number of games himself. With his entertaining and hype inspiring engagement, Gaules has managed to achieve a strong influencer status in Brazil. 

At BLAST Pro Series São Paulo, Gaules will livestream from the arena and have his dedicated La Tribonera fan section counting 500 wild fans come to life.

Teams

MIBR (Brazil)

There's no way around them. Home soil favorites and guaranteed to be the team that will make the fans in São Paulo scream the loudest. This Brazilian powerhouse won the very first BLAST Pro Series in Copenhagen and consists of the best players the country has to offer, with the core having won both Majors in 2016. Gabriel “FalleN” Toledo has proven himself as one of Counter-Strike's all-time greatest leaders in terms of raw skill and tactical craftsmanship. “FalleN” unlocked the raw skill that is Marcelo “coldzera” David, a virtually unknown player in the global scene at the time, who went on to claim the top spot in the top 20 list of best players in the world in 2016 and 2017. The team revived the legendary MiBR brand that had been lying dormant since its dissolution in 2012. Together they have proven a force to be reckoned with, making the best teams in the world tumble should they get in their way. MIBR recently switched back to an all Brazilian line-up. The current team was one of the all time greatest in 2017, winning 5 events.

Roster:

Wilton "zews" Prado: Coach

Gabriel "FalleN" Toledo: In-Game Leader / AWP

Fernando "fer" Alvarenga: Rifle / Entry Fragger

Marcelo "coldzera" David: Rifle / AWP

João "felps" Cabral Vasconcellos: Rifle / Lurker

Epitácio "TACO" de Melo Pessoa Filho: Rifle / Entry Fragger / Support

Read descriptions of all the MIBR players here.

FaZe Clan (EU)

What better team for the world’s most explosive esports event than the world’s most explosive esports team. FaZe started as an experiment: Let's put together a team consisting of exceptionally skilled mercenaries from different regions of the world. FaZe has had its ups and downs but their explosive and dynamic style still manages to catch even some of the best teams off guard. Nikola “NiKo” Kovač is especially scary to watch. Consistently putting up the numbers and unfairly versatile with all weapons, NiKo is the essence of what FaZe is. Combine him with legendary AWPer Ladislav “GuardiaN” Kovács and 2x Major champion Olof “olofmeister” Kajber and you got yourself a pretty frightening team.

Roster:

Janko "YNk" Paunović: Coach

Nikola "NiKo" Kovač: In-Game Leader / Rifle / Lurker

Håvard "rain" Nygaard: Rifle / Entry Fragger

Ladislav "GuardiaN" Kovács: AWP

Olof "olofmeister" Kajbjer Gustafsson: Rifle / Lurker / AWP

Dauren "AdreN" Kystaubayev: Rifle / Entry Fragger / AWP

Read descriptions of all the FaZe Clan players here.

Team Liquid (US)

BLAST Pro Series São Paulo will be the first BLAST tournament for Team Liquid but they are far from “new guys on the block”. The North Americans are in scary form right now, being the runner-ups for most of the big tournaments in 2018 and consistently being the #2 best team in the world .Team Liquid seems to be doing anything but stagnating and for every tournament the team grows visibly stronger. Team Liquid has not peaked yet and they will more than likely show exactly that in São Paulo.

Roster:

Eric "adreN" Hoag: Coach

Jonathan "EliGE" Jablonowski: Rifle / Entry Fragger

Nicholas "nitr0" Cannella: In-Game Leader / AWP

Jacky "Stewie2k" Yip: Rifle / Entry Fragger / AWP

Russel "Twistzz" David Van Dulken: Rifle

Keith "NAF" Markovic: Rifle / AWP / Lurker

Read descriptions of all the Team Liquid players here.

Astralis (Denmark)

Astralis had a phenomenal run in 2018 and they are currently the ultimate team to beat. The core of the team consisting of Nicolai “device” Reedtz, Andreas “Xyp9x” Højsleth and Peter “dupreeh” Rasmussen has played together since 2013. Adding Lukas “gla1ve” Rossander as captain has since won the team three Major championships. Astralis also holds the record for the longest time spent as #1 in the world rankings, where they still reside comfortably. The Danes arrive in São Paulo as the reigning BLAST Pro Series champions after lifting the trophy in Lisbon in December 2018.

Roster:

Danny "zonic" Sørensen: Coach

Lukas "gla1ve" Rossander: In-Game Leader / Rifle

Nicolai "dev1ce" Reedtz: AWP

Peter "dupreeh" Rasmussen: Rifle / Entry Fragger / AWP

Andreas "Xyp9x" Højsleth: Rifle / Support

Emil "Magisk" Reif: Rifle / Lurker

Read descriptions of all the Astralis players here.

Ninjas in Pyjamas (Sweden)

Anyone who knows the game knows NiP. For those who do not, NiP is an ancient giant in professional CS:GO. They hold the record for the most map wins on LAN in a row (87) and were undoubtedly the most dominating team in the early days of the game. The Swedish roster has undergone drastic changes since then, but the dust from their impact has yet to settle. Only Christopher “GeT_RiGhT” Alesund and Patrick “f0rest” Lindberg remain from the original roster but they have made room for younger talent like In-Game Leader Jonas “Lekr0” Olofsson, the extremely skilled Fredrik “REZ” Sterner as well as the experienced William "draken" Sundin.

Roster:

Faruk "pita" Pita: Coach

Patrick "f0rest" Lindberg: Rifle / AWP

William "draken" Sundin: AWP

Christopher "Get_RiGhT" Alesund: Rifle / Lurker

Frederik "REZ" Sterner: Rifle

Jonas "Lekr0" Olofsson: In-Game Leader / AWP

Read descriptions of all the Ninjas In Pyjamas players here.

ENCE (Finland)

The Finnish esports organisation won their first premier event in October 2018, but especially impressed people across the globe after their heroic run in the 2019 Katowice Major. On the brink of elimination in the group stage to making a reverse sweep, winning three best-of-threes in a row and qualifying for the play-offs. From here on out ENCE went on to win their quarter- and semifinals against the #2 and #3 best teams in the world, before finishing runner-up in the grand final of the Major. The talent of Counter-Strike veteran Aleksi “allu” Jalli, 17-year old young gun Jere “sergej” Salo and the rest of the giant-slaying squad cannot be ignored. Having two strong tournament placements to their name, ENCE are coming to São Paulo to prove they are a consistently elite team.

Roster:

Slaava "Twista" Räsänen: Coach

Aleksi "allu" Jalli: AWP

Aleksi "Aleksib" Virolainen: In-Game Leader / Rifle

Jere "sergej" Salo: Rifle

Jani "Aerial" Jussila: Rifle / Entry Fragger

Sami "xseveN" Laasanen: Rifle / Support

Read descriptions for all the ENCE players here.

Full program

Round 1

7:00 PM- 8:00 PM local time (11:00 PM - 12:00 AM) CET)

Ninjas in Pyjamas vs. FaZe Clan

MIBR vs. ENCE

Team Liquid vs. Astralis

Round 2

8:30 PM - 9:30 PM local time (12:30 AM - 01:30 AM CET)

Astralis vs. ENCE

MIBR vs. FaZe Clan

Team Liquid vs. Ninjas in Pyjamas

Saturday, March 23 (Ginásio do Ibirapuera arena)

Round 3

1:00 PM - 2:00 PM local time (5:00 PM - 6:00 PM CET)

Astralis vs. MIBR

Team Liquid vs. FaZe Clan

Ninjas in Pyjamas vs. ENCE

Round 4

2:20 PM - 3:20 PM local time (6:20 PM - 7:20 PM CET)

Team Liquid vs. MIBR

FaZe Clan vs. ENCE

Ninjas in Pyjamas vs. Astralis

Round 5

3:40 PM - 4:40 PM local time (7:40 PM - 8:40 PM CET)

ENCE vs. Team Liquid

MIBR vs. Ninjas in Pyjamas

Astralis vs. FaZe Clan

BLAST Standoff

5:00 PM - 5:30 local time (9:00 PM - 9:30 PM CET)

Grand Final

6:00 PM - 9:20 PM local time (10:00 PM - 01:20 PM CET)*

TBC

*The Grand Final is a best of three match and ending time may vary depending on whether the third map will be necessary.

BLAST Pro Series tournament format

In the initial group phase all 6 participating teams face each other in a best of one map format. All teams will play at the same time, resulting in 3 matches running at the same time on stage, and 5 rounds of matches played in total. The first 2 rounds are played the day before the main arena event day.

The top 2 teams from the group stage qualify instantly for the Grand Final, which is played in a best of 3 map format. 3rd place in the rankings will challenge one of the remaining teams, in a showmatch format called BLAST Stand-Off.

BLAST Stand-Off

3rd place in the rankings will face off against one of the remaining 4th to 6th placed teams, in the $20,000 BLAST Stand-Off showmatch.

The BLAST Stand-Off will be played in a 1vs1 duel format on the BLAST Stand-Off Map. Each duel is played first to 7 kills, of which the kills per duel are added to the team total.

After 5 duels the team with the most kills win the match. 

The teams provide the tournament referees with their players numbered 1 to 5, corresponding to the matchup they are set to play. A player can only participate in one weapon discipline.

Each player will spawn with an HE grenade, Molotov, Flashbang and Smoke Grenade for each dual round. These will be replenished when a new round starts.

Each duel will use a different weapon.

Distrubtion of prize money

The prize pool of 250,000 dollars is distributed as follows:

1st place: 125,000 dollars

2nd place: 50,000 dollars

3rd place: 25,000 dollars

4th place: 15,000 dollars

5th place: 10,000 dollars

6th place: 5,000 dollars

BLAST Stand-Off winner: 20,000 dollars

Previous BLAST Pro Series tournaments

BLAST Pro Series Copenhagen

November 24-25, 2017

Winner: SK Gaming

BLAST Pro Series Istanbul 

September 28-29, 2018

Winner: Astralis

BLAST Pro Series Copenhagen

November 2-3, 2018

Winner: NAVI

BLAST Pro Series Lisbon

December 14-15, 2018

Winner: Astralis

See you soon, São Paulo

Whether you're watching our online stream alongside 5 million other Counter-Strike fans, on TV broadcast in 135 countries and territories or you're among the 6,000 guests in the arena: Get ready for live esports entertainment like you've never seen before.