The final major of the long CS:GO era will start in a month. The top teams managed to surprise us even before it began, during the qualifiers. The European Group B will be the last opportunity to get to the May event in Paris: all the other RMR tournaments have come to an end. We saw how 1WIN cried, Virtus.pro failed, and Lobanjica's dream to make it to his first major almost came true.
Now world-famous teams like G2, Heroic, Cloud9, and Vitality are on the warpath. Our material will tell you whether Astralis will perform a miracle, how the qualifiers are organized, and where you can watch the matches.
When will BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023 European RMR B start?
BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023 European RMR B will begin on April 11 at 11:00 MSK. It will be a Swiss-system tournament, like European RMR A, and the main stage of the major. 16 teams with an initial 0-0 score will play against the opponents with the same number of wins and losses. The teams are to have 3 wins to fight for the Parisian slots. But even if a team has 3 losses, it may get to the Challengers Stage thanks to the Last Chance Qualifier. It will need to end the RMR tournament with a score of 2-3. It is Europe's privilege introduced due to the high competition in the region.
Where will BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023 European RMR B take place?
Like Group A teams, the participants will gather in the capital of Denmark, Copenhagen.
Its BLAST venue has hosted the tournament before, but the organizers could have held two Group competitions in two different locations to get a larger live audience. However, they decided to hold it in Copenhagen, where the BLAST headquarters are located.
The BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023 European RMR B prize fund
There is no prize money for the qualifiers after the introduction of the RMR system. The main award is the BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023 slots. These are the slots for the preliminary Challengers Stage or the main Legends Stage, depending on the final place. BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023 European RMR B also has the Last Chance Qualifier places. The teams that will take them will proceed to the final tournament, too.
The system is as follows:
- 1st-3rd places — Legends Stage slots;
- 4th-8th places — Challengers Stage slots;
- 9th-11th places — Last Chance Qualifier.
Where to watch BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023 European RMR B?
The official broadcast will be on the BLAST Premier's Twitch channel.
The BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023 European RMR B participants
Seven teams qualified for the tournament based on their results at the last major:
- Heroic;
- Cloud9;
- Team Vitality;
- ENCE;
- Team Spirit;
- BIG;
- Ninjas in Pyjamas.
Another eight teams got there after the Closed Qualifier:
- G2 Esports;
- Astralis;
- forZe;
- Eternal Fire;
- 9INE;
- Monte;
- Aurora;
- iNation.
500 advanced to the RMR tournament by winning the Last Chance Qualifier. The Bulgarians became the last — the 16th — participants.
The BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023 European RMR B schedule
April 11, Tuesday
- Heroic – 500 (11:00 MSK)
- Cloud9 – forZe (11:00 MSK)
- Spirit – Aurora (12:30 MSK)
- BIG – iNation (12:30 MSK)
- ENCE – Monte (14:00 MSK)
- Vitality – Astralis (14:00 MSK)
- Ninjas in Pyjamas – Eternal Fire (15:30 MSK)
- 9INE – G2 (15:30 MSK)
- TBD – TBD (17:45 MSK)
- TBD – TBD (17:45 MSK)
- TBD – TBD (19:15 MSK)
- TBD – TBD (19:15 MSK)
- TBD – TBD (20:45 MSK)
- TBD – TBD (20:45 MSK)
- TBD – TBD (22:15 MSK)
- TBD – TBD (22:15 MSK)
The BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023 European RMR B favorites
The RMR tournament's first-round bracket has given us food for thought. Some teams can hope for an easy path. Others were not so lucky, and their tournament could go wrong from the very beginning.
The first match between Vitality and Astralis is of great interest: both teams can fight for the slots, but one will have to lose. The same applies to four other teams that will be especially interesting for the Russian audience. We are talking about Cloud9 – forZe and Spirit – Aurora: two Russian teams will have a score of 0-1.
The favorites like G2 and Heroic will definitely have an easy start. The European mix and the Danish superteam don't have difficult opponents, which significantly increases their chances to participate in the major. That can't be said about Astralis whose play this season has been quite unstable and which needs a good start. Perhaps, gla1ve's team won't recover after its possible loss to Vitality.
We should also mention BIG, whose support Krimbo has gradually become a top-notch player. Its performance at ESL Pro League 17 was far from perfect because of the new AWPer: we wonder how the Germans improved their game in a month.
There are plenty of Russian teams in Group B. If we were to rank them, Cloud9 would be at the top. forZe and Spirit also claim at least the Challengers Stage slots. Fans are expecting a great performance from the former after its sudden rise during ESL Pro League 17. Aurora, the lowest-ranked Russian RMR tournament participant, according to HLTV, will have the hardest time.
