VENN, BLAST Debut New VENN Invitational Esports Event

VENN has announced the VENN Invitational: a BLAST Premier Qualifier and the latest production as part of its strategic partnership with BLAST, a global esports entertainment company.

The VENN Invitational aired on VENN and BLAST’s channels this past weekend and occured as part of the BLAST Premier Qualifying Series. Teams across North America competed in this CS:GO tournament for a chance at winning a spot in the BLAST Premier Spring Showdown in April, which comes with a $25,000 participation fee to invest in their organization and a chance to play for a combined prize pool of over $162,500.

“We’re so excited to work with BLAST,” said VENN Co-CEO Ariel Horn, prior to the start of the event. “I’ve known them for a long time and am looking forward to building on the partnership we started with their BLAST Premier Global Final.”

The eight teams were split into two groups, with the top two teams in each group competing in a single elimination tournament to decide a winner. That team joined other finalists across South America, Nordics, Western Europe, and a number of other regions.

“North America is such an important region for Counter-Strike and BLAST Premier – the region is steeped in history and has produced countless talent over the years,” said Andrew Haworth, Commissioner for BLAST Premier, prior to the start of the event. “VENN has a strong track record in esports entertainment and we are looking forward to partnering with them to produce exciting CS:GO while giving NA teams the chance to compete on a global stage in next month’s Spring Showdown.”

Focusing on distribution, unlocking brand partnerships, and developing new tournaments, VENN and BLAST are committed to expanding their global footprint and premier position within the professional esports industry through these types of new content offerings and enhanced audience engagement.

In 2020, BLAST saw over 146 million views and 1.5 billion minutes of content consumed across its platforms while expanding its product offering to bring over 500 hours of world-class esports to fans in multiple formats including popular titles CS:GO, VALORANT and DOTA 2.

The winner of the VENN Invitational qualified into the Spring Showdown to compete for a combined prize pool of over $162,500. Teams that have already qualified for the Spring Showdown include Astralis, Team Vitality, Heroic, FURIA, MiBR, OG, Gambit, G2, and Team Liquid.