BLAST.tv Paris Major’s Best Contenders and Challengers

BLAST.tv Paris Major starts on May 8 and the Challengers Stage will feature 16 teams. These teams are the Challengers and the Contenders. There are eight from each category and only eight will advance to the Legends Stage to face the awaiting eight Legends for a chance to compete in the Champions Stage.

Among these 16 teams, some are very strong and it’s actually surprising that they haven’t been able to secure a Legend status ticket for the Major. But, despite that failure, they are still likely to be among the competitors that will play in the second stage of the tournament.

Best Contenders

Here are the best contenders at BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023:

• Team Liquid
• FaZe Clan

All of these teams could have easily been among the Legends. But because they lost one or two matches in the RMRs, they will now need to survive the first stage like the rest of the underdogs.

For Team Liquid, this tournament is a great opportunity for redemption. At IEM Rio Major 2022, they finished 9th-11th after losing against Team Spirit in the 5th round. That was a very painful defeat for them but they are now in a favorable position to make things right.

For FaZe Clan, this should have been a much easier tournament. But after they won ESL Pro League S17 and Intel Grand Slam S4, the team led by Finn “karrigan” Andersen lost the ability to focus on the objectives ahead and nearly failed to qualify for the Paris Major. They were the 17th qualified team from Europe, which was a disgrace.

At the recent IEM Rio 203, FaZe finished 9th-12th, which was another mediocre result. But that happened more than two weeks ago. Since then, FaZe have likely been training hard and preparing for what will arguably be the most important CS:GO event of the year.

Because of this, it’s hard to imagine them failing to qualify for the Legends Stage. At the previous Major they were eliminated in the second stage and didn’t win a single match. This time, they should be able to do much better.

Best Challengers

These are the best Challengers of the Paris Major:

• G2 Esports
• OG

G2 need no introduction. But, just like FaZe and Liquid, messed up a bit in the RMRs and are now faced with a tough challenge. Surviving the Challengers Stage won’t be easy but a team like them should be able to succeed. G2 are currently ranked 4th globally and their best result in 2023 was the trophy they won at IEM Katowice.

For OG, this Major could easily end in stage one, but they could also go all the way to the playoffs. This is a team with a lot of potential and it all depends on their tournament form.

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