BLAST Rising groups announced

The group draw for BLAST Rising has revealed the groups that will battle it out starting on May 4. 

BLAST Rising is a tournament put on by BLAST and Fantasyexpo that will see up-and-coming teams (ranked #20 or lower on HLTV ratings) compete over a $32,300 prize pool online. BLAST Rising will begin on May 4 and run through May 22.

The most notable names in BLAST Rising are HAVU, who placed 3rd in FLASHPOINT 1, Heretics, and Movistar Riders, both who are currently competing in ESL One: Road to Rio. Heretics have had a stellar run through ESL One: Road to Rio, besting ENCE, Dignitas, and Complexity, but did fall yesterday to fnatic. Movistar Riders have also had a pretty good run so far in the Road to Rio, beating mousesports and c0ntact before falling to FaZe.

Here are the complete groups for BLAST Rising:

Group A

• ALTERNATE aTTaX
• Tricked
• Salamander
• Endpoint

Group B

• HAVU
• AGO
• Nordavind
• Giants

Group C

• Movistar Riders
• Japaleno
• FATE
• Apeks

Group D

• Heretics
• AVEZ
• Secret
• sAw

The format for BLAST Rising will be a double round-robin group stage for the four groups. The best two teams from each group will make their way into a single-elimination playoff bracket.