BLAST.tv Paris Major Day 1 Live Blog

Are you ready to witness history? The last ever Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Major has started today, in Paris, France. 24 teams from all over the world want to claim the BLAST.tv different-looking trophy, but the road won't be easy.

Some CS giants have fallen to Challengers, some lesser-known teams have risen to the occasion and defied all odds and are now waiting on the Legends stage alongside iconic tags in the gaming world. This is it, are you ready? Be sure you stay tuned to Dust2.us' website and social media to follow the NA team's journey in France.

09:45PM - The day is over and tomorrow's matches are set

After a disappointing day for the Americas, we're hoping for better scenes tomorrow. paiN and Complexity sit 1-1 in the swiss system, whereas Liquid and Fluxo are 0-2. The matches for tomorrow are set as follows:

Mid Matches (1-1)

• Grayhound vs MongolZ

• Monte vs FORZE

• paiN vs Complexity

• NIP vs OG

09:30PM - Disaster strikes for Liquid...

We couldn't do it, we choked versus FORZE... Unfortunately Liquid are now 0-2 at the Major in the Challengers Stage. An almost clutch by oSee to send us to overtime but it wasn't meant to be.

08:55PM - Liquid vs FORZE is tied 7-8 at half-time

Despite missing in the early rounds of the half, YEKINDAR had stepped up and now sits at the top of the board for Liquid at half-time. The score is 8-7 in favor of FORZE.

08:35PM - Liquid vs FORZE is tied 3-3 on Nuke

After being left with a choice between Inferno and Nuke, Liquid picked the latter with their recent Nuke outings. NAF and oSee appear to be showing up so let's hope for a W!

08:15PM - T.c: "We're ok with being 1-1"

Despite being 1-1, Tiaan "T.c" Coertzen, coach of Complexity, is confident in his team and says things are okay that they're 1-1 in the swiss system right now. Read the interview here.

08:05PM - Fluxo continue their run to 0-3 as the #1 pick

An unfortunate loss for Fluxo in the second round, this time to Ukrainian side Monte. As the #1 picked team to go 0-3 in the pick'ems according to 1, 229 people on the swiss calculator website with 71.6%. They now have just one more chance tomorrow in a BO3 to avoid a 0-3 elimination.

01:27PM - daps: "We don't regret the map choice, we just fucked up a lot"

In Dust2.us latest interview from Paris, Damian "daps" Steele goes over Liquid's opening loss against Apeks and how they're feeling about their next match against FORZE.

12:58AM - paiN fall valiantly to FaZe

After trying to work into a comeback against FaZe on Nuke, the Brazilians have dropped the map in a respectable 16-12 scoreline.

12:56AM - COL collapse on CT-side vs. G2

After a strong showing on their T-side, Complexity have now fallen into the 1-1 group following a complete collapse on their CT-side. Over the course of the second half, the Americans were only able to find one round before G2 took Inferno 16-9.

12:54AM - paiN fight back

After a rough start to the second half, paiN have made a strong effort to close the gap on their T-side, currently paiN trail by two rounds heading into round 27.

11:30AM - paiN put FaZe through their paces

On the other stream, paiN have put up a very strong opening half against FaZe on their CT-side, ending the half trailing by a single round as they now head into their T-side.

11:30AM - hallzerk clinches 1v3 to give COL 8-7 lead

In a spectacular highlight for the Norwegian AWPer, Håkon "hallzerk" Fjærli dispatched three G2 players in a 1v3 showdown to give Complexity their eighth round in what has been a strong showing for the NA underdogs thus far!

11:50AM - Can Complexity and paiN shock the scene?

Both Complexity and paiN are about to take to the server against G2 and FaZe respectively. Can either, or even both of them, take down the juggernauts that stand in their way in Paris?

paiN vs. FaZe - Stream A
Complexity vs. G2 - Stream B

11:05AM - Round 2 matchups set

What a morning of Counter-Strike that was! With the dust now settled momentarily, we have a bit of a break before we head into the second set of fixtures for the day, which will coincidentally see two EU goliaths facing two Davids from the Americas, as paiN face FaZe and G2 take on Complexity at 12:30PM

10:40AM - Liquid locked in to play Forze

After going down against Apeks earlier today, Liquid will take on another team that were upset in their opening game in Forze. Make sure to read up on our coverage of the situation here:

10:10AM - Pick'Ems in shambles

If you picked Grayhound to go 0-3 in the Challengers stage, we hope you were firmly locked in to watching the Liquid game at the time. The Australian underdogs took down Forze 16-14 on Mirage, instantly throwing a spanner into the works of a lot of people's Major Pick'Ems!

09:45AM - Liquid head down to 0-1

Our North American have faltered early on in their quest to win the final CS:GO Major. Despite the best efforts of both Jonathan "EliGE" Jablonowski and Josh "oSee" Ohm who both individually fell slightly short of 30 kills each, Apeks closed out Ancient and sent Liquid down to the 0-1 game later today.

Liquid 12-16 Apeks

09:25AM - NAF continues to struggle

Everyone's favorite sloth is having a real tough time on Ancient. Liquid's Canadian rifler has posted merely two kills in 20 rounds of play, one of which has even been removed from the scoreboard following a team kill. Can NAF recover in time?

09:10AM - Liquid off to a slow start

Ancient has been rough for our North American heroes who lost seven straight rounds after claiming the pistol round. A minor resurgence is all Liquid had to offer as Apeks take 10-5 lead heading into the second half.

Liquid 5-10 Apeks

08:40AM - Liquid trying something new

Liquid hasn't played Ancient more than two times in the last three months, yet, they chose to play that map against Apeks, who have played the map 20 times in the same time span, winning 65% of those matches.

The game has already started!

08:35AM - For the next item on the menu, we have Liquid. No, it's not the Cognac type of liquid, too early for that

I don't think my heart can handle another close game, Liquid please make it quick but good quick.

What do Liquid and Apeks have in common? They both were led by Richard "shox" Papillon. Now, both teams are in the French Major, but the French legend is not, unfortunately.

On Stream A (it should be Liquid on Stream A, I also hate the seeding), FORZE and Grayhound are playing. I would say that is an uninteresting match, but more than 80 thousand people would disagree.

Liquid vs. Apeks - Stream B
FORZE 4-1 Grayhound - Stream A

08:26AM - It wasn't a walk in the Champs Elysées, but Complexity did it!

The second half was tough and grueling and things almost went overboard for NA. The boys kept it together, composed, managing to stay in the game and it paid off in the end. Complexity are now 1-0 up in the BLAST.tv Paris Major.

Complexity 16-11 GamerLegion
G2 16-11 TheMongolz

08:14AM - G2 keep my Pick' Ems looking very good

G2 completed a great comeback. After being down 6-9 on the CT-side, the European side managed a 10-2 T-side half to win the map 16-11.

Meanwhile, Complexity are choking a bit, just a little bit, as they are yet to find a single T-side round.

Complexity 13-10 GamerLegion - Stream B
G2 16-11 TheMongolz - Stream A

07:57AM - Halftime for Complexity and GamerLegion

It's been a great showing from the Complexity boys, only allowing their opponents to get two rounds on the board. Everyone is accurate and not making crucial mistakes, with a lot of clutches going Complexity's way.

On the other game, TheMongolz are very close to upsetting G2, and ruining my Pick' Ems. Do I root for the underdog or do I pray for my Pick' Ems?

Complexity 13-2 GamerLegion - Stream B
G2 9-11 TheMongolz - Stream A

07:25AM - Game is ready to go

After a bit of a delay, it's becoming a tradition already, Complexity and GamerLegion are starting the game. Complexity start on the CT-side.

Complexity vs. GamerLegion - Stream B
G2 3-5 TheMongolz - Stream A

07:15AM - A bit of a delay before the start of Complexity's game

I don't know why, I just went to grab a snack, but Complexity has some tech issues yet to be fixed. It's normal, it's day one, nothing is perfect, let's just hope it's a quick fix and a permanent one. It's not bad at all, as North Americans are still waking up.

07:05AM - Complexity's vetoes are out

The squad will face GamerLegion on Inferno, the teams's third-best map with 67% win rate. Bad news, this is GamerLegion's best map with 85% win rate after 13 games.

Complexity vs. GamerLegion - Stream B
G2 vs. TheMongolz - Stream A

07:05AM - FaZe's aftermath

It seems like Karrigan had a lot to say after FaZe's comeback against Monte.

06:52AM - What's next on the menu? It starts with "co" but it's not coq au vin, it's Complexity time!

The North American squad is back to playing Majors and expectations are mixed, with some people expecting them to go through, while others don't think they can get more than one win. Well, time to prove the haters wrong.

Complexity vs. GamerLegion - Stream B
G2 vs. TheMongolz - Stream A

06:50AM - FaZe have done it, they won their first Major match since winning the Antwerp Grand finals!

It was tough, but it is done. FaZe came back from a 6-9 deficit at the half to claim a 16-14 win and go up 1-0 on the BLAST.tv Paris Major, after a crucial 1v2 from Twistzz to close the match. The Canadian star ended the game with 25 kills and a rating of 1.24.

FaZe 16-14 Monte
paiN 16-2 Fluxo

06:25AM - Croissant time for paiN

A game without any kind of story as paiN just bulldozed Fluxo 16-2 on Mirage. Gabriel "NEKIZ" Schenato finished the map with a 1.98 rating and 22 kills.

Meanwhile, FaZe are still struggling on the CT-side, despite being one round away from the tie.

FaZe 9-10 Monte - Stream A
paiN 16-2 Fluxo - Stream B

06:15AM - paiN are going to be eating croissants very soon after their game

Both games have reached 15 rounds and teams are switching sides (it would be hilarious if they changed PC booths).

paiN are well ahead, as they are showing to be very superior to Fluxo after a 13-2 half on the CT-side.

FaZe and Twistzz are not showing good signs early on, as the European squad is down 9-6 going into the CT-side of Ancient.

FaZe 6-9 Monte - Stream A
paiN 13-2 Fluxo - Stream B

05:47AM - The games have started after 15 minutes of delay

paiN started on the CT-side of Mirage and won the pistol round. FaZe have started strong as well, with a T-side pistol round win on Ancient.

05:44AM - The vetoes are here!

FaZe and Monte are going to Ancient for their BO1 while paiN and Fluxo are going to Mirage.

It also seems that the issue is fixed, and the games should be starting very soon.

FaZe vs. Monte - Stream A
paiN vs. Fluxo - Stream B

05:39AM - FaZe are the culprit

It seems that the delay is due to some sort of issue with the FaZe camp, as Monte have done their pep-talk and paiN and Fluxo already are on their server.

05:30AM - Delays for breakfast in Paris

The timer has gone back 15 minutes in Stream A and Stream B is not even showing a clock. Let's hope it's just some player needing to use the bathrooms or a production member that is lost in the Paris metro.

FaZe vs. Monte - Stream A
paiN vs. Fluxo - Stream B

05:25AM - Twistzz and paiN are starting to seat down for their respective games

Games are just five minutes away from starting and North America has one team plus one player playing in the first matches of Round 1. Yes, paiN are NA!

paiN is facing fellow countrymen Fluxo. Both teams have encountered each other on the servers only twice, with one 2-0 win for each, but recently paiN have been looking unstoppable, at least domestically. You can watch paiN's game here.

Russel "Twistzz" Van Dulken and FaZe are facing Monte. The Ukrainian team has a six-game win streak, while FaZe have been looking down on energy due to playing a lot of tournaments. This can be a hard game for the European roster, but it's too early for it to be crucial for any team. Don't forget, Monte is the team with the most maps played in 2023 coming into this Major. You can watch FaZe's game here.

05:10AM - Only 20 minutes before the games start

The anticipation and the anxiety from the players must be as big as the excitement and expectation from fans. I, for one, wasn't able to stay in bed despite still being sleepy (in truth, Ryan would fire me if I did).

The games are almost getting started, and the official streams are set up already. You can hear Freya "Freya" Spiers, Alex “Mauisnake” Ellenberg, and Jacob “Pimp” Winneche analyzing and previewing the start of day one in Stream A, while you can find the schedule for Round 1 in Stream B.

Round 1 of games will see the following match-ups: