This June, the world’s top Counter-Strike teams will descend on Austin, Texas, to compete in the BLAST Major – one of the most important events in the year. As always, the road to the Major is fiercely contested – but this year introduces a key change. For the first time, teams must qualify through the newly launched Major Regional Qualifiers (MRQs).
In this quick explainer, we’ll break down what the MRQs are, how they work, and what they mean for teams hoping to secure their spot at the BLAST Austin Major 2025.
Major Invites
Firstly, let’s look at the invites. Earlier this month, sixteen teams received direct invites to stages two and three of the Major. These invites were based on the VRS (Valve Regional Standings), and split between Europe (10 invites), the Americas (5 invites), and Asia (1 invite). The teams that received direct invites through their VRS points were:
Stage 3 Invites:
- Vitality
- MOUZ
- Spirit
- Aurora
- NAVI
- G2
- Liquid
- MongolZ
Stage 2 Invites:
- Falcons
- FaZe
- 3DMAX
- Virtus.pro
- paiN
- FURIA
- MIBR
- M80
MRQs
Now, let’s take a look at the MRQs. After the sixteen direct invites we’ve outlined above, a further 16 teams will qualify for the Major via the MRQ qualification process. This is a hard-fought, competitive qualification battle with countless underdogs, struggling projects, and big names battling it out to make it to the most prestigious event in the Counter-Strike calendar. Here’s how it works.
Each region holds their own Major Regional Qualifier. This is an online event, with teams invited based on their VRS points (although Valve have stated that “If it is not practical to fill all closed qualifier positions via Regional Standings, the TO may supplement with open qualifiers”).
European MRQs
In the European MRQ, the opening portion of the qualifiers will be a Swiss system with Bo1 games, moving onto advancement and elimination matches as Bo3. Ultimately, six teams from this region will make it to Stage 1 of the Major.
Americas MRQs
In the MRQs for the Americas, things will be done slightly differently. There will be two MRQ events – one for North America, and one for South America. For each of these, the format is as follows: there will be eight teams, divided into two groups of four. Each group will play against each other (in Bo3) until a winner is confirmed from both groups – those two winners will qualify for the Major. Then, there will be a single-elimination bracket with the four surviving teams, from which one victor will emerge, also qualifying for Stage 1. Therefore, three teams from North America and three teams from South America will qualify for the Major, for a total of six teams from the Americas region.
Asian MRQs
Again, the Asian MRQs are slightly different. This time, they are split into three subregions: Oceania and SEA, China, and Mongolia and Western Asia. Each region will have a four-team qualifier, played in the Bo3 format, until ultimately four teams from the entire Asian MRQ qualify for Stage 1 of the Major.
Valve MRQ System FAQ:
When do the MRQs start? – The MRQs have already been completed, and the teams attending the Major have already been finalized.
What happened to the RMR system? – RMRs were replaced in favor of the new MRQ system, leveraging VRS.
Why do the formats for each region differ? – The reason that the formats of each region are different in terms of how the MRQs are structured is due to Valve’s stipulations in their Major Supplemental Rulebook, which can be found here for reference. In it, Valve states that “The MRQ format for a region is determined by the number of Major slots for that region.” For example, as Europe and the Americas have six Major slots each, they are required to structure the MRQs as a sixteen-team Swiss bracket.
What teams are attending the BLAST.tv Austin Major? –
Stage 3 Teams
| Liquid | Vitality |
| MOUZ | Natus Vincere |
| Spirit | The MongolZ |
| G2 | Aurora |
Stage 2 Teams
| M80 | 3DMAX |
| Virtus.pro | paiN |
| MIBR | FURIA |
| FaZe | Falcons |
Stage 1 Teams
| Lynn Vision | Imperial |
| Wildcard | Complexity |
| TYLOO | OG |
| Nemiga | B8 |
| Fluxo | FlyQuest |
| HEROIC | Chinggis Warriors |
Hopefully, this short explainer has cleared up some of the confusion around the way the MRQs are structured. As we head into the run-up to the BLAST Austin Major, make sure that you keep up your own grind by opening up a Refrag server and getting some practice in! Whether it’s utility, angle clearing, or demo reviewing – Refrag is the place to be.
Also, if you’re interested in getting a read on the form of some of the top teams in the world before the Major cycle gets underway, you can check out our retrospective on how they performed in the latest big event – PGL Bucharest 2025 – here.
