BLAST Premier Fall Groups roster lock imminent
Just yesterday, Dust2.us noted that Liquid is rapidly searching for a solution for the incomplete roster. However, while IEM Cologne is arguably the biggest event coming up, it should be noted that BLAST Premier Fall Groups come first, with the event kicking off on July 13th.
As per BLAST Premier rules, any teams participating in the group stage must submit their roster three weeks prior to the start of the event. With the first games scheduled for July 13th, that would put the roster lock on June 22nd.
BLAST requires that teams submit a lineup of five players, two substitute players, and a coach, who may be used as an extra substitute if needed.
Considering the current rumors surrounding Liquid, as well as questions over Complexity's recent performances, time is ticking down slowly for the American teams to make their moves now if they don't want to face any penalties.
Should a team fail to submit their roster on time, they will be considered the lower seed in all given matchups. Should multiple teams fail to submit their submitted roster at the deadline, they will be placed in the "Missed Deadline Pool" and will always be considered the lowest seed.
The roster lock for BLAST can be an indicator for when teams are already making moves. Last summer we saw that Mareks "YEKINDAR" Gaļinskis was signed on by Liquid for another event whereas G2 was bringing in Rasmus "HooXi" Nielsen and Justin "jks" Savage. Given the timing of the lock, we could see more teams get pushed to making moves this week.
