BLAST Paris Major 2023

Lore & Background

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) is a multiplayer first-person shooter video game developed by Hidden Path Entertainment and Valve Corporation. It is the fourth game in the Counter-Strike series. In professional CS:GO, the Valve-sponsored Majors are the most prestigious tournaments. The defending Major champions were Virtus.pro, who won their second Major championship at IEM Rio Major 2022. Virtus.pro were eliminated by MOUZ during the European Major qualifiers, making them the first defending Major champions to fail to qualify for the following Major. This event was the final Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Major tournament, with the game to be succeeded by Counter-Strike 2, and that game's first Major tournament set to be held in March 2024.

In Their Own Story

The Palais buzzed with a low, electric hum as the crowd settled into their seats for the final map. In the player box, chopper peeled off his headset for a breath, the Paris air cool against his temples. Around him, the rest of Team Spirit sat in that particular silence that comes before a pistol round — not calm, exactly, but focused, the way a held breath is focused. Across the stage, FaZe's players were already in their headsets, trading quick words in a mix of English and Polish. The announcer's voice rolled through the arena like a wave cresting. Then the server loaded, the dry crack of a deagle echo filled the room, and the new engine's slightly sharper, closer sound design made every single bullet feel like it was being fired three metres away. The crowd roared. The round was won. And somewhere in the back of the arena, a fan in a faded CS:GO jersey whispered, "This is different. This is better." The match went on.

Reader's Guide

Twenty-four teams qualified for the tournament. Sixteen teams qualified for the Challengers Stage, while eight teams received a bye to the Legends Stage. In the Challengers Stage, 16 teams participated in a Swiss bracket. The top eight teams advanced and joined the eight teams that received a bye in the Legends stage. The top eight teams from the Legends stage advanced to the Champions stage. The Champions stage was a single-elimination tournament, where each match was a best-of-3. The map pool consisted of Anubis, Mirage, Inferno, Nuke, Ancient, Overpass, and Vertigo.

Did You Know?

• Team Vitality won the major, defeating GamerLegion in the grand final 2–0.
• This was the first Major Championship tournament hosted by BLAST.
• Virtus.pro were the first defending Major champions to fail to qualify for the following Major.