BLAST and Fantasyexpo tournament organizers announced that teams Anonymo (Poland) and Sprout (Germany) will not perform at BLAST Rising due to busy schedules. This decision was made after both teams qualified for Flashpoint 3 – , the first European RMR tournament of 2021, whose schedule overlaps with BLAST Rising.
Anonymo's place in Group C will now be taken by MAD Lions, which is currently represented by cyber athletes from various European countries. Last month, it added Theodore «SPELLAN» Nikolov, who became the sixth player on the active roster. Sprout's spot in Group B will go to Danish team Trickled, which will begin play at the tournament May 5-6. It will face Galaxy Racer, Astralis Talent and AGO in its first matches.
The BLAST Rising tournament, which features a total of 24 teams, will begin on Monday. The top twelve teams in their groups will go directly into the playoffs, while four more will be selected in two additional stages. The main part of the tournament will begin on May 19, with the grand finals scheduled for the 23rd. The competition has a total prize pool of $30,000.