The upcoming BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025 will be a landmark event when the tournament format expands from 24 to 32 teams. This significant increase will provide more opportunities for teams from every region and ensure the highest level of competition.

Distribute invitations

The 32 teams will be divided into three stages:

Stage 1: 16 teams will qualify through regional qualifiers (MRQ)
Phase 2: 8 teams will receive invitations based on Valve's Regional Rankings
Phase 3: 8 other teams will also be invited based on VRS, considering the region's high performance in the previous major tournament
The distribution of invitations takes into consideration the regions' performance in previous major tournaments. For example, a spot in Stage 2 is awarded per region to a team that made it to Stage 3 in the 2024 winter major, and invitations to Stage 3 are given to regions with teams that made it. knockout round.

Valve has updated the MRQ format

RMR tournaments are no more, instead a new format called Main Regional Qualifiers (MRQ) has been introduced. However, it's hard to call it completely new, as the trusted Swiss system will still be in place for Europe and America, and Asia will retain the Double-Elimination playoffs.

But there's a significant change — all invites will now be issued exclusively based on Valve's rankings. This means that every match in the season will carry more weight for teams looking to make it to the big tournament.

More information about the Main Regional Qualifiers

In short: it's like the closed qualifiers of RMR, and RMR has become the first stage of the major tournament. The following are the main rules of MRQ:

Each region holds a qualifying tournament for the major tournament.

MRQ can take place in an online format.

If a region needs to be subdivided to provide optimal ping to participants (e.g. AMER -> NA and SA), the major tournament quota will be evenly distributed between the subdivisions. If equal distribution cannot be achieved, the remaining spots will be transferred to the division where the team with the highest regional ranking competes.

All MRQ participants receive invitations based on their position in the regional rankings. If it is not possible to fill all spots in the closed qualifiers using rankings, the organizers can fill them through open qualifiers.

Regional allocation

Phase 1 MRQ slots and invitations vary depending on the strength of each region:

Europe: 16 MRQ invitations and 6 Stage 1 spots
Americas: 16 MRQ offers and 6 Stage 1 spots
Asia: 8 MRQ invitations and 4 Stage 1 spots

Invitations for Summer 2025 by Region

The final allocation of invitations for the Summer 2025 major shows Europe's lead at all stages:

Stage 1: 6 teams from each major region.
Phase 2: Europe (4), America (4), Asia (0).
Phase 3: Europe (6), America (1), Asia (1).

BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025 will take place from June 9 to 22, with a total prize pool of $1,250,000.