Where creativity meets connection
Esports - competitive video gaming - has exploded into a global industry, with sold-out arenas, multi-million-dollar prize pools, and a growing fanbase rivaling traditional sports. One of its most iconic titles is Counter-Strike, a tactical first-person shooter that pits elite teams against each other in intense, high-stakes matches. Now, one of the biggest tournaments on the esports calendar is heading to London, as the BLAST Premier Open S2 prepares to take over Wembley Arena this September.
Excitement is building, as the BLAST Premier Open S2 is heading to London’s iconic OVO Arena Wembley on Fri 5 – Sun 7 Sept. And now the list of 12 elite Counter-Strike teams who’ve accepted direct invitations to the competition, are all vying for a coveted spot on one of esports’ biggest stages.
The BLAST Premier Open S2 is set to be one of the most electric events on the 2025 Counter-Strike and esports calendar. Featuring more than $1.1m on the line across both prize money and participation fees, teams will be fighting hard to make it to the main stage in Wembley.
Wembley has become a regular venue for Counter-Strike, hosting six Tier-1 events dating back to 2016. Last year’s BLAST Premier Spring Final saw Wembley open its doors to 18,000 fans with CS superstar Donk and Team Spirit reigning victorious. With Team Spirit receiving an invite, they’ll be hoping to defend their Wembley crown.
Without a doubt, plenty of homegrown fans will be getting behind UK star William "mezii" Merriman, fresh off becoming the first British player in history to win a Counter-Strike Major. Now he’s preparing to compete on home soil. He’ll be playing for Team Vitality, who can be relied upon to offer a strong show this September. With a home crowd behind mezii, it’s all lining up for a magical three days.
Elsewhere, Ashley "Ash" Battye, the head coach of GamerLegion, carries British hopes from the tactical side of the server. Tasked with forging a cohesive threat from a multicultural lineup of European young guns averaging 22.2 years old, Ash’s journey to qualify for Wembley adds yet another layer to the growing story of UK representation on the world stage. No stranger to big stages, Ash led GamerLegion to the BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023 grand final, a true underdog story and missing out to home crowd heroes Vitality.
With a mission to take esports, gaming and other new competitive formats to the next level, BLAST has become famous for stunning production quality, big creative ideas, and game-changing fan-first moments. Bringing together the biggest teams and brightest superstars to fight it out for glory, they stage spectacular competitions in the world’s biggest arenas.
With offices in Copenhagen, London and Berlin, company works with world-leading game publishers, including Epic Games, Valve, KRAFTON and Ubisoft, to produce, market and deliver esports for titles like Rocket League, Fortnite, Rainbow Six, PUBG, Dota2 and Counter-Strike 2.
Invited Teams:
Team Vitality (Europe)
MOUZ (Europe)
Team Spirit (CIS)
The Mongolz (Asia)
Aurora (Europe)
FaZe Clan (Europe)
Natus Vincere (CIS)
FURIA (Brazil)
G2 Esports (Europe)
GamerLegion (Europe)
HEROIC (Europe)
Virtus.pro (CIS)
With only six qualification spots available at Wembley, these twelve squads will clash alongside one team from each BLAST Rising open qualifier, covering EU, Asia, North America and South America.
London has deep connection with the world’s biggest global events. In recent history, the city has hosted the UEFA Women’s Euros 2022 and Men’s Euro 2020 Finals, 2015’s Rugby World Cup and London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games. Now, it welcomes a new generation of global sports fans, many of whom are tuning in not for football or boxing, but for Counter-Strike.
With the potential to feature teams from across four continents on the world stage, London is expecting thousands of fans to converge on the sporting capital. Fans aren’t just supporting teams on stage, the city of London is projected to earn more than £13 million in economic impact, contributing to London’s hospitality, retail, transport and employment sectors.
The BLAST Premier Open S2 comes to London’s OVO Arena Wembley on Fri 5 – Sun 7 Sept.
You can find tickets and more information about BLAST Open Wembley here.
All images courtesy of BLAST Premier
Erik Selby
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