Marco “Snappi” Pfeiffer, leader of ENCE, has filed a complaint against tournament organizer BLAST. According to Snappi, BLAST has manipulated the world rankings.
Snappi sues BLAST for manipulation of world rankings
Last July 23, the BLAST Premier Fall Groups 2023 ended, and the tournament’s results directly affected the HLTV world rankings. Recall that the HLTV world rankings are the most important in CS:GO esports.
Thus, Snappi has denounced BLAST for manipulating the world rankings after the tournament organizer announced the modification of the position of the teams in the rankings. The ENCE captain believes that CS:GO tournaments organized by BLAST should not be considered in the world rankings.
As if manipulating the world rankings with a franchise league with 0 entries is a positive thing. Lol https://t.co/j7BLTTAqKn
— Marco Pfeiffer (@SnappiCSGO) July 25, 2023
BLAST tournaments should not be taken into account for the world ranking
For example, tournaments such as the BLAST Premier Fall Groups 2023 should not be considered for the ranking. Since only a small group of teams are the ones that can qualify in such tournaments. Remember that only teams associated with the tournament organizer can participate in the BLAST Fall and Spring competitions. This is why Snappi comments that these tournaments negatively affect the teams that do not participate.
On the other hand, Snappi emphasizes the format of the tournaments held by BLAST. In addition, he comments that the spring season had the same format as the fall season. At the same time, Snappi comments that teams that are not associated cannot qualify as easily to the finals of the BLAST circuit season. Non-associated teams must win the BLAST Showdown to qualify for the finals.
However, only two options exist for a team to participate in the BLAST Showdown. The first option for teams is to receive a direct invitation from the tournament organizer. In case of not having received the invitation, teams have a second option. Teams must place in the top positions of an online competition with which BLAST is associated. So, without a doubt, if the team is not a BLAST circuit partner, it has an arduous road to travel before getting a place in the final two of these tournaments.
Snappi’s criticism of BLAST
Snappi’s criticism of BLAST is not the first time it has come up. In 2022 Snappi criticized BLAST after ENCE earned a spot in that year’s BLAST Premier Spring Showdown. On that occasion, the European team had to win two qualifiers to advance to the Spring Showdown. This tournament qualified for that year’s BLAST Premier Spring Final.
The debate about the unreliability of the team matchmaking system in CS:GO has been ongoing for many years. Many community members believe this system should receive some reform, for example, more open fields for level two teams.
Fortunately, some modifications that could come soon have already been mentioned. According to information published by Richard Lewis last June, Valve has forced ESL and BLAST to abandon their closed tournament system. Valve intends to create a fairer competitive scene for CS2.