With the second edition of the BLAST Spike Nations tournament, BLAST will host its first European VALORANT event since the start of the VALORANT Champions Tour.
The event will take place from October 7 to 9 and will feature 12 EMEA-based teams, each comprised of some of the best professional players from their respective countries or nations. The teams will be divided into three groups of four, with the top two teams from each group progressing to the knockout stage. The following countries or nations will be represented by the 12 teams:
- United Kingdom
- France
- Spain
- Nordics (Finland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Iceland)
- Poland
- Turkey
- CIS
- Italy
- DACH (Germany, Austria, and Switzerland)
- Benelux (Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg)
- Eastern Europe
According to a BLAST press release, the tournament will “create opportunities for funds to be raised as well as added incentives for teams to beat each other, raising the stakes in the process.” Everything will be broadcast live on the BLAST TV Twitch channel.
In November 2020, BLAST hosted the first Spike Nations event, with Team Portugal defeating Team United Kingdom in the grand finals. Some well-known VALORANT personalities competed in the first event, including Lothar, a caster, analyst, and G2 streamer, and AverageJonas of Team Liquid. Because it hosted the qualifier and main event of the EU First Strike event in November and December, BLAST was an important part of the pre-VCT VALORANT in Europe.