Berlin, January 27th 2021 – We are delighted to announce that after an incredibly successful 2020, BIG has been confirmed at BLAST Premier as the 12th member team. The decision comes as a result of a competitive bidding process. We join some of the esports’ most successful organizations in competing in the 2021 season and fighting for a coveted spot in the World Final.
Following an extensive and highly competitive bidding process, BIG was selected from multiple high profile applicants as the twelfth member team. As a member team, we will automatically earn a place in the Fall and Spring Groups before progressing to the Showdown or Finals depending on performance and progression.
Statement Daniel Finkler, BIG CEO
“We are incredibly proud and excited to be a part of BLAST Premier as a Member Team. The successful acquisition is an indication of our outstanding development in the past years. We have clearly established ourselves among the world’s best teams thanks to our team’s hard work and people working behind the scenes. The tournament series BLAST has created in recent years is one of the most-watched, entertaining and competitive in Counter-Strike, and we look forward to competing alongside some of the world’s best teams in the upcoming seasons as a Member Team. At this point, we want to thank our investor Marc Staperfeld, who shared our ambition and supported us tremendously with the buy-in fee during the highly competitive bidding process.”
Statement Robbie Douek, BLAST CEO
“BIG are highly respected in the industry and have been one of the most successful esports organisations over the past 12 months – making them the perfect addition to BLAST Premier as a Member Team. Last year’s highly successful circuit came to a record-breaking conclusion on Sunday and we are excited for BIG to be a part of our plans for 2021 as we continue to deliver world-class Counter-Strike to all corners of the world.
We undertook an in-depth and extensive process when selecting BIG for our latest Member Team, the scope and level of interest and investment for this final slot is testament to the incredible growth and success of BLAST Premier over the last 12 months.”
The 2021 season is expected to have up to 32 teams take part in the seven BLAST Premier events with potentially 80 teams competing in the qualifying events, meaning the season could see up to 286 matches take place across the calendar year. Member Teams will feature in at least four of these events. BLAST Premier tournaments will have a combined prize money of $2,475,000
