BLAST Premier Rivals heads to Monterrey, Mexico

Jonno Nicholson
Image of BLAST Premier Rivals logo on a blue and red background of Monterrey, Mexico, the location of the event
BLAST Premier Rivals heads to Mexico. Image credit: BLAST

Esports tournament organiser BLAST has announced its BLAST Premier Rivals event is heading to Monterrey, Mexico in 2025.

Taking place from April 30th to May 4th, 2025, the event will see eight Counter-Strike teams compete at the Escenario GNP Seguros venue.

BLAST will operate the event in collaboration with Latin American esports organisation Liga Ace which has hosted competitions across a range of titles in the region.

In addition to unveiling the location of the BLAST Premier Rivals event, the event organisers also confirmed participating teams will compete for $1m (~£804,150), which includes the prize pool and participation fees.

“Bringing the inaugural BLAST Premier Rivals to Monterrey marks a historical moment for Mexico and Latin America,” commented BLAST Vice President of Ecosystems, Andrew Haworth.

“We are excited to help transform the Escenario GNP Seguros, at Pabellón M- from an iconic theatre into an esports arena that will provide a global platform for the world’s best Counter-Strike players. We’re thrilled to work closely with Liga Ace to deliver a world-class competition that will elevate the esports experience for fans in Mexico and beyond.”

According to a release, hosting the event in Monterrey will provide the city with significant economic benefits. Thanks to event attendance and investment in the local area, the city is predicted to see $12.5m (~£10m) generated from the event.

BLAST Premier Rivals 2025 format

The inaugural BLAST Premier Rivals event will see the teams ranked first to fourth in the Valve Global Ranking system compete against four invited teams.

A best-of-three (BO3) GSL format will be used to determine the six teams that qualify for the playoffs.

The first two days of the event will be played behind closed doors. However, the final three days at the Escenario GNP Seguros will offer tickets for fans to attend.

At the time of writing, G2 Esports, Spirit, The MongolZ, and FaZe Clan are the top-four ranked teams according to Valve’s ranking. However, there are still notable tournaments such as IEM Katowice 2025 that are yet to be played.

BLAST is yet to reveal the four invited teams.

Jonno is a freelance news writer for Esports Insider and has been part of the team since 2019. When he's not sim racing, he enjoys reporting on Call of Duty esports and sim racing's impact on the wider industry.