FaZe secure first BLAST World Final spot

The International squad earned the berth with a victory at ESL Pro League.

FaZe's victory at ESL Pro League Season 17 not only secured their first trophy in nine months and an Intel Grand Slam, but it also qualified the European Squad for BLAST Premier World Final 2023. BLAST's elite-level tournament will take place between December 13-17 and will host eight teams battling it out for a $1,000,000 prize pool.

The European squad's qualification marks the second time they will compete at a World Final event, previously qualifying for the 2022 edition thanks to their win at EPL S15. They will join four additional teams that will qualify through their victories at Big Events and three more through their placement in the BLAST World Final Leaderboard.

Four spots will be filled out by the winners of the Paris Major, BLAST Spring Final, ESL Pro League Season 18, and BLAST Fall Final. The second Major of 2023 was initially intended to provide another qualifying spot for the end-of-year event, but Valve's decision to hold just one Major event this year prompted BLAST to add another spot from their leaderboard.

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The last iteration of the World Final was hosted in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and concluded with G2 lifting their first big trophy in more than five years. Rasmus "⁠HooXi⁠" Nielsen's men did not have a particularly successful 2022, however, their performance in the BLAST leaderboard secured their attendance as the second-lowest ranked team.

FaZe finished the BLAST World Final 2022 in the semi-finals after failing to qualify for it the year before. They had previously attended the first iteration of the December tournament in 2019, when The Danish organizers directed BLAST Pro Series Global Final to bring their season circuit to a close.

This year's spots are handed out the following way: