We’ve seen that awesome action in Sao Paolo. We’ve seen all those hectic surprises in Miami. And now, I’m positive we are going to witness another proper BLAST Pro Series spectacle. The third of its kind in 2019. With that in mind, welcome to my comprehensive take on BLAST Pro Series Madrid Preview. This article will cover the basics regarding the tournament as well as a more in-depth approach to the competing teams.

Madrid is not often the center of esports action, but this weekend ought to change all that. After witnessing what was probably the best CS:GO event crowd on IEM XIV Sydney, I’m really interested to see if the electric Spanish crowd will have their say. Knowing their passion for soccer, it will surely be an amazing live experience on Saturday.

Enough with the introduction, let’s jump straight into some interesting facts about BLAST Pro Series Madrid and build our way up to the team analysis. There’s a lot to cover, no doubt about that, so let’s go at it one section at a time!

BLAST Pro Series Madrid Preview |Interesting Facts

• This BLAST Pro Series event is taking place in Madrid, Spain. At the gorgeous Madrid Arena, to be more precise. It starts on Friday, May 10th with the first two rounds of the group stage matches. The event ends on the following day, Saturday, May 11th, with the grandiose BLAST Pro Standoff followed by the grand finals.
• As usual, this BLAST Pro Series event features $250,000 in prize pool money. Half of that goes to the winning team with the remainder being distributed as shown in the table below. In addition to the six end-tournament prizes, there’s also $20,000 awarded to the team that wins the show match dubbed as BLAST Pro Standoff.
• For those of you who haven’t yet watched a BPS event, the Pro Standoff is a series of 1v1 contests on specialized BPS aim maps. The third-place team has a guaranteed spot at the Pro Standoff and they get to choose their opponents from the bottom three team.
• As far as the broadcast talent is concerned, RFRSH Entertainment is really doing a fine job with their BLAST Pro Series. Adam Savage, Machine, SPUNJ, Maniac and now widely popular interviewer Frankie, will all be a part of the BPS Madrid action. With such a stellar set of names, we’re guaranteed to have an entertaining time watching the live Madrid action.

Road to BPS Global Finals 2019

We’ve already had two BLAST Pro Series events in 2019, both of which contribute to the overall Global Finals Ranking. Here’s how the situation currently stands:

Prize Pool Distribution

Here’s what the official BLAST Pro Series Madrid prize pool and BPS Points distribution looks like. Once again, in addition to these six prizes, an exclusive $20,000 award goes to the winner of the BLAST Pro Standoff show match.

Place	Prize Money	BPS Points
1st	$125,000	10 pts
2nd	$50,000	8 pts
3rd	$25,000	6 pts
4th	$15,000	4 pts
5th	$10,000	2 pts
6th	$5,000	0 pts

Tournament Format

Let’s continue with our BLAST Pro Series Madrid Preview by talking a bit about its format. You see, the thing with BLAST Pro Series events is that they’re so darn packed with matches. Over the course of the 30 hour long event, there’s a total of seventeen matches. To be more precise, fifteen of them are Bo1, one is Bo3 (the grand finals) and one is the show match.

To put things into perspective, the group stage consists of six teams and features five rounds of round-robin Bo1 matches. Top two teams advance to the grand finals match (Bo3) while the third-place team gets to pick their opponents for the Pro Standoff show match. And that’s about it…

BLAST Pro Series Madrid Teams Overview

Let’s continue with this BLAST Pro Series Madrid Preview by taking a look at the competing teams. Needless to say, the level of competitiveness is at an admirable level. Astralis, Natus Vincere and ENCE Esports are among the best teams in the world right now. However, they’ll be met with fierce resistance from the likes of Cloud9, Ninjas in Pyjamas and one of two teams that’ll be defending the Iberian Peninsula.

So, without further ado, let’s see what kind of action we can expect cometh the first BPS Madrid matches on Friday.

Astralis

Let’s talk about Astralis, still undoubtedly the world’s best CS:GO team. Sure, their recent BLAST Pro Series Miami performance was a lackluster one, but The Great Danes still are at the top of the CS:GO world. But, if the spectacle in Miami was any indication of what’s coming for Astralis in 2019, their future as the top CS:GO team might be in jeopardy.

Don’t get me wrong, they still had a successful ESL Pro League Season 9 campaign (although they barely made the win against BIG), but their overall performance has clearly taken a hit. Only time will tell for certain, but I’m noticing a certain pattern of poor performances. It’s as if their will to keep on playing at the highest level is gone.

It’s understandable though, after all, we’re talking about a team that has won it all. If that’s really the case, then I’m afraid their year-long stay at the top of the CS:GO rankings is soon to be over. That said, I reckon Madrid fans won’t see the Astralis we all know and love. They might perform well in the group stage matches but I reckon they’ll fail to close this one out. Pro Standoff might be their top, but I doubt we’ll see them reach the grand finals. That’s just my two cents, I’m sure many of you won’t agree with me on this one…

Natus Vincere

The second team I’m going to talk about is the Russian-Ukrainian mix known as Natus Vincere. S1mple is still the world’s best player, there’s no question about that. However, by taking a look at their recent performances, it’s quite clear that the Ukrainian beast can’t do everything single-handedly.

Their ESL Pro League S9 Europe campaign started off less than ideally. Their qualification is still left hanging, having to qualify for the Finals from the second round. This won’t be easy though since they’re in Group B with BIG, Heroic, and North.

Going further back than that, NaVi’s BPS Miami performance was pretty bad as well. They placed fourth, right above Astralis (my oh my, isn’t that weird to say), and Cloud9. Overall, I expect redemption from NaVi. They’re likely to go all in on this tournament since they only have four points on the BPS Global Ranking.

Cloud9

As soon as I heard about the complete roster switch up in Cloud9’s organization, my heart wanted to see them back at the top of the food chain. At least in the NA region. However, even though their roster is packed with hot prospects, they’re falling far short of expectations. Expectations set by the community, by me… and probably by the organization behind them.

Their disastrous BPS Miami performance was one I’m sure we’d all rather forget (Cloud9 especially). ASAP, mind you. ESL Pro League S9 Americas was a tough break too. And don’t even get me started on their ECS qualifications. Overall, let’s just say this Cloud9 roster is not performing as it should be. They’re plagued with internal issues, bad team play, and are struggling to find their pace in most matches.

If they want to accomplish something in Madrid, perhaps snatch a few points on the BPS Global Finals Ranking, they’ll have to put in a lot more effort. However, I just can’t see it happening. Perhaps they do snatch two points, four tops, but anything more than that is highly unlikely. At least in my books.

Ninjas in Pyjamas

Ninjas in Pyjamas have been on a proper rollercoaster for the last few months. A solid performance at the Major ruined by failed ESL Pro League qualifications and failed ECS qualification attempts. Generally speaking, NiP is treading water, and it seems as though other teams have taken notice.

Sure, their IEM XIV Sydney campaign was alright. However, coming into this tournament, F0rest and the company will face much tougher opponents than eUnited and Renegades. I’m not implying either of these two teams are bad, I’m just pointing out that they’re not exactly at the level of, let’s say, NaVi or Astralis. With that in mind, we’re likely to see a middle-of-the-pack finish for the Swedes.

ENCE Esports

And finally, let’s take a closer look at the fan favorite– ENCE Esports. The amazing Finns went from being the laughingstock of the entire community to a proper sensation at the Katowice Major. Since then, their form hasn’t been at the greatest level. Of course, it will be difficult for Allu and the boys to repeat their performance from Poland where they’ve defeated the likes of NaVi and Team Liquid in the final stage of the tournament.

Despite that, the Finns’ oscillating form still makes them a difficult opponent to face. Especially in Best of 1 matches which BPS Madrid is packed with. They’ve already competed on a BPS tournament right after the Major. The location was Sao Paolo and their overall performance was pretty solid, finishing the tournament in third place, right behind Team Liquid and Astralis. Overall, we can expect another solid run by the Finnish team. They might not go all the way but they’ll definitely pose as a threat to the big guns. Especially since, once again, we’re talking about a Bo1 group stage competition.

That’s about it as far as these five teams are concerned. Once again, the sixth competing teams will be decided just hours before the start of the actual tournament. The Iberian Play-In match will feature two potent teams from Spain and Portugal. I’m referring to Movistar Rides and Giants Gaming, both of which will have aspirations to qualify for the BLAST Pro Series Madrid and defend their country’s colors on the big stage.

BLAST Pro Series Madrid Schedule CEST

The final part of this BLAST Pro Series Madrid Preview is focused on the schedule. As mentioned earlier, BPS events are short, concise, and action-packed. They only last for two days but bring forth an impressive number of matches. With that in mind, there’s no doubt fatigue plays a key role here. Luckily, the entire schedule is known in advance so teams can properly prepare for the crucial matches.

Here’s what the BPS Madrid 2019 schedule looks like:

Friday, May 10th

• Cloud9 vs IPW* – 8.45 p.m.
• ENCE vs NaVi – 8.45 p.m.
• Astralis vs NiP – 8.45 p.m.
• ENCE vs NiP – 10 p.m.
• Cloud9 vs NaVi – 10 p.m.
• Astralis vs IPW* – 10 p.m.

Saturday, May 11th

• Astralis vs NaVi – 3 p.m.
• Cloud9 vs ENCE – 3 p.m.
• NiP vs IPW* – 3 p.m.
• Astralis vs ENCE – 4.20 p.m.
• Cloud9 vs NiP – 4.20 p.m.
• NaVi vs IPW* – 4.20 p.m.
• Astralis vs Cloud9 – 5.40 p.m.
• NiP vs NaVi – 5.40 p.m.
• ENCE vs IPW* – 5.40 p.m.
• BPS Standoff Show Match – 7 p.m.
• BPS Grand Finals – 8 p.m.

We’re also testing something new out today, below is a live schedule for all upcoming CS:GO matches. Check back for real-time updates on which matches are happening and where to stream them!